L.A Now Live: Discuss Gov. Brown’s hard line in budget proposal

Gov. Jerry Brown took a hard line Tuesday as he unveiled his latest budget plan, seeking to tighten general fund spending and hold firm on his push to redistribute money for schools.

He proposed general fund expenditures of $96.4 billion for the budget year that begins in July — $1.3 billion less than he outlined in his initial plan in January.

Join us as we discuss the governor’s budget proposal Wednesday with Times reporter Chris Megerian.

In announcing the revised blueprint, the governor focused on school funding, a central part of his plan. He wants to send more money to districts that serve large numbers of poor students and non-native English speakers than to wealthier areas, while giving all of them more flexibility in how they spend state dollars.

Brown’s new proposal also includes a $48-million increase to help poor Californians find jobs. And there’s an additional $72 million for probation departments to help handle the shift of responsibility for low-level offenders to the counties.

But the governor flatly said there was very little money available to significantly restore cuts made in social services in recent years to balance the budget.

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