California’s new budget, which Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) just signed late Thursday night, expands health care coverage for illegal aliens in the Golden State.
The nearly $215 billion budget — Newsom’s first as governor since taking office in January — also includes a penalty for all those who do not purchase health insurance for themselves.
The provisions were among several measures in the operating budget that Newsom signed before the deadline at midnight on Thursday.
It is the largest in the state’s history, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Related: Newsom Goes After Trump, Vows to Fight the White House
“California lawmakers were at odds over how far to go providing government-funded health care to illegal immigrants,” Fox News noted in a piece about the developments.
“Newsom last month proposed providing $98 million a year to cover low-income illegal immigrants between the ages of 19 and 25. A more extreme state assembly’s bill proposed covering all illegal immigrants over the age of 19 living in California — a proposal that would cost an estimated $3.4 billion.”
“California has positioned itself as the center of the Trump resistance.”
“The budget also seeks to address the state’s crippling housing shortage and mounting homelessness. California’s governor and legislative leaders agreed on a plan to reward local governments [that] make it easier to build housing faster and punish those [that] don’t.”
Newsom is California’s 40th governor.
He took over the post after serving as lieutenant governor under former leader Jerry Brown.
Under Brown, California led the nation in the battle against the Trump administration’s policies — on everything from immigration to climate change.
Related: All 10 Dem Candidates in Thursday’s Debate Want Health Coverage for Illegals
“California has positioned itself as the center of the Trump resistance,” Jessica Levinson, a clinical law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, told Fox News earlier this year. “It’s bloody combat.”
The new governor during his campaign spoke out repeatedly on issues relating to housing, health care, and education that could raise state spending.
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