State budget must focus on addressing critical priorities
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2021-22 budget proposal kicks off the annual process of setting California’s spending priorities. Given the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s budget process could be far different from prior years.
A document as complex as the budget usually has something for everyone to like and dislike. There are some positive aspects to the budget. For example, the governor’s efforts to strengthen public health and speed up COVID-19 vaccine distribution are a good start.
Yet I was surprised that funding for vaccine distribution is not on the governor’s list for “early action” by the Legislature. He must heed the call of communities who want the vaccine sooner rather than later.
Many parents will welcome the governor’s proposed funding for reopening our schools, which cannot come soon enough for millions of kids who are falling further behind in their educational and social development. We must admit the obvious: distance learning can never replicate the benefits of in-person instruction. Unprecedented numbers of children are failing, and countless others are suffering from anxiety and isolation. We must reopen our schools in a safe manner.
Making small businesses and their workers a priority after the governor forced many of them to shut down is another positive in the budget. He must work with the Legislature to enact the bipartisan “Keep California Working Act” (Senate Bill 74) that I have co-authored, as well as provide protection for businesses, schools, and other entities against unjustified COVID-19 lawsuits.
Senate Bill 74 would invest $2.6 billion, or 10 percent of California’s projected budget surplus, in grants to help small businesses that have sustained financial losses during COVID-19. The governor’s proposals are different, but it is important that he help pass SB74 as there is common ground in helping the economy.
The pandemic has caused other crises that require a response from state government. We must help Californians in need and a top priority that the governor must immediately address is the Employment Development Department (EDD), whose failures are well known. Unemployed Californians have had to go through hell to receive their benefits even as prisoners and con artists were able to obtain benefits they did not deserve. According to a study from the California Center for Jobs and the Economy, unemployment insurance fraud in the state could top a shocking $8 billion.
The governor and his administration must urgently engage at an even higher level to solve the problems at the EDD. With the governor’s political party controlling virtually everything in state government since 2011, there is no excuse to let the problems persist. Last year’s budget included $126.3 million and 777 positions to reflect additional federal funding and the projected workload increase to process unemployment benefit claims, yet my legislative colleagues and I continue to hear from thousands of Californians who cannot get a timely response from the EDD.
The governor must also reconsider spending money on things that are not critical right now.
For example, he wants to spend $1.5 billion on increasing zeroemission vehicles and related infrastructure. Are subsidies for zero-emission vehicles a priority when so many Californians do not have jobs to drive to? Preventing wildfires will do much more to keep our air clean than subsidizing expensive cars for a few fortunate Californians.
While we must focus on stopping and recovering from the pandemic, we must recognize that the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has forecast billions in ongoing deficits that will hurt California in the future.
Therefore, it is imperative that the final budget that the governor signs this year funds essential services without making massive new ongoing spending commitments we cannot keep. I am ready to get to work to help pass a fiscally responsible budget.
tenate Bill 74 would invest $2.6 billion, or 10 percent of California’s projected budget surplus, in grants to help small businesses that have sustained financial losses during COVID-19.