August 12, 2026 · Budget Sub4 · 8,467 words · 12 speakers · 33 segments
Thank you. Subcommittee four of the Senate budget and fiscal review committee will come to order. We are holding our committee hearing here at the state capitol room 113. I ask all members of the subcommittee to come and join us in room 113 if they'd like. So we don't need to establish a quorum today, but they're more than welcome to join us here this morning. We will provide an opportunity for public comment following the conclusion of the discussion item list. And we'll go ahead and move on to, do we need to call, we don't need to call the roll, right? Okay, we'll go ahead and move to agenda item number one. We have two items in our discussion for the calendar today. We will begin with the first item on general obligation bond extinguishment under the state treasurer. Will representatives come on up? And Department of Finance and LAO as well? Present. And when you're ready, you can proceed.
Hello. Thank you, Chair. Randy Katz, Department of Finance. So this proposal would extinguish 1988 to 2002 era Geo Bond Authority as allowed by Section 1 of Article 16 of the California Constitution. Affected departments have indicated there are no plans to seek unused authority or spend excess proceeds. This will close out bonds no longer in use, thereby reducing workload for the STO and also returning approximately $6.8 million in unspent proceeds to the general fund. Thank you.
Alexander Benz, LAO. We have no concerns.
Okay. Do we have questions from committee members? Mr. Vice Chair? Yeah. So I've not seen something like this before, and probably nobody else has because these go back so far, I guess. And in some cases, it's insignificant, the minimus, like the $35,000 of a $6.7 billion authorization. Some of them are more significant. But if I understand correctly, this is for one of two reasons. Either there is money left over unspent, and yet all of the objectives of the bond measure have been accomplished, and so therefore the money doesn't need to be spent, and that's a good thing. or the other is that there is money left over that could be spent, but it's not enough to really accomplish anything in the context of the bond measure. And that's good insofar as it goes, too. But I can't tell which one of these is which. It doesn't say that in here.
It just talks about what the original bond was So the language itself is specific to reducing authority And so basically that is a mechanism by which the STO uses to close out So the bill itself is on the authority side, reducing it from what was originally authorized to actually what was, I think it was the amount that was sold as bonds. The unspent proceeds is after you sell bonds, you get the proceeds from it to use it for the purposes. So say if it's a resources bond, maybe you're doing park restoration. And after a certain amount, the purposes of that specific park is already done. You have $100,000 here left over, $200,000 there left over. There is a process to reallocate those funds. but if the department says there's no need, it just kind of sits there as unspent proceeds. And in some cases it has just sat there for quite a while.
Now, as a part of the budget, as I've said many times, that June 15th budget, and this isn't directly related to this, but it is indirectly, that June 15th budget is really not our budget. It's a placeholder. We continue to work on the budget throughout the rest of the year and have last year and the year before and the year before. And with this particular issue, this certainly was known six months ago or even a year ago when the governor's proposal was first being developed for the January introduction. Why now? Why not then?
I mean, we have known for a while, part of it is this is kind of a standard governmental process that is once there is a threshold level of projects, we move forward. And so it did happen, I think, most recently in 2020, we reduced funds. So it does happen with some regularity. And in this particular case, the timing just worked out, so it was best to take care of it now.
Well, the next item that we'll have is probably a better example of something that is a cleanup that wasn't known before, although I have some comments on that too. but I hope under the next administration, whomever it is, that we will treat the June budget as a final budget truly and not continue to work on it through the rest of the year as we have continually. Last year we had 17 trailer bills in September or August, 17 of them. So I hope we get back to the discipline of finalizing the budget when the Constitution says it should be finalized. Thank you. Thank you. My only question to you is just to expect something like this to happen in the coming years or other.
Yeah, so between the STO and finance, there are several processes where we communicate with departments. So like twice a year, we send out cash flow surveys, and we can see from all the extant bonds, whether there a request for new authority or expenditures from the remaining proceeds In addition about every three months the STO will specifically reach out to departments about the unspent proceeds especially if they don't see much movement in there. So ultimately, there's frequent communication with the departments. and as I said, once kind of a threshold amount has been reached, we move forward with a trailer bill to extinguish bonds.
