To Republicans, who account for less than a quarter of registered voters and a minority in the statehouse, Newsom’s new budget emphasizes many of the same failed policies. State Senator Jim Nielsen, a Republican from rural Red Bluff, said that’s evident in the governor’s proposals for drought mitigation.
The state passed a $7.5 billion bond proposition in 2014 to address the water crisis and yet no storage projects have begun, Nielsen said. Newsom earmarked an additional $750 million in spending on drought mitigation efforts in the new budget, including passageways for fish and technology to reduce farmers’ irrigation needs.
Nielsen’s skeptical too of the governor’s proposed homeless initiatives, which include construction of tiny houses.
“I’m not very confident,” said Nielsen, the vice chair of the Senate’s budget committee. “Most of what we’re doing is just throwing dollars out there and not really accounting for how it’s used.”
At a press conference Monday, Newsom touted success he’s had finding homes for 58,000 people, with the government leasing or buying old motels to use as shelters, and said cities will have accountability for their efforts to address homelessness. His new budget proposes $2 billion in additional spending to address the issue, even as areas such as San Francisco and Los Angeles face uphill battles trying to find places to build temporary housing.
“I hope people see a real road map here and a strategy and to the extent people have better ideas, boy, we look forward every day to hear those,” he said.
Newsom, who handily beat back a recall effort last year, has also vowed progressive policy proposals such as expanding abortion access. A group of more than 40 abortion providers and advocacy organizations have recommended the state expand its ability to provide services to out-of-state residents if the landmark Roe v. Wade law is overturned.
While there wasn’t a “mass expansion specifically” regarding abortion in the budget, Newsom said Monday he would be working on policy proposals with legislators in the coming weeks.
The governor’s plan includes $255 million in grants to local law enforcement and a new “Smash and Grab Enforcement Unit” designed to address the rash of shoplifting gangs swarming stores.
The proposal illustrates the tough position Democrats find themselves in this mid-term election year with the more liberal wing of their party pushing for police and criminal justice reforms, while many voters are worried about crime rates.
“The smash and grab unit is the all-sizzle approach,” said Sonoma State’s McCuan, “as opposed to actually doing things that can change the dynamic.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.