“The sole reason for the reduction is more limited/fewer resources than projected in the January budget,” Division of Finance spokesperson H.D. Palmer stated.
The second initiative was a $68-million pledge for Google to fund synthetic intelligence within the type of a Nationwide AI Accelerator. The AI funding ingredient of the deal drew sharp rebukes from Democratic lawmakers and journalists.
California had pledged $30 million in 2025 and $10 million for every of the following 4 years. Google agreed to an preliminary cost of $15 million in 2025 and $55 million in complete into the journalism fund. Google additionally agreed to spice up its personal journalism applications with a separate $50-million grant.
“Cutting it by two-thirds moves California in the wrong direction at a time when local journalism is collapsing across the state,” Waldman stated. “We urge the Legislature to hold an open, transparent hearing to assess the impact of this shortfall and explore ways to ensure funding matches the scale of the crisis.”
