3 million in ongoing funding (GGRF) for the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and California Coastal Commission to assist local governments in their sea‑level rise adaptation efforts. We also recommend the Legislature conduct ongoing oversight to ensure effective implementation of the legislative package and offer specific questions to aid in those oversight activities.Ĭoastal Adaptation. Because we find that the proposals are consistent with the legislation, we recommend the Legislature approve them. The Governor’s budget includes $ 235 m illion-mostly GGRF-for proposals in several departments to implement the 2018 legislative package to increase wildfire prevention and forest health activities. Implementation of 2018 Wildfire Legislation. Certain Proposals Highlight Need for Additional Legislative Oversight We further recommend reporting requirements to enable oversight of ( 1) how departments maintain their facilities on an ongoing basis and ( 2) what projects are actually implemented with the funding. While we find that additional investments in maintaining state assets is an important budget priority, we recommend that the Legislature require departments to report on what projects they intend to implement to ensure that they will focus on high‑priority activities. The administration proposes $ 67 m illion-mostly General Fund-to implement deferred maintenance projects at six natural resources departments. We also identify other issues for legislative consideration, including uncertainty about revenue and cost estimates and trade‑offs with the proposed provisions to limit the state’s authority to take certain enforcement actions against polluters.ĭeferred Maintenance. We find that the proposal is consistent with the state’s human right to water policy. The administration proposes to create a new program that would ( 1) impose charges on water customers and certain agricultural entities-with estimated annual revenues of at least $ 110 million when fully implemented-and ( 2) provide funding to address unsafe drinking water throughout the state. Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Program. Based on these questions, we recommend that the administration provide additional information at budget hearings to inform budget decisions. Regarding proposed expenditures, we find that there is limited information provided by the administration on ( 1) expected programmatic outcomes, ( 2) necessary adjustments for certain programs to stay within proposed allocations, and ( 3) key details for the workforce development programs proposed. While there is uncertainty about future revenue, we find that the Legislature likely could spend a somewhat higher amount in the budget year and still maintain a healthy fund balance. We estimate revenue will be roughly $ 800 million higher over the two‑year period.
7 billion in the current and budget year and ( 2) proposes to spend a total of $2. The Governor’s budget includes a cap‑and‑trade expenditure plan that ( 1) assumes total Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) revenue of $4. We also recommend an assessment of existing state and local fire response capacity in order to better inform where additional resources could best be targeted in future years.Ĭap‑and‑Trade Expenditure Plan.
We generally find these proposal to be reasonable given the increasingly severe wildfire seasons and, therefore, recommend the Legislature approve most of the Governor’s proposals. The Governor’s budget includes $ 97 m illion-mostly from the General Fund-for several proposals to enhance CalFire’s wildfire response capacity.
Budget Includes Significant New Fiscal and Policy ProposalsĮxpansion of Wildfire Response Capacity. The budget plan for these programs is mostly similar to what was approved in 2018‑19 with only a few major changes proposed. 7 billion) and Environmental Protection ($4. 3 billion in expenditures from various fund sources for programs administered by the Natural Resources ($6. The Governor’s budget for 2019‑ 20 proposes a total of $11. We provide a complete listing of our recommendations at the end of this report. Below, we summarize our major findings and recommendations. Based on our review, we recommend various changes, as well as additional legislative oversight. In this report, we assess several of the Governor’s budget proposals in the natural resources and environmental protection areas.
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