Many of the programs will receive one-time funding that could limit their effect, though they were announced by administration officials as if they were satisfying a longtime wish list.
“I have worked in and around state government for almost 20 years and I have never experienced a budget like this where we’re able to invest in the environmental priorities that we’re driving forward,” said Wade Crowfoot, the state natural resources secretary.
Some of the key items included $5 billion Newsom announced earlier in the week to help the state adapt to water shortages during drought like the drought emergency he declared in much of California on Monday. It would also provide $1 billion in federal aid for people who couldn’t pay their water bills during the coronavirus pandemic.