Governor Gavin Newsom presented a budget proposal of $286.4 Billion, dubbed California Blueprint. The proposed budget tackles five areas of California’s economy, including:
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1) COVID-19
- $2.7 billion to ramp up vaccines, boosters, statewide testing, and increase medical personnel to meet potential surges.
2) Climate Change & Electrification
To sum up Governor Newsom’s plan for tackling climate change, it revolves around the following:
- Tackling wildfires and drought
- Getting off oil and fossil fuels
However, the Governor has gone heavy on electrification efforts allocating $6.1 billion for electrical vehicle initiatives; that is approximately a 156% increase from last year’s $3.9 billion for EV-related initiatives.
Apart from these, other measures to tackle the impact of wildfires and droughts include:
- $648 million to support firefighters
- $750 million investment for immediate drought response to aid residents, farmers
- Investing billions in climate tech research & development, clean cars, preparing Californians for career opportunities
3) Homelessness
- $2 billion for mental health housing and services and clearing encampments
- Creating 55,000 new housing units; and treatment slots for people exiting homelessness
4) Inequality
California Blueprint aims to tackle inequality by adopting measures including:
- Universal Access to Healthcare Coverage
- Free universal Pre-K education & Child Care programs
- $2 billion in new grants and tax credits for housing development
- 100s of millions in grants and tax breaks to small businesses
5) Safety on Streets
This aspect of the Blueprint involves:
- Increasing the number of prosecutors to hold perpetrators accountable
- Enhancing law enforcement through Smash and Grab Enforcement Unit
- A new statewide gun buyback program
Governor Newsom hyperexcited budget as a torch bearer for the country’s path toward recovery and growth for years to come.
“With major new investments to tackle the greatest threats to our state’s future, the California Blueprint lights the path forward to continue the historic progress we’ve made on our short-term and long-term challenges, including responding to the evolving pandemic, fighting the climate crisis, taking on persistent inequality and homelessness, keeping our streets safe and more,”
Gavin Newsom | Governor, State of California
Reserves for Contingencies & Debt Retirement
The Blueprint also includes $34.6 billion in reserves for contingencies and debt retirement purposes.
You can watch a complete presentation of California’s Budget for FY 2022-23 here.
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CalOSBA to give additional $1.5 billion for small business relief: CalOSBA (or The California Office of the Small Business Advocate) has announced three new funding rounds with $1.5 billion in grants, per a press release by the agency. It will disburse the additional amount under California’s pandemic relief grant program. The application window is from Sep 9 to Sep 30, 2021. The additional $1.5 billion expansion makes California’s small business relief program the largest in the country.
Funding Opportunities, Relief Programs, and Business Incentives: The California Business Comeback Guide: California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (Go-Biz) has published ‘California Business Comeback guide that contains rich information about funding opportunities, relief programs, and incentives that businesses in California can avail.
Riverside County Office of the Economic Development: The County of Riverside’s Office of Economic Development (OED) offers support to grow or expand the business.
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