California's state budget in January 2020 was $220 billion.
Posted by On with Kara Swisher, Checked
- Sources
- 2 contradict2 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
On with Kara SwisherAug 10, 2026
The January 2020 proposal's total budget across all funds was about $222 billion, so $220 billion is close on that measure. On the General Fund measure, the proposal was about $153 billion, so the $220 billion figure does not hold there.
Minor detail. The sources confirm the claim; only a minor detail differs, such as a name's spelling, a title's wording or a rounding.
We could not find who says this in the episode. Shown here; not scored.
What was said
… So I think we've just got to rein in the spending. What's really happened is the pandemic spending has got baked into the baseline. If you look at the budget this year that Newsom just signed off, it's about 350 billion. Dollars the budget that he proposed in January 2020, just before the pandemic, 220 billion. That's like a massive increase. That's my target. I would like to get the budget back to pre-pandemic levels, allowing for inflation. So that's when you take inflation into account, that's probably 100 billion reduction in spending. …
On with Kara Swisher · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. General Fund expenditures in the January 2020 proposal were about $153 billion, far below $220 billion, so the figure fails under the General Fund measure.[2][3]
Supports. The Governor's 2020-21 proposal showed total expenditures from all funds of $222.2 billion, which is close to the claimed $220 billion.[3][4]
Supports. Reuters reported Newsom's January proposal as a budget of $222 billion for the upcoming fiscal year.[1]
Context. The claim's figure matches the total all-funds measure but not the General Fund measure, so the verdict depends on which measure is meant.[2][3][4]
Sources
4 sources: 1 fact-checker, 3 primary
- 1California governor slashes budget in COVID-19 economic crisisreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2The 2020-21 Budget: Overview of the Governor's Budgetlao.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, context
- 3COMMITTEE ON BUDGET & FISCAL REVIEWsbud.senate.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, supports, context
- 4Governor's Budget Summary 2020-21 - Californiaebudget.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports, context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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