DAVID TANGIPA

CA STATE ASSEMBLYMEMBER | 8TH DISTRICT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Austin Gilbert Phone: (559) 708-0396 Email: [email protected]

ASSEMBLYMEMBER TANGIPA CALLS OUT GOVERNOR NEWSOM FOR $2 BILLION BUDGET CONCEALMENT AND LACK OF TRANSPARENCY

Governor’s administration hid $2 billion budget error for months while legislature and public debated painful cuts to critical services

Clovis, CA – Assemblymember Tangipa today called on Governor Gavin Newsom to answer for a deeply troubling pattern of budget mismanagement and deliberate lack of transparency – most recently highlighted by the administration’s failure to disclose a $2 billion discrepancy in the state budget.

The Department of Finance performs these budget calculations annually, making this error impossible to dismiss as a minor oversight. The $2 billion shortfall – which the Governor’s office has reportedly been aware of for months – was never proactively disclosed to the public. Instead, lawmakers and Californians were forced to engage in a painful, uninformed debate over budget cuts that would cause significant harm to the state’s most vulnerable residents.

The timing raises serious questions. Governor Newsom has directed millions in state funds toward an ad campaign widely seen as a vehicle for his presidential ambitions. The question may be asked whether the concealment of this budget gap was an attempt to obscure the true fiscal picture and justify the continued spending of critical public dollars on political projects.

The conclusion is stark: Governor Newsom is either complicit in misleading the public, or he is dangerously incompetent in overseeing the state’s finances. Neither is acceptable.

“This administration continues its track record of lacking transparency, preferring to keep the legislature and the public in the dark to avoid having to justify cuts while spending millions on their pet projects.” — Assemblymember Tangipa

From nondisclosure agreements to missing billions, this administration has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to prioritize political optics over honest governance. Assemblymember Tangipa is demanding full and immediate transparency from the Governor’s office, including a clear accounting of when the administration became aware of the budget discrepancy and why the public was not immediately informed.