SACRAMENTO — Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach), Chair of the Accountability & Administrative Review Committee, released the following statement in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s May revision proposal for the 2018-19 state budget:
“I commend Governor Newsom’s focus on ensuring California’s economic resilience – with record investment in the state’s reserves and billions in fiscal pay downs of pension debt. I look forward to working with the Governor, my colleagues and constituents to support a fiscally responsible, balanced budget that makes smart investments in order to ensure California’s continued growth and prosperity.
“Governor Newsom ended his press conference with a call for input and feedback. ‘If you’ve got better ideas,’ he said, ‘I’m all ears.’ I appreciate that. The truth is that California is grappling with some very tough challenges and no one has all the answers. We need everyone at the table to solve these problems.
“In his proposal, the Governor announced a $1billion investment to address California’s homelessness crisis. As part of this, the May Revision proposes a future project location at the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa.
“From working with city and county leaders, community groups and the organizations who are on the ground every day working with homeless individuals, I know that we need real, short-term solutions – not a plan that may or may not come to fruition in 2-3 years.
“We have a list of projects that need funding now, will start to get people off the streets now and will save lives now.
“The quickest and most effective way for us to build capacity is to invest in existing local programs that are working. As state officials, we have a tremendous opportunity to amplify the work of these groups and to multiply the number of lives they can save.
“As we continue to work through the budget cycle, I am excited to work with the Governor, my colleagues and with local leaders to solve chronic homelessness in Orange County.
“While the scale of this crisis is staggering, there are so many individuals and groups that are doing tremendous work: United Way, The Illumination Foundation, Mercy House, Jamboree Housing, Related Housing, Colette’s Children’s Home, WISEPlace – to name just a few.
“Across party lines and across regional boundaries, we are united in our conviction that this issue must be addressed.
“There is will.
There is commitment.
There are good ideas and the money to execute them.
“Let’s act now to save lives and to heal our communities.”
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The full summary of the Governor’s budget proposal can be found at http://www.ebudget.ca.gov. The California Constitution requires the Budget Act be approved by June 15, 2019.