By Governor Gavin Newsom
There’s no state in America quite like California. In troubled times for the
Nation, California is where the American Dream is alive and well. The most
diverse state in the world’s most diverse democracy, California is big-
hearted, thriving, inclusive and bold.
This year, we’ve been working to build a California for All. Governing by
our values of growth and inclusion, we have made principled yet practical
investments in our people and our future.
Making sure that those investments are built to last, we have budgeted
responsibly for the years ahead. Our balanced, on-time budget created the
largest rainy day fund in state history and paid down California’s wall of
debt.
That budget addressed the biggest challenges we face. Today, I will share
our work to tackle the high cost of living in California, prevent and prepare
for emergencies, and combat homelessness.
First, we’re working to confront the state’s affordability crisis. It is our
state’s foundational economic challenge, which threatens lives and
threatens futures. The things that make it possible to get ahead – housing,
health care, saving for your kids’ college or your retirement – are getting
farther out of reach for Californians.
When I took office last January, I got to work to make life more affordable
for all. Together, we expanded healthcare subsidies to middle-class
Californians. We took on rising prescription drug costs by seeking to
establish the nation’s largest single purchaser system for drugs. We
helped put higher education within reach of more Californians by providing
two free years of community college to first-time, full-time students and
negotiated tuition freezes at California’s universities.
We also put money back in the pockets of California parents by doubling
the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit and adding a $1,000 credit for
families with children under the age of six. We eased the financial burden
on parents by repealing the sales and use tax on diapers.
Second, we are making sure that California is ready for the next natural
disaster, and that communities still recovering from catastrophic wildfires
have what they need to rebuild.
We invested $1 billion to build disaster resiliency, response and recovery –
including funding the pre-positioning of emergency response teams in
times of high-risk wildfire conditions. We launched Listos California, a
statewide network of community organizations that build disaster resiliency
in vulnerable communities. We also moved the state toward a safer,
affordable and reliable energy future by drafting wildfire safety and
accountability measures and working with the Legislature to create a $21
billion wildfire fund.
Finally, we’re working nonstop to confront the statewide crisis of
homelessness, which impacts 130,000 Californians in every corner of our
state.
We’re pursuing solutions that work. We made a historic $2.75 billion
investment — the most California has ever spent — on programs to fight
homelessness and build more housing. That amount included $650 million
in Emergency Homelessness Aid to cities and counties so that they can
implement the best local solutions for their communities. We’re also
striking at the root causes of homelessness, including the unacceptable
lack of housing construction and unscrupulous landlords who price-gouge
their tenants and unfairly evict them. We negotiated and signed the
nation’s strongest statewide renter protections and worked with technology
companies to secure $4.5 billion towards California’s housing crisis.
We’re “all in” on tackling this crisis because it is a major quality of life issue
not just for the person sleeping on a sidewalk, but for everyone in their
community. We recognize that every homeless individual is someone’s
child, parent, or friend. Many times, they are our service members, who
served honorably in our military and fell onto hard times after they got
home. These individuals are often struggling with mental illness or
substance abuse.
They deserve better than the reckless rhetoric and heartless cuts to the
social safety net that Washington is offering. They deserve the thoughtful
solutions that we are pursuing in California, in partnership with local
governments, the private sector, and philanthropists statewide.
Make no mistake, we have so much more work to do. There are still too
many Californians who do not get to share in the prosperity that they help
to create. For them, and their children – and California’s continued
leadership in the nation and the world – we must boldly confront our
remaining challenges. These challenges demand bold solutions, and
above all, the courage for a change.
Fortunately, we have no shortage of courage here in California, a state of
dreamers and do-ers who are not afraid to take risks for what’s right.
In the year ahead, we’ll continue to work hard and aim high on behalf of all
Californians, and everyone who looks to our state as a beacon of hope.