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Darshana Patel hails California’s 2025-26 budget
Patel backed funding boosts for crime prevention, victim services, and education, while warning federal policies threaten California’s economy and safety nets.
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Pranavi Sharma - Mon, 16, Jun 2025
- 02:54 EDT
- 28
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Assemblymember Dr. Darshana Patel. / Facebook
Assemblymember Dr. Darshana Patel (D-San Diego County) said she secured key wins for her district in California’s 2025-26 state budget, including investments in public safety, education, health care, and economic mobility. Patel voted in favor of the budget bill passed last week by the Legislature after months of hearings and negotiations.
“This budget reflects the needs of District 76—safe communities, strong public schools, access to health care, and responsible stewardship of our finances,” Patel said in a statement. “We had to make many difficult decisions this year, but I’m encouraged that our community’s priorities to protect core services and lay the foundation for future opportunity have been incorporated in the Legislature’s budget bill.”
The budget preserves $13 billion in the state’s Rainy Day Fund while responding to pressures from federal policy shifts, including tariffs and proposed cuts to education and safety net programs. Patel said these federal actions “jeopardize the lives of our community members” and add to the uncertainty already facing California’s economy.
Patel supported a $100 million allocation to implement Proposition 36, which addresses crime prevention through behavioral health support and legal system resources. She also backed $110 million for the state’s Victims of Crime Act program, which offers shelter, counseling, and legal aid for survivors of violence and abuse.
In education, Patel led efforts to reduce cuts to California’s public universities and secured increased K–12 funding. Per-pupil Proposition 98 funding will now exceed $25,000, with a 2.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment for public schools.
To assist families facing hardship, Patel championed budget funding for food banks, affordable housing, and the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program. She also helped preserve child care access for working families.
Patel worked with the California Women’s Legislative Caucus to prevent proposed cuts to Planned Parenthood and community health clinics. She also safeguarded funding for In-Home Supportive Services and dental care for low-income residents.
She is a joint author of AB 53, which offers tax relief to veterans and family members of deceased service members. That measure has now been included in the state budget.
“Budgets are statements of priorities, and this year’s budget puts Californians first while being deliberately fiscally responsible,” Patel said in her statement. “By protecting services and investing in what matters, we’re helping Californians not just survive, but succeed.”
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