Assembly budget leaders say the 2026 spending plan is drawing clear lines on child care and safety-net services as final budget negotiations continue.
At a June 15 Assembly Budget Committee hearing, lawmakers and staff said the compromise package rejects proposed child care cuts, adds nearly 23,000 child care slots and shifts some state preschool programs into Prop. 98. The same hearing summary said the plan would preserve dental and clinic funding, restore support for distressed hospitals and county indigent care, and delay premium decisions for adults with unsatisfactory immigration status until the next governor.
Committee leaders framed those choices as a response to federal pressure under HR1, saying the package is meant to soften cuts that could hit Medi-Cal, IHSS, CalFresh, immigration legal services and other safety-net programs. The summary also said the legislative plan includes higher school funding, a deposit into the Prop. 98 reserve and support for counties and public hospitals.
The budget hearing materials do not include the final line-by-line statutory language for every program, and the record does not make clear how much of the child care expansion is one-time versus ongoing. But based on the committee summary, the Assembly is signaling that child care, county health programs and other safety-net services are among the priorities it intends to preserve in the final deal.
