SACRAMENTO — Today, Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick (R-Alturas) issued the following statement on the state budget agreement approved by the Legislature:
“This budget reflects some important wins for rural California and our district — but it continues many of the same structural problems that brought us here.
I want to thank legislative leaders for listening to local sheriffs and providing some limited funding for Proposition 36 implementation. However, as the California State Sheriffs’ Association has made clear, this funding falls far short of what’s needed. Without resources for frontline law enforcement, probation, supervision, or the courts, we are not fully honoring the public’s overwhelming support for stronger accountability in our communities. Prop 36 cannot work if only one piece of the system is funded.
I am grateful that the budget includes long-overdue funding for wildfire victims in our district, as well as important investments for fire prevention and resilience: $30.9 million for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, $23.5 million for the Tahoe Conservancy, and $10 million for the Karuk Tribe's fire center. After years of devastating wildfires, these investments will help prevent future losses and support communities still recovering.
But this budget also highlights California’s dangerous fiscal path. Since Governor Newsom took office, California’s General Fund revenues have more than doubled — and yet we are still facing multi-billion dollar deficits, relying on borrowing, and fund shifts to patch the problem. The state’s fiscal forecast projects a $30 billion shortfall in just a few years — and Californians are rightly asking how we can spendover $325 billion and still not deliver real relief from rising costs, homelessness, or crime.
Medi-Cal is one example of a program that desperately needs reform. We cannot continue spending at this pace without structural changes that ensure services are effective, affordable, and available to those who need them most.
We cannot keep kicking the can down the road and hoping for a miracle. Californians deserve a government that works as hard as they do — one that finally takes budgeting, public safety, and fiscal responsibility seriously. At the end of the day, California families are tightening their belts. It’s time for Sacramento to do the same.”
The 2025-26 budget will take effect July 1, 2025.
Assemblywoman Hadwick represents the 1st Assembly District, which includes portions of Amador, El Dorado, and Placer counties, along with Alpine, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, and Siskiyou counties.
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“This budget reflects some important wins for rural California and our district — but it continues many of the same structural problems that brought us here.
I want to thank legislative leaders for listening to local sheriffs and providing some limited funding for Proposition 36 implementation. However, as the California State Sheriffs’ Association has made clear, this funding falls far short of what’s needed. Without resources for frontline law enforcement, probation, supervision, or the courts, we are not fully honoring the public’s overwhelming support for stronger accountability in our communities. Prop 36 cannot work if only one piece of the system is funded.
I am grateful that the budget includes long-overdue funding for wildfire victims in our district, as well as important investments for fire prevention and resilience: $30.9 million for the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, $23.5 million for the Tahoe Conservancy, and $10 million for the Karuk Tribe's fire center. After years of devastating wildfires, these investments will help prevent future losses and support communities still recovering.
But this budget also highlights California’s dangerous fiscal path. Since Governor Newsom took office, California’s General Fund revenues have more than doubled — and yet we are still facing multi-billion dollar deficits, relying on borrowing, and fund shifts to patch the problem. The state’s fiscal forecast projects a $30 billion shortfall in just a few years — and Californians are rightly asking how we can spendover $325 billion and still not deliver real relief from rising costs, homelessness, or crime.
Medi-Cal is one example of a program that desperately needs reform. We cannot continue spending at this pace without structural changes that ensure services are effective, affordable, and available to those who need them most.
We cannot keep kicking the can down the road and hoping for a miracle. Californians deserve a government that works as hard as they do — one that finally takes budgeting, public safety, and fiscal responsibility seriously. At the end of the day, California families are tightening their belts. It’s time for Sacramento to do the same.”
The 2025-26 budget will take effect July 1, 2025.
Assemblywoman Hadwick represents the 1st Assembly District, which includes portions of Amador, El Dorado, and Placer counties, along with Alpine, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, and Siskiyou counties.
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