DRAFT BUDGET INCLUDES PROJECTS FOR S.D.

State proposal has funds for medical center, public safety

The California legislature’s new $264 billion “placeholder” budget sets out funds for such San Diego projects as the UC San Diego Hillcrest medical center, as well as local libraries, parks and public safety, local assembly members said.

The bill would provide $30 million for construction of a new hospital for the medical center, which must be replaced because of seismic safety issues. It also would add $2.4 million to improve the Logan Heights Library and $3.6 million for upkeep at Old Town State Historic Park.

Funding directed at San Diego includes $1 million for the San Diego City Attorney’s gun violence restraining order trainings statewide. San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott has led efforts to enable law enforcement — or a family member — to petition courts for a restraining order when they believe a person poses a risk of using firearms for violence. The grant would help the office share that expertise with other agencies in California.

The draft budget also sets aside $650,000 for the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office, which is launching a resentencing pilot program to review and potentially modify excessive criminal sentences.

Another $2.5 million is slated for UC San Diego to support cliff erosion research. Earlier this year Assemblywoman Tasha Boerner Horvath, D-Encinitas,

passed a bill to fund research that could establish an early warning system for California’s coastal bluff collapses. The bluff failures occur several times a year, and in 2019 a collapse killed three women at Grandview Beach in Encinitas.

The state legislature passed the budget bill Monday to meet state deadlines. The legislative plan is referred to as a placeholder budget because it allows legislators to continue to be paid while they negotiate with Gov. Gavin Newsom over the differences between their draft and his spending plan.

“It’s important to note that what we passed is not a complete budget; it is a legislative budget,” Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, said.

“Even things we passed could fall out of the budget. Likewise, there are things that may be put in the budget, some very local things we’re working on. We have fingers crossed for an item we’re trying to get into the budget for Chicano Park, for mural restoration and a museum in the park.”

The state must pass the final budget before the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.

Assemblymember Chris Ward, D-San Diego, added that lawmakers based their plan on the governor’s May budget revision, so he doesn’t expect major changes.

After a lean year spent coping with pandemic expenses, California is flush with an estimated $75 billion surplus. Lawmakers are looking at adding $25 billion to its reserves and investing in programs that had received little new funding in recent years.

“We’re providing for direct relief for families and small businesses,” Ward said, “and making investments in areas