Brown, Democratic lawmakers still $2 billion apart

Sticking points include cuts to welfare-to-work, Cal Grants, In-Home Supportive Services, and child care for low-income families, the Sacramento Bee reports. The legislature faces a June 15 deadline to come up with a budget for the upcoming fiscal year and then send it to Gov. Brown.

Democrats are privately suggesting alternatives to the cuts to buy down as many of them as possible. In the past, [Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg] has suggested reducing Brown's $1 billion reserve. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office said last month that lawmakers could find $1.9 billion by interpreting the state's school funding requirement differently than Brown did. That would bridge nearly the entire $2 billion gap dividing Brown and lawmakers.

From the LAT:

Hammering out a state budget has become increasingly difficult this year because of the rising deficit. Brown pegged the budget gap at $9.2 billion in January, but said last month that it had grown to $15.7 billion. The Legislative Analyst's Office, which provides nonpartisan budget advice to lawmakers, said the deficit could actually be even higher because of miscalculations about redevelopment money and tax revenue.