Transportation
$9.2 Billion - Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles
Maintains funds to transition to zero emission vehicles over 7 years, including funding for charging and hydrogen infrastructure and subsidies for school and transit buses, cars for lower income Californians, and heavy duty trucks.
$655 Million - Active Transportation
Supports Active Transportation projects including safe bike and pedestrian paths, including $5 million for the Santa Paula Branch Line.
$8.75 Billion - Public Transit Projects
Maintains funds to transition to zero emission vehicles over 7 years, including funding for charging and hydrogen infrastructure and subsidies for school and transit buses, cars for lower income Californians, and heavy duty trucks.
Wildfire Prevention
$20 Million - Prescribed Fire Liability Pilot Program
Continues a liability fund to support and expand private prescribed fires throughout the State.
$82 Million - Fire Prevention Grants
Funds for projects in and near fire threatened communities to improve public health and safety while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
$10 Million - Tribal Wildfire and Forest Resilience
Supports California Native American tribes in managing ancestral lands, implementing and promoting Traditional Environmental Knowledges in wildfire resilience, and establishing wildfire safety for tribal communities.
62-Hour Workweek for California Firefighters
Addresses firefighter mental health and welfare by approving CalFire's proposal to reduce the workweek from 72 hours to 66 hours.
Sustainable Agriculture
$17.9 Million - Underserved Small Producers Program
Facilitates support for small and medium scale California agricultural producers, or small and medium scale Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers through technical assistance with business planning, financial and marketing strategies.
$14.4 Million - Farm to Community Food Hubs
Pilots investments in food aggregation and distribution infrastructure needed to increase purchasing of local, sustainable, and equitably produced food by schools and other institutions to build a better food system economy.
$90 Million - Farm to School Program
Helps school districts procure fresh and delicious produce from local farms to transform school meals.
$33.2 Million - Nutrition Incentive Program
Provides monetary incentives for the purchase of California grown fruits and vegetables at Certified Farmers Markets and small businesses.
Wildlife Protections During Disasters
$2 Million - Rescuing & Rehabilitating Oiled Marine Mammals
Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute is one of twelve organizations that receive funding from this program. It is the only organization in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties authorized by NOAA to rescue and rehabilitate these mammals.
Water Recycling
$88.5 Million - Local Water Recycling Projects
Continues providing technical and financial assistance to local agencies and other stakeholders in support of water recycling projects and research.
Besides my major focus on Budget Sub 4 issues above, four of my bills made it to the Governor's desk:
AB 551 - Streamlining CA Public Utilities Commission procedures relating to transmission planning
As we work towards our renewable energy goals, we need to increase capacity of transmission (moving electrical energy from where it is generated to where it is used). CPUC's rules for transmission projects are outdated and cumbersome to update. Now they are empowered to make critical updates to their rules in an expeditious manner.
AB 3162 - Oppose Cruelty to Octopuses (OCTO) Act
The rising venture of farming octopuses for human consumption have raised concerns across the globe since a Spanish company announced plans to build a 567,000 sq. ft. farm. In light of recent scientific research observing intelligence, sentience, and other capabilities of the octopus, we are getting ahead of the curve by banning exploitation of these fascinating creatures.
The Governor vetoed two of our bills:
AB 1168 - City of Oxnard retaining the right to Emergency Medical Services contracting
We worked hard through the legislative process to ensure the bill's provisions provided the City of Oxnard the opportunity to address their concerns about emergency medical services (primarily ambulance service) while maintaining the integrity of our statewide EMS system. I am disappointed that concerns that other cities might attempt legislation in the future prevented this narrowly crafted bill from being signed. I will continue to work with the City of Oxnard, Firefighters, and the administration to attempt to find a meaningful solution for our district.
AB 2313 - Supporting Farmer Tool-Sharing Cooperatives across the State
We hoped to bring systemic relief to our small farmers who—in the face of rising costs—feed our communities, the country, and beyond. While our bill would have institutionalized farm tool sharing co-operatives, we strategically embedded support for this type of program in Proposition 4, also known as the climate bond. We look forward to working with small farmers in securing that funding for them since the voters passed that proposition.