SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a $222 billion state budget Friday that he said represents a snapshot of his priorities for California, including boosting funding for homelessness programs, paying for health care for undocumented-immigrant seniors and closing a state prison.

He repeatedly portrayed those plans as a rebuke of a federal government that he said is increasingly unwilling to help the state tackle its most pressing problems, as well as of “a California derangement syndrome going on in the popular media — that somehow our best days are behind us, that somehow California’s not hitting on many cylinders.”

“I’m very proud to be a Californian,” Newsom said during a news conference at the state Capitol. “I’m proud of this state, and I’m proud of the budget that we are presenting today, because I am not naive about the areas where we’re falling short.”

The governor’s proposed spending blueprint for fiscal 2020-21 is 2.3% larger than the current budget. It calls for a 3% hike in funding for K-12 schools and community colleges, an $80.5 million expansion of the Medi-Cal health program for poor people to cover about 27,000 undocumented-immigrant seniors, and a $1.5 billion boost in the state’s rainy day fund.

The budget estimates a $5.6 billion surplus, slightly less than the $7 billion predicted by the Legislative Analyst’s Office in December, because it does not count on the Trump administration renewing California’s expiring tax on health insurance plans. Most of that money will go toward one-time expenditures, projects that can be quickly completed and won’t be a long-term drain on the budget, Newsom said.

While the governor said the budget is balanced for this year and at least three years after that, he warned that the state’s growth isn’t guaranteed, “although some seem to think that it is” — a dig at legislators and interest groups calling for increased state spending on new and existing California programs.

Newsom did endorse one new tax: a vaping levy of $2 per 40 milligrams of nicotine, which would raise about $32 million that would be used for youth e-cigarette prevention and other health care programs.

The rise in youth vaping, he said, “scares the hell out of me as a parent.”

The governor pledged to close a state prison within five years, and end most of California’s private prison contracts this year, if the inmate population continues to decline at projected rates. In a change that he acknowledged would be controversial, Newsom also called for cutting the time that convicted felons remain on probation to two years, down from the current five years. That would reduce the prison population by keeping offenders from being locked up for what the governor suggested are low-level offenses committed during a longer probation term.

Newsom touched on countless minutiae during a presentation and news conference that lasted nearly three hours, but there were a few things he didn’t want to talk about in detail.

While he said that the budget provides $20 million to acquire land for the first major state park since the 1940s, Newsom refused to say where that park would be, arguing it would boost the price of the land.

And when asked what he planned to do about tax reform, the governor said the state desperately needs dramatic change, but declined to give specifics.

“I can be stubborn,” Newsom said. “I can be pragmatic. Here, I’m stubbornly pragmatic.”

The governor’s spending plan kicks off months of negotiations with the Legislature over the state budget. He will offer a revised proposal in May, and lawmakers must approve a budget by June 15.

Democratic leaders had plenty of good words for Newsom’s budget, but made it clear that it’s the beginning, not the end, of the process.

“The governor’s proposal provides a solid starting point,” said state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego. “My colleagues and I appreciate the governor giving us the opportunity to start that process with a budget plan that is already so in sync with California values.”

Newsom got most of what he sought in last year’s budget, spending billions to pay down debts and build up reserves while also taking initial steps toward a sweeping liberal policy agenda that is shared by much of the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

California reinstated the individual mandate to carry health insurance, which the federal government had eliminated; became the first state in the country to extend health benefits to undocumented young adults; added a second year of free community college; and expanded paid parental leave by two weeks.

Newsom previewed several major proposals in the days leading up to the announcement of his new budget plan, including a renewed push to move homeless people off the streets and into more stable living situations. He signed an executive order that directs state agencies to find vacant properties that could be used for emergency homeless shelters.

His budget would create a $750 million fund to pay rent and build affordable housing for homeless people, which Newsom would seek to augment with private contributions. He proposed a $1.4 billion annual expansion of Medi-Cal to cover preventive care and housing support services that could keep chronically homeless people out of the emergency room and other costly care.

That focus earned praise from Republican lawmakers, though Assemblyman Jay Obernolte, R-Big Bear Lake (San Bernardino County), said he would push to make sure the homeless problem in rural areas was not overlooked. Obernolte, vice chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, added that the state would not solve homelessness without a stronger dedication to bringing down the cost of housing.

“It’s more than just moving people into shelters,” he said.

On wildfire prevention, the budget provides “north of $1 billion for emergency preparedness,” Newsom said. That includes money for more full-time firefighters, additional fire engines and other equipment and $110 million to make structural improvements to buildings in fire zones to make them more resistant to wildfires.

Alexei Koseff and John Wildermuth are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com, jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff, @jfwildermuth