The bloodshed in the Middle East in the wake of the horrific attacks of October 7th has left so many of us reeling. I went to Kibbutz K’far Aza in southern Israel with other legislators just last year and watched with shock and horror as the streets that I had walked down and houses I had been into so recently were turned into a brutal massacre site.
From the Capitol
The humanitarian crisis on our streets continues to present a massive moral and logistical imperative for all of us, especially those of us in government. Over the past few years, the state has committed, in collaboration with the federal government, record amounts of money to local governments to help address the crisis, and that money is being spent in Los Angeles on projects such as $2.7 billion in emergency rent relief and $86.5 million through the Homeless Housing Assistance Prevention program to expand outreach and increase access to services and permanent housing.
As chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and co-chair of the California Environmental Legislative Caucus, protecting our environment and advancing California’s global leadership in the area continues to be a major priority for me.
In the wake of market volatility, California faces a challenging fiscal outlook for the next couple of years and our state government has enacted a carefully crafted approach to addressing the needs of our state and its people. The following are a few highlights in our state’s $310 billion budget that maintains core programs, protects essential reserves, and ensures continued economic stability:
