January 5, 2015

Today Jerry Brown was sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term as Governor of California, and he gave a combined State of the State and inaugural address.  Governor Brown emphasized the need to address long-term liabilities and pre-existing commitments, stating that we must “ground ourselves and nurture all that we have started.”  While he did not explicitly address the state program for funding school facilities, he did discuss infrastructure by highlighting funding issues for transportation projects including roads, highways, and bridges.

Regarding education, the Governor expressed his intention to stay the course on the new Local Control Funding Formula.  This approach is intended to address historic school funding inequities while bringing decision-making, bolstered by increased accountability measures, to the local level.

 

While the Governor’s speech focused primarily on meeting existing obligations, he did set forth a significant new climate change initiative to address state objectives for 2030 and beyond.  This will include a proposal to double the efficiency of existing buildings and to make heating fuels cleaner.  Other proposals include increasing electricity derived from renewable sources from 33% to 50%, and reducing the use of petroleum by cars and trucks by up to 50%.

 

The Governor is scheduled to release his 2015-16 budget proposal this Friday, January 9.  This document will provide greater insight into his policy proposals for the coming year and beyond.  Despite an influx of higher state revenues, we expect the Governor to continue his philosophy of fiscal prudence and reducing the wall of debt.

 

The full text of the Governor’s address can be found at the following link:

http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18828

 

Thank you,

 

Rebekah Cearley  |  Legislative Advocate