The march toward a state budget deal for the coming fiscal year took a significant step forward Friday as Gov. Jerry Brown and leaders of the California Assembly and Senate agreed Friday on a proposed spending package that funds the governor’s marquee higher education plans to create a new online college and dramatically overhaul how community colleges are funded by the state.
The agreement, reached among Brown, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins, represents a compromise between Brown’s budget proposals and those emanating from the Legislature.