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Gov. Jerry Brown moved to bolster California’s “rainy day” fund Wednesday when he unveiled the final budget proposal of his administration in Sacramento, asking the Legislature not to take the state’s economic stability for granted, while also deflecting questions about his legacy.

His message centered on a warning: “What’s out there is darkness, uncertainty, decline and recession. So good luck, baby,” he said with a smile.

Flanked by blown-up cardboard graphs, he predicted that his successors would probably face an economic recession in the near future and said he was determined to minimize the damage. The $132 billion budget plan centered heavily on infusing the emergency fund with $5 billion in the coming fiscal year — bringing the total stash to $13.5 billion — in order to prevent layoffs and soften other painful budget cuts in a downturn.

He and his team said the progress California has made since 2011, when it was teetering on the edge of financial catastrophe, is more reason to double-down on the emergency fund. Today the state has a $6.1 billion surplus. “Yes, we have had some very good years and program spending has steadily increased,” reads his opening message in the budget. “Let’s not blow it now.”