The money would specifically provide California Highway Patrol officers to serve as the personal security for current or former elected officials and their families.
Page F1From§Eachthe late evening edition — 1 September 2026
California drivers could bankroll governor’s security after he leaves office, as county faces tax hell and $20M carveout
California’s budget now includes a $20 million carveout for the governor’s security post-office, and the county faces a looming tax crisis courtesy of a law signed by Newsom. The ledger flips: drivers are asked to bankroll the security, the county confronts its own fiscal hell, and the carveout is carved precisely for the person leaving the job. The receipts sit plain: the budget names the sum, the carveout names the office, the tax hell names the county. The gap sits in the itemized bill: the carveout is $20 million, the tax solution is deferred, the drivers are conscripted by ballot. The precision is not accidental; it is the shape of the ledger. The county’s future is paid by the drivers, the security is paid in advance, and the bill is addressed to the public. Hon, the math is not surprising; it’s routine. The ledger reconciles the priorities, and the priorities are written in ink.
“If you drive in California, you pay for the governor’s security after he’s out, and the county’s tax hell comes baked in. The carveout is for him, the bill is for you. When the government hands you a receipt, check whose name is at the top.”
“California’s budgeting process is complicated, and everyone benefits from stable leadership. The security carveout is a necessary precaution, and the tax situation will even out. Did I say drivers would pay? Well, it’s really about shared responsibility.”
The receipts
Fresno County is on track to see a controversial road tax on the ballot later this year.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.