Newsom's College Savings Account Proposal — Redundant, Or Not Enough? Patch 2 hrs ago In summary Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to spend $2 billion creating a program to give 3.8 million low-income students at least $500 as college savings. Some critics call it redundant. Others say start it at birth. This time last year, California was in Chicken Little mode, warning that the fiscal sky was falling. Today, the state’s so flush that Gov. Gavin Newsom proposes to spend big on college savings accounts for children. But it’s not clear that his plan is the best way to do that, or if it even needs to exist, since it duplicates programs already there.