Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) this week issued the following statement on the 2020-2021 state budget:

“We entered this process with Legislative budget priorities that are faithful to the pragmatic fiscal structure put forth by Governor Newsom in his May Revision. We shared the goal of closing the $54 billion budget gap and providing strong footing as California enters challenging economic times.

“In order to meet the Constitutional deadline for passing the budget by June 15 and to comply with the 72-hour in-print rule, we must pass the updated Legislative version of the budget while our productive negotiations continue with the Governor. We will approve any amendments to the Legislature’s version of the budget as soon as they are eligible for floor action.

“A key update to the Legislature’s version is that we now explicitly anticipate budget savings achieved through the collective bargaining process in the event anticipated federal funds do not materialize. We encourage labor unions to engage and finalize agreements with the Administration prior to July 1. Savings through the collective bargaining process are critical to maintaining the state’s fiscal health, in the event additional federal support does not materialize.”