Budget Act of 2026

The law directs substantial new and revised appropriations for public services, infrastructure, disaster preparedness, and targeted local projects. It also extends spending authority for prior appropriations and sets reporting, eligibility, and program-administration rules.

What the law does ​

• Funds court operations, civil legal aid, CARE Act representation, pretrial services, court facilities, and Proposition 36 implementation.
• Provides funding for Medi-Cal administration and benefits, hospital financial-distress grants, health workforce programs, reproductive and gender-affirming care support, behavioral-health services, and public-health programs.
• Funds affordable housing, homelessness programs, multifamily and tribal housing, and local housing preservation and development projects.
• Invests in wildfire prevention and firefighting, water and flood infrastructure, drinking-water quality, habitat and coastal restoration, parks, climate resilience, clean energy, and zero-emission transportation.
• Supports election security and voter outreach, emergency services, crime and victim-support programs, small-business and technology development, and state financial and information-technology systems.

Who it affects ​

• Medi-Cal members, patients needing behavioral-health, reproductive-health, gender-affirming, dialysis, nursing, hearing-aid, and other health services.
• Renters, people experiencing homelessness, first-time homebuyers, farmworkers, tribal communities, and affordable-housing developers.
• Communities facing wildfire, flood, drought, unsafe drinking water, coastal erosion, and extreme heat risks.
• Courts, legal-aid providers, public defenders, hospitals, local governments, schools, transit providers, nonprofits, and state agencies.