Okay. Do you expect to see many in the coming years or a few? I mean, do you have any sense of?
Oh, I know that you do that survey.
I'm not good at procrastination. Okay.
I mean, there will always be some. It's hard for me to give you a precise number.
Okay, but you do do a survey every year that helps you determine whether or not a fund needs to be extinguished.
Correct.
Okay, all right. Okay, well, thank you so much for your presentation this morning. We appreciate your time, and we'll go ahead and move on to Agenda Item Number 2, which pertains to the retirement payment-related issues under the Office of Administrative Law. Come on up, the representatives, including the Department of Finance, and I know we have the LAO here. And please proceed when you're ready.
Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the committee. This is for the Office of Administrative, Mayor Haltzman, Department of Finance. The Office of Administrative Law is requesting $315,000 in fiscal year 2627 for three lump sum retirement payments. As a small agency with about 26 employees, OAL is mainly funded through General Fund and Central Services Cost Recovery Fund, totaling roughly $6 million annually. Because of the small staff and tightly constrained annual budget, which is largely committed to their ongoing salaries and operations, OAL lacks fiscal flexibility and savings. to absorb the additional one-time costs. Finance has no concerns with OAL's request for the current year budget augmentation to cover these one-time costs for the simultaneous retirement payouts. Happy to answer any questions.
Do we have any comments from the LAO?
Alexander Benz, LAO, we have no concerns with this.
And any questions from the dais here? Yes, thank you very much. These obligations for employees that are departing, are they normal and expected, like unused vacation pay or that sort of thing? Are they those sorts of expenses?
Correct. It's their leave balances.
Now, maybe this is my continuing struggle with government accounting or fund accounting versus having been brought up with financial accounting. I feel sort of schizophrenic sometimes in trying to understand both at the same time. But in our business, we will accrue for normally expected expenditures as they're earned, but before they happen. And then when they happen, we pay them out of the accrual. The accrual is essentially setting cash aside to fund that future payment, which is a short-term cycle. I gather in government accounting we don't do that.
Not with the leave balances, no.
Beg your pardon? Not with the leave balances, no. I suggest that maybe that ought to be questioned Then those expenses would be recognized when they obligated Vacation is earned, things like that, as people are working, not when they take the vacation. So just throwing out a suggestion from a retired bean counter. That's it. Okay. Do we have any comments from the dais on agenda item number two? Good morning and I was listening on my way over. I just had one question. What steps is OAL taking to manage these costs in the future, particularly given the department's small staffing levels? There's a limited ability to absorb the unexpected retirement expenses. Good morning, Kevin Hollis, Assistant Chief Counsel for the Office of Administrative Law. In large part, it can be difficult due to our small size. Again, we operate on a tight budget. I believe we usually use about 90 to 95 percent of our budgeted funds every year. Two of the positions that are being, or that are retiring, that are being paid out are the director and deputy director, which are both statutory positions. and then the other position would be a supervisor too that has been with the state for over 40 years. That person is already retired. I'm not sure of what active ways we are doing to eliminate the balances. I know these are managerial type positions which can make it difficult for these persons to use time off, especially obviously a director. They're inheriting that balance came into OAL when the director was appointed. And then the others, again, because we are such a small agency, we don't have a lot of redundant management or anything else like that, which I believe can make it difficult to take extended periods of time off and use leave balances. Okay. Well, thank you. Appreciate that. Do we have any other senators on the dais who wish to comment on agenda item two? Okay, seeing none, thank you so much for your presentation and for being here today. I don't have any questions on my end, so thank you for your participation. We will now move on to take public comment. If you wish to comment, please make your way to the microphone now. Please begin by stating your name and your affiliation. So we'll start with the first person up in line. Thank you. Good morning, Chair and members. I want to thank you for your commitment to small business, especially the Chair. Her unwavering commitment has been really impressive throughout this process, and congratulations, Vice Chair, for your new role as Republican leader. I'm Christina Rico with the California SBDCs, and we're here as part of a coalition, a larger coalition, As you see behind me today, we've requested originally $26 million, but $1 