Senator Tony Strickland (R–Huntington Beach) voted today against the placeholder budget passed by Senate Democrats, arguing that it fails to address the affordability challenges facing California families and businesses.
He released the following statement:
“California doesn’t have a revenue problem; it has a wasteful spending problem.
“Senate Democrats will leave a structural deficit for the next governor because they have refused to make the tough decisions every California family must make: living within a budget.
“Affordability has been a talking point for Senate Democrats, yet this budget does nothing to help California families and businesses due to misplaced priorities.
“No gas tax suspension, no major repayment of the billions owed to the federal government in unemployment insurance debt, and no substantial new funding for Proposition 36.
“In fact, Senate Democrats have prioritized $190 million for dental coverage for undocumented immigrants, $42.4 million to support the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board, and nearly $2 million to expand the California Energy Commission, an agency run by unelected bureaucrats.
“Californians deserve real solutions, not political games. Senate Democrats have failed to tackle the affordability issue with any meaningful action.”
Senator Strickland outlined a list of Senate Democrats’ wasteful spending priorities:
Includes $225 million to help the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) achieve the goal of becoming the greenest fleet in the nation.
Includes $42.4 million to support the administration of the California High-Speed Rail Authority and management of properties owned by the CHSRA.
Includes a public contract code exemption for Newsom’s Diaper Access Initiative, for which the governor has allocated $20 million. It has been reported that the state is paying $0.50 per diaper when a box at Target works out to $0.16 each.
Includes an additional $10 million to existing funds from now through 2028-29 for a total of $81 million for the California Attorney General to sue the federal government.
Includes $5 million for the Voting Rights project at UCLA to sue states for voting laws.
Provides $1.9 million to expand 8 new positions in the California Energy Commission, a bureaucracy that exists for Democrats and the governor to appoint political appointees.