By Patricia Bates | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: January 21, 2021
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2021-22 budget proposal kicks off the annual process of setting California’s spending priorities. Given the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s budget process could be far different from prior years. …
Yet I was surprised that funding for vaccine distribution is not on the governor’s list for “early action” by the Legislature. …
Many parents will welcome the governor’s proposed funding for reopening our schools, … We must admit the obvious: distance learning can never replicate the benefits of in-person instruction. Unprecedented numbers of children are failing, and countless others are suffering from anxiety and isolation. We must reopen our schools in a safe manner.
… He must work with the Legislature to enact the bipartisan “Keep California Working Act” (Senate Bill 74) that I have co-authored, as well as provide protection for businesses, schools, and other entities against unjustified COVID-19 lawsuits.
Senate Bill 74 would invest $2.6 billion, or 10 percent of California’s projected budget surplus, in grants to help small businesses that have sustained financial losses during COVID-19. …
… We must help Californians in need and a top priority that the governor must immediately address is the Employment Development Department (EDD), … Unemployed Californians have had to go through hell to receive their benefits even as prisoners and con artists were able to obtain benefits they did not deserve. According to a study from the California Center for Jobs and the Economy, unemployment insurance fraud in the state could top a shocking $8 billion.
… With the governor’s political party controlling virtually everything in state government since 2011, there is no excuse to let the problems persist. … yet my legislative colleagues and I continue to hear from thousands of Californians who cannot get a timely response from the EDD. …
… we must recognize that the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has forecast billions in ongoing deficits that will hurt California in the future
Therefore, it is imperative that the final budget that the governor signs this year funds essential services without making massive new ongoing spending commitments we cannot keep. I am ready to get to work to help pass a fiscally responsible budget.
Click here to read Senator Bates’ op-Ed in the Orange County Register.