million in the budget to go to funds, both SIP and TAP, which are funds that distribute to technical assistance programs and small business development centers in California through GOBiz. and in recognition of the very difficult budget that we've been experiencing this year, we've lowered our ask to 10 million total $5 million for SIP and $5 million for TAP. The economic benefits and the returns and the ROI that are distributed throughout the state are incredibly impressive. And we'll leave you with some materials today. I want to thank you and ask that you prioritize this. And especially thank your staff for all the time that they've spent with us throughout the year. and we respectfully request to be funded. Good morning, Chair and members. I'm Joanna Vega-Garcia. I'm on behalf of Next in California and also on behalf of our fellow co-leaders of the Campaign for California Borrowers Right Coalition, Protect Borrowers, Student Deb Crisis Center, and Young Invincibles. While it was not on the agenda today, we wanted to uplift an urgent request to include $3 million for one time to DFPI to continue the Student Loan Empowerment Network. This network provides student loan counseling services, and it has run out of funding. We have heard from our partners across the state that student borrowers are already reaching out in large numbers now that the implementation of unprecedented federal policy changes have started this summer. Initial data shows the network has secured over $4.6 million in debt discharged or cancelled, which are critical dollars back into the pockets of struggling families. And we thank Assemblymember Pellerin for championing this budget request, and we urge the governor and legislature to include funding for the network. Thank you. Good morning. Thank you, Chair Hurtado, for this informational hearing. I'm L.A. Plax, and I'm proud to represent the California Women's Business Center Network. I'm here on behalf of the women, immigrant, and rural entrepreneurs that TAP funding is essential in helping them with their entrepreneurship and wealth-building dreams. One stat I'd like to leave with you is that of the capital that's raised for our clients through the Women's Business Center, 65% and now on track to be 70% goes to women of color. And as we know, women, especially women of color, are starting their entrepreneurial dreams faster than any other segment of entrepreneurs. And so with that, anything you can do to support this ask is really essential to those women immigrants and rural entrepreneurs. So thank you so much. Good morning, Chair Hurtado, Republican Leader Nilo, and members of Senators of the Committee. David Nelson, on behalf of the National Small Business Advocacy Council, here to echo some of the other comments that you'll hear in asking for your support of the $10 million to support small business. technical assistance program and the capital infusion program. Over the last three years, over half a million jobs have been touched by the TAP and SIP program. And I'm sure Senator Anilo would appreciate that's a significant return on government investment when we're looking at economic development. And we would sincerely appreciate, considering that these programs have been consistently oversubscribed to the tune of almost 50 percent. It shows the wherewithal of the program. It shows how strong the results are in district. I believe all of you have received the impact in your localized numbers, and we strongly encourage your support. And thank you again to staff for being so patient with our persistence on this ask. Thank you very much. Good morning I Sabrina Means on behalf of the Institute for College Access and Success otherwise known as TCAS We align our comments with the previous speaker from NextGen regarding uplifting the $3 million one-time to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation to continue the Student Loan Empowerment Network. These funds are critical for student borrowers, and we urge the governor and legislature to continue funding for the network. Thank you. Good morning Chair Hurtado and members. I'm Jasmine Advincula with the Cal Asian Chamber urging your support of the $10 million budget request into CalAWSMA's TAP and SIP programs. These are proven programs that help bridge gaps by providing trusted community-based technical assistance and connecting small businesses with the resources, the capital they need to create jobs and contribute to the state's economy. Through our chambers programs alone, we serve thousands of small business clients annually by helping them secure millions of dollars in grants, loans, and contracts. We respectfully urge your support for the full $10 million budget request. Thank you so much. Good morning, Chair Hurtado and members. My name is Sydney Palace. I'm the program manager with the CalAsian Chambers Empower California TAP Capital Readiness Program. We respectfully request $10 million in one-time funding, $5 million for the technical assistant program, and $5 million for the capital infusion program. These programs connect small businesses to critical technical assistant resources that help entrepreneurs start, stabilize, and grow their businesses. Over the past