Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2025-26 California budget proposal, unveiled amid a $12 billion deficit, prioritizes political allies and special interests over the state’s most vulnerable, particularly people with disabilities. While Regional Centers and advocacy groups fixate on federal policies, the real threat to disabled Californians lies in Newsom’s cuts and the Democratic Party’s long history of slashing disability services to fund pet projects, public employee unions, and illegal immigration programs.

Disability Spending Cuts: A Direct Hit

Newsom’s budget targets critical disability services, undermining the Lanterman Act’s promise of support for individuals with developmental disabilities. Key cuts include:

– In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS): The proposal caps provider overtime and travel hours at 50 hours per week, reducing General Fund spending by $707.5 million annually. This limits care for low-income seniors and disabled individuals, pushing some toward costly nursing homes.

– Medi-Cal Restrictions: Newsom plans to reinstate asset tests for Medi-Cal, potentially cutting 112,000 seniors and disabled adults from coverage by 2027. Additional cuts eliminate acupuncture benefits, vital for chronic pain management, saving $158.8 million.

– Regional Center Services at Risk: While not explicitly cut in the budget, Regional Centers face indirect threats from proposed federal Medicaid cuts, which provide over a third of their funding. Newsom’s failure to bolster state funding leaves these services vulnerable.

These reductions echo past Democratic budgets. Since the 2008 recession, California Democrats have repeatedly targeted the Lanterman Act, reducing Regional Center funding, tightening eligibility, and limiting services. In 2011, the state cut $1 billion from developmental disability programs, forcing families to ration care.

Pandering to Special Interests and Donors

While disability services face the axe, Newsom’s budget protects Democratic priorities:

– Illegal Immigration Programs: Despite the deficit, Newsom maintains $11.4 billion for Medi-Cal expansion to illegal immigrants, though he proposes freezing new enrollments and adding $100 monthly premiums. This follows a $2.7 billion cost overrun in 2024, diverting funds from disability services.

– Public Employee Unions: Newsom’s budget avoids deep cuts to state worker salaries, despite criticism from unions over modest raises. The California Teachers Association and SEIU California, key Democratic donors, continue to wield influence, with SEIU alone spending millions on Democratic campaigns.

– Failed Projects: The budget preserves funding for the high-speed rail, a $100 billion project plagued by delays and cost overruns, siphoning $1.5 billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund meant for climate initiatives.

Democratic Party’s Track Record

The California Democratic Party’s history of prioritizing special interests over the disabled is stark. During Governor Jerry Brown’s tenure, Lanterman Act services were slashed repeatedly, with 2012 cuts reducing provider rates by 4.25%. These cuts lingered for years, starving Regional Centers of resources. Meanwhile, Democrats expanded social programs like CalFresh for undocumented immigrants and poured billions into climate initiatives with questionable outcomes.

Advocates like Disability Rights California have noted the state’s pattern of balancing budgets on the backs of the disabled. In 2024, Newsom’s $37.9 billion deficit proposal avoided major disability cuts but delayed reforms like Medi-Cal share-of-cost changes, leaving vulnerable Californians in limbo.

Regional Centers’ Misplaced Focus

Regional Centers and advocacy groups have been vocal about federal threats, particularly Trump’s proposed Medicaid cuts, but silent on Newsom’s role. At budget hearings, some chanted about Trump while ignoring Newsom’s $5 billion in health care cuts, including IHSS and Medi-Cal reductions that directly harm their clients. This distraction shields the real culprit: Newsom and the Democratic establishment, who wield direct control over state funding.

Conclusion – You have been duped into protesting and chanting the wrong narrative. You took your eyes off the ball.

Newsom’s 2025-26 budget betrays California’s disabled community, slashing IHSS, Medi-Cal, and potentially Regional Center services while funneling billions to undocumented immigrants, public employee unions, and failing projects like high-speed rail. The Democratic Party’s decades-long pattern of Lanterman Act cuts reveals a clear priority: political donors and special interests over the vulnerable. Regional Centers must refocus their advocacy on Sacramento, not Washington, to hold Newsom accountable for abandoning those who need support most.

Sources: CalMatters, Disability Rights California, Sacramento Bee, California Immigrant Policy Center, AP News, Senator Brian Jones