$75 Million for HIV Prevention; $15 Million for LBTQ Health in California State Budget
Contact: media@sfaf.org
SAN FRANCISCO, July 1, 2025–A number of priorities for HIV and LGBTQ+ communities were included in California’s FY 26 budget, signed today by Governor Gavin Newsom. End The Epidemics, a coalition of more than 120 organizations in California, extends thanks to the California Legislature and Governor Newsom for backfilling federal HIV prevention funding cuts, preventing harmful cuts to the California Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction Initiative, and continuing funding for the existing LBTQ Health Equity Initiative.
“We are deeply grateful to the California Legislature and Governor Newsom for making your commitments to HIV and LGBTQ+ communities clear in our state’s budget. These investments are essential as we make progress on ending the HIV, viral hepatitis, STI, and overdose syndemic, but we recognize that the road ahead remains uncertain. We must remain vigilant and proactive in the months and years ahead in order to sustain the programs and services our communities rely on,” said Tyler TerMeer, PhD, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
California’s budget allocates $75 million from the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Rebate Fund to cover looming cuts in federal HIV funding, continue the vital work of disease investigation specialists, and fund new hepatitis C testing equipment. The ADAP has generated more than $1 billion in drug rebates that California could use for this purpose, and use of rebate funds will not impact programming or care provided by ADAP.
The state budget also maintains funding for the Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction Initiative, which provides resources and supports overdose prevention programming across the state. It will continue funding for the LBTQ Health Equity Initiative from the unspent $15 million, originally authorized in the 2019 Budget Act, to expire, which supports programs linking lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer women and non-binary people to healthcare, expands care to low-income LBTQ people, and supports community education and outreach.
California’s budget this fiscal year is informed by an estimated $10 to $20 billion dollar deficit–and pervasive uncertainty caused by rash actions from the federal government. In recent months, the Trump administration has proposed nearly eliminating domestic HIV prevention funding–with implications for local and state health departments and community health organizations nationwide.
“We are extremely fortunate to be able to use ADAP rebate funds to help fill in the gaps left by waning federal support. Yet we recognize that this solution is temporary–and we will need our representatives to make contingency plans in order to continue this funding for HIV prevention in future years,” said Laura Thomas, senior director of HIV and harm reduction policy at SFAF.
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