Gavin Newsom's Extravagant Spending On Employees

Governor Newsom’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes $45 billion of spending on salaries and benefits for 255,000 state employees, which translates into $177,000 per employee. Questions legislators should be asking include the following:

• Does the state need 255,000 employees, 20 percent more than when Newsom took office?

• Is $45 billion of spending on salaries and benefits appropriate? In comparison, Jerry Brown’s final budget six years ago spent $32 billion on salaries and benefits.

• What is the relationship, if any, between state spending on state employees and political support of Newsom by government unions representing the employees with whom he bargains?

The $45 billion Newsom proposes to spend on state employees in the next fiscal year is the third largest expenditure in the state budget. A detailed examination by the Legislature is required.