two years, Empower California has served over 200 clients and helped small businesses access more than $18 million in loans, grants, and contracts. I have seen the direct impact this program has had to change the economic trajectory of small businesses throughout the state. This $10 million investment into TAP and SIP will provide more resources to an existing infrastructure that is proven to work. Thank you for your time. Good morning, Madam Chair and members. Eduardo Martinez here on behalf of Actors' Equity. We are a national labor union of theater actors and stage managers. We were one of the original co-sponsors of the legislation creating the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund. We wanted to come here and thank this committee, the legislature, and the governor for investing another $12 million in this first-of-the-nation program that supports workers at small, non-profit performing arts organizations. The initial funding round was wildly successful and supported nearly 4,750 direct jobs and 11,000 indirect jobs. Since then, we have been discussing with the administration and other stakeholders the need to refine this program based on that experience. Those discussions led to a narrow set of suggested refinements, focusing reimbursements on wages, eliminating duplicative documentation, clarifying eligibility, and providing greater flexibility in the grant terms. These changes would preserve the program's core purpose while reducing administrative costs and helping the funding reach more organizations and workers. We respectfully ask the subcommittee to include these refinements in a trailer bill language before the end of session. We're happy to work with you and your staffs to make this a reality. Thank you. Good morning, Madam Chair and Senators. Dylan Hoffman, on behalf of the California Arts Advocates, want to echo the gratitude and thanks for the investment in the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund and also echo the call for further refinements to the program. As mentioned, this fund is vital for the arts in local communities across the state, and there was an overwhelming demand for scarce dollars during the first round of funding. As just a proof point more than 400 organizations requested over million while approximately million was available for only 100 of those organizations Our sister organization was the program administrator for that first round and we learned valuable lessons that should inform the release of the next round of funding And based on that experience, we have suggested several refinements, as mentioned, that would reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, move funding more efficiently, and allow the state's investment to reach more organizations, workers, and communities. small nonprofit performing arts organizations continue to operate on extremely narrow margins and we encourage this committee and the legislature to adopt these refinements before the end of session so that new funding can stretch as far as possible but want to say our thanks again for the investment in these programs. Thank you. Good morning Chair Hurtado and Senators. My name is Preet Oluwalia. I'm here on behalf of NorCal SBDC part of the California Small Business Development coalition. We respectfully request your support for 10 million in one-time funding, 5 million in TAP and 5 million in SIP. This investment expands access to trusted business advising and resources for entrepreneurs who may otherwise face barriers to capital guidance and growth opportunities. It also strengthens the ability of small businesses to become more resilient, investment ready, and positioned to grow and create economic opportunities in their communities. We respectfully ask for your support in this $10 million investment in California's small business ecosystem. Thank you. Good morning. Yolanda Benson representing the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce here in support of and dittoing what everybody has said. So, ditto. Excellent. Excellent. Good morning, Chair Hurtado and Senators. My name is Scott Rogowski. I'm representing NorCal SBDC on behalf of the California Small Business Development Coalition. We respectfully request that they support the $10 million broken up in $5 million in capital infusion program for capital access and $5 million in technical assistance program to help out some of the other entrepreneurs, the role of entrepreneurs. We recognize the difficult budget decisions facing the state. That's why we have reduced it from the original ask of $26 million to $10 million. These funds invest in existing proven network of organizations already on the ground, like small business development centers, women's business development centers, veteran centers, ethnic and minority chambers that help businesses start, grow, create jobs, and access capital. This isn't about creating a new program. It's about investing in infrastructure that is already working for California small businesses and we respectfully ask for your support. Thank you. Good morning Chair Hurtado and Senators. My name is Stacey Tate with the California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce Business Program Director. We