Jerry Brown set to propose new state budget

Gov. Jerry Brown will unveil his latest budget proposal this morning at the Capitol, kicking off an annual give-and-take with lawmakers that will last for the next several weeks.

Brown is expected to lay out a plan for tackling the $73.7-billion shortfall in the teacher pension fund, widely considered one of the most vexing financial problems in the state, according to officials with knowledge of his proposal who were not authorized to speak publicly.

Top Democrats in the Legislature have also sought to focus attention on the issue, and proposals for bolstering the fund generally involve phasing in higher contributions from the state, schools and employees.

The teacher pension shortfall is one of the financial problems that has persisted even though annual deficits have faded. In total, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office said the state’s leaders have left unaddressed roughly $200 billion in long-term costs, mostly retirement benefits for public employees.

In addition to negotiating a plan on teacher pensions, the governor will be facing several other challenges.

Brown has proposed tapping fees on pollutors to help fund the $68-billion bullet train project, and some Democrats have questioned whether that’s the best use of the money.

He’s also facing rising healthcare costs as more Californians than expected sign up for the state’s healthcare program for the poor, Medi-Cal.

Anthony Cava, spokesman for the California Department of Health Care Services, said officials originally estimated 1 million to 2 million people would join Medi-Cal by the end of 2014. But by the end of March, the state already had registered 1.9 million new enrollees, and there’s an additional backlog of 900,000 applicants.

The state will have to cover half the cost of anyone who was eligible for Medi-Cal before President Obama’s federal overhaul took effect.