Governor Gavin Newsom’s May budget revision leans on a voter-approved climate bond measure to make up for its deficit.
The $10 billion measure was approved by voters with the passage of Proposition 4 last year. It’s meant to fund projects like wildfire prevention and boosting access to clean drinking water.
Newsom’s proposal accounts for a $12 billion shortfall. As part of addressing it, he proposed pulling over $300 million from Prop 4 and using it to backfill the state’s general fund.
"That we see as problematic, right?" says Melissa Sparks-Kranz, the environmental quality legislative advocate with the nonprofit League of California Cities. "It's taking what was voter approved and intended to be additive and it's it's using it for for purposes that may or may not align with the intended use."
She says funding climate projects that prepare communities for wildfires and other extreme weather can cut recovery costs after these events in the future.