Sacramento, CA – Responding to Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed $227 billion state budget, State Senator Ben Allen (D – Santa Monica) released the following statement:

“In light of the enormous challenges facing our state, I am heartened by the thoughtful budget proposal outlined by Governor Newsom today. I applaud his critical commitment to addressing our state’s worsening wildfire and climate crises, and as Environmental Quality Committee Chair, I am encouraged by his Administration’s explicit support for holding producers of unrecyclable waste accountable as California shifts towards a circular economy, as well as his commitment to supporting the cleanup at Exide, and addressing challenges at the Department of Toxic Substances Control.

Hope is on our horizon, but the ongoing pandemic continues to burden so many of the people I represent. Renters, small businesses, students, and families are struggling to endure often-disproportionate hardships in order to protect public health. Most immediately, a top priority must be ensuring we keep millions of California renters in their homes by extending the January 31st eviction moratorium, while providing relief to high-need renters and their landlords who have mortgages and loans they are obliged to pay. I am glad to see the Governor's budget prioritize boosting support for small businesses, COVID response and vaccine distribution, relief for arts and cultural institutions, support for our K-12 and higher educational institutions, and of course, help for our schools struggling to safely reopen. There is so much more to be done, both reforms and investments to be made, and it is in that spirit that I look forward to working with my colleagues to craft a budget that helps California emerge from this pandemic emphatically, quickly, and sustainably.”

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Ben Allen represents the 26th State Senate District, which consists of the Hollywood, Westside, and South Bay communities of Los Angeles County, and serves as Chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and the Joint Committee on the Arts.