SACRAMENTO — In his final State of the State address, Gov. Gavin Newsom will look to define his legacy by touting California’s economic and policy achievements while casting the state as a counterweight to dysfunction in Washington.
The speech, which he will deliver Thursday morning to lawmakers in the Capitol, highlights economic strength, falling homelessness and expanded education funding, while also offering a glimpse of how Newsom is positioning himself beyond his final year in office.
In excerpts of the speech provided Thursday morning, Newsom portrayed California as a financial powerhouse that strives to help those in need and works diligently to address its own shortcomings, including high housing costs, unlike the chaotic Trump administration. Newsom, who has acknowleged that he is considering a 2028 bid for president, argues that the state is positioned not just to endure the moment but to help shape what comes next nationally.
“In California, we are not silent,” Newsom said in the prepared text of his speech. “We are not hunkering down. We are not retreating.We are a beacon. This state is providing a different narrative. An operational model, a policy blueprint for others to follow.”
Newsom is expected to announce an estimated 9% drop statewide in unsheltered homelessness last year, addressing a topic that has been a persistent political vulnerability for the two-term governor and former San Francisco mayor. Despite some improvements, California has been home to nearly a quarter of the nation’s homeless population, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
Newsom also said two of his top priorities — the mental health program known as CARE Court and Proposition 1, the statewide bond measure he championed to provide funding for mental health and homelessness — are achieving results ahead of schedule, with counties now equipped with funding, authority and tools to combat the crisis.
“No more excuses — it’s time to bring people off the streets, out of encampments,” Newsom’s speech says. “Into housing, into treatment. Counties need to do their job! That doesn’t mean our hands are clean. And that’s why, since 2021, the State has removed more than19,000 encampments and worked with providers to help more than 61,000 people get services.”
Calling affordability a multi-layered crisis, Newsom is expected to signal a tougher stance toward the buying spree of homes by private equity and institutional investors in California. That message is a rare point of rhetorical overlap with Trump, who has said the United States should bar such practices because they push prices beyond the reach of many Americans.
“This year, I look forward to working with all of you to combat this monopolistic behavior, strengthen accountability, and level the playing field for working families,” Newsom is expected to tell lawmakers.
Newsom offered a few previews of select budget priorities, with his office set to unveil the full proposed budget on Friday. The governor will announce that the state would set a record on per-student funding in public schools and fully fund universal transitional kindergarten under his budget proposal. He is also expected to announce a major shift in how the state oversees education, unifying the policymaking State Board of Education with the California Department of Education, which is responsible for carrying out those policies.
“I’m proud to submit a budget with the most significant investments in public education in California’s history … That’s why this next budget includes a record-breaking $27,418 per student,” Newsom says.
The address will mark the first time in five years that Newsom delivers a State of the State from the Assembly rostrum. His last in-person address came shortly before COVID-19 shut down the Capitol in early 2020.
Last year, he delivered his written remarks unusually late, in September, during which he said the state was under siege by the Trump administration — which he accused of dismantling public services, flouting the rule of law and using extortion to bully businesses and universities — all while California grappled with the aftermath of the devastating Los Angeles County fires, spiraling housing costs and an uneven economic recovery.
Like past speeches, Newsom will tout the successes of California, now the world’s fourth-largest economy.
“Every year, the declinists, the pundits and critics suffering from California Derangement Syndrome look at this state and try to tear down our progress,” Newsom’s prepared remarks read. “But we know the truth. California’s success is not by chance — it’s by design.”
