California Blueprint Takes on the State’s Greatest Existential Threats, Builds on Historic Progress

SACRAMENTO — Gov.  Gavin Newsom Jan. 10, unveiled his 2022-23 state budget proposal – the California Blueprint, a plan building on the state’s ongoing work to confront California’s greatest existential threats, bolster strong economic growth and make historic investments in California’s future. The Blueprint proposes billions more to support the state’s robust response to COVID-19 and nation-leading efforts to fight climate change – including worsening wildfires and drought, tackle persistent inequality and homelessness and keep California’s streets safe.

The California Blueprint provides a model for the entire country of how the US can continue providing short-term relief while investing in longer-term solutions that will benefit workers, businesses and families for years to come. The Governor’s plan builds on last year’s California Comeback Plan – the largest recovery package in the nation.

With a $45.7 billion surplus, the California Blueprint is built on a strong fiscal foundation that includes $34.6 billion in reserves and continues to pay down long-term retirement debts. It also appropriately prioritizes one-time spending over ongoing, allocating 86% of discretionary general funds to one-time spending. 

California Blueprint outlines major investments in the following five areas of focus:

Fighting Covid-19 with Science

Gov. Newsom’s plan will focus on keeping schools open and the economy moving, protect frontline workers, battle misinformation, and ensure the healthcare system is prepared to handle whatever curves COVID-19 may throw in 2022. The Blueprint includes an additional $2.7 billion to ramp up vaccines, boosters, statewide testing, and increase medical personnel to meet potential surges. 

Combating the Climate Crisis 

California continues to face extreme weather conditions amid a changing climate. Gov. Newsom’s plan tackles the increasing threat of climate change including by:

• Fighting Wildfires: The Blueprint provides $648 million to support firefighters, and more helicopters and dozers, along with an additional $1.2 billion – building on last year’s $1.5 billion investment – to step-up forest management and other practices that save lives.
• Tackling the Drought: On top of last year’s $5.2 billion water package, the Blueprint makes an additional $750 million investment for immediate drought response to aid residents, farmers, and wildlife as California continues to grapple with a historic drought.
• Forging an Oil-Free Future: The plan will decrease California’s reliance on fossil fuels while preparing our economy and workforce for a clean energy future. California will write the playbook for how America confronts the impacts of climate change – investing billions in climate tech research & development, clean cars, preparing Californians for career opportunities, and further readying our infrastructure to withstand extreme weather.

Confronting Homelessness

The Governor’s Blueprint ensures vulnerable people have the necessary help to get off our streets and get the mental health treatment they need. The plan adds $2 billion for mental health housing and services and clearing encampments. These new investments expand on last year’s $12 billion package – all told, creating 55,000 new housing units and treatment slots for people exiting homelessness. 

Tackling the Cost of Living

Too many Californians find themselves crushed by the rising costs of the most basic expenses like healthcare, housing, child care and keeping the doors of a small business open. To bring down the costs of those everyday expenses, the Governor’s Blueprint will:

• Create Universal Access to Healthcare Coverage: Governor Newsom’s Blueprint will make California the first state in the nation to offer universal access to healthcare coverage for all state residents, regardless of immigration status.
• Confront the cost of child care and education:  The plan invests more than ever before in our students by doubling down on achieving free universal pre-K, adding thousands of child care slots and increasing access to before, after, and summer school programs.
• Building More Housing: The Blueprint will create more housing California desperately needs with $2 billion in new grants and tax credits.
• Growing Small Businesses: Invest even more in small businesses – cutting red tape, waiving fees and providing hundreds of millions in grants and tax breaks to small businesses suffering from the pandemic.

Keeping Streets Safe 

Gov. Newsom’s Real Public Safety Plan focuses on three key areas to fight and prevent crime: 

• Bolstering law enforcement and local response to stop and apprehend criminals, including $255 million in grants to local law enforcement and creating a new Smash and Grab Enforcement Unit to combat organized retail crime and grants for impacted small businesses.
• More prosecutors to hold perpetrators accountable, ensuring District Attorneys are effectively and efficiently prosecuting criminals, and creating a new statewide team of investigators and prosecutors to go after perpetrators.
• Getting guns and drugs off of streets – creating a new statewide gun buyback program, holding the gun industry accountable with nation-leading legislation, and intercepting drugs at the border.

Details: www.ebudget.ca.gov