UPDATES ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS IN CALIFORNIA |
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California's Budget: Why It Matters
Do words like “budget” and “fiscal” make your eyes glaze over?
While the details of California’s spending plan don’t always make for riveting reading, the way the state spends its money affects the quality of the air your family breathes, the water you drink and how the state guards its special natural places.
How California’s leaders choose to spend their money matters as much as the legislation they pass. Read on to learn more about the budget – and how your voice matters.
Back To Basics:
How We Work For A Green Budget
Our Top Three 2008 Budget Priorities
- Sustainability. Our budget should sustain California’s air, water and natural places as we move toward a new, greener economy. To do that, we need to designate financially sustainable sources of funding that will keep these protections in place
- Protecting Against Republican Rollbacks. Senate Republican Caucus members said in early spring that they want to postpone implementation of critical air and atmospheric protections. Rolling back these protections would delay by a year our efforts to fight the pollution that causes global warming, and put off needed work to scrub diesel pollution from truck emissions.
- Keeping Public Transit On Track. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most recent proposal cuts $1.4 billion from gas tax revenue funds formerly destined for public transit. The budget also slashes monies that promote other transportation alternatives, such as biking and pedestrian improvements.
2008 Budget Proposal Final Letter to the Governor, President Pro Tem Perata and Speaker Nuñez
See what Sierra Club California has to say about the governor’s latest proposal, made in May (PDF).
Your donation helps us protect your air, water and natural places.