are part of the California Small Business Development Coalition. We have served over 3,000 small businesses throughout California and as well as secured over $200 million in grants, contracts, and loans for our small businesses. We respectfully request the $10 million in the technical assistance program. Thank you. Good morning, Madam Chair and committee members. Juez Santiago on behalf of the California Small Business Development Corporation and the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Small Business Enterprise Program and a coalition member of the California Small Business Development Coalition. We support the request $10 million in one-time funding. million for the technical assistance program and million for the capital infusion program This funding supports programs such as our organizations small business development centers women business centers and other ed tech chambers so that our programs can assist entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, but most importantly contribute to California economy. We respectfully ask for your support for five million for the technical assistance program and five million for the capital infusion program. Thank you. Good morning, Chair Hurtado and Senators. My name is Mike Daniel. I'm the Network Director for the Orange County Inland Empire Small Business Development Center Network. I'm here representing all of the California SBDC program. We respectfully ask for $10 million to support the TAP and SIP programs. A little bit about the SBDCs. Last year we saw 150,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs. We provide direct technical assistance, one-on-one consulting and training to businesses across our entire state. We are in every single one of your districts offering consulting and training to help our businesses grow. Of that 150,000 businesses that we saw, 60% are minority and people of color and women. And so we are here to help support businesses and meet them where they're at, whether they're just starting, whether they're growing, whether they need to access capital. We helped our clients access $4.3 billion of capital over the last three years. And those are very small dollars, right? helping people get $25,000 loans, $50,000 loans, helping support the grant programs that roll out through cities and counties and the state to support our small businesses. So we respectfully ask for your support in this. Thank you. Good morning, Chair Hurtado and Senators. My name is Ashley Pinnell. I'm here in support of the Cal Asian Chamber, and I'm also with Pinnell's Carpet One Floor and Home, a family-owned business that has served rural communities in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties for 50 years. I'm here today to respectfully ask for your support of $5 million for the TAP and $5 million for the SIF program. In rural communities like ours, resources can be limited and opportunities harder to access. These programs supported through the Cal Asian Chamber have made a real difference for our business. Through ETP funding, we've been able to train and invest in new employees this year and provide them industry training. We've also participated in a certification program through Cal Asian Chamber and Calverse County Chamber that guided us through the process of becoming eligible to compete for state and local government contracts, opportunities that would not have been available to us otherwise and would have felt out of reach. Small businesses want to grow and create jobs and contribute to our local economies. We simply need the resources. We want to be seen and heard. Thank you. We respectfully ask for your support of $5 million for TAP and $5 million for SIP. Thank you. Good morning, Chair Hurtado and Senators. My name is Nick Burton. I'm an advisor with the Northern California Small Business Development Center, And first I want you to know that I'd rather be at the dentist than speaking publicly. So there's a reason why I'm here today to talk to all of you, and that is that we're respectfully asking for $5 million in TAP and SIP funding, $10 million total. Many of these fellow colleagues of mine, we're just soldiers in an army of advisors, and we help small businesses get funded. Me personally, my role is helping daycares. I've helped daycares open up. We actually have opened up in the last two years, created 900 new spots for children, about half of which are subsidized child care families. And we've seen a huge impact there, created over 100 jobs. And this would not be possible without the TAP and SIP funding. As a taxpayer in California, I can also tell you that I personally feel this is actually a good investment. We see positive social and economic benefit. We're not just handing out money here. we're helping businesses. So thank you for your time. Good morning, Chair. Chair Hurtado and Senators, my name is Alexandra Orzek and I am a SBDC advisor. I'm on the front lines doing finance, helping businesses get started, people who are pre-venture all the way up to really established businesses. So I can see firsthand the financial impact of getting funding and the technical advising. So I'm here to ask for the $10 million in funding and $5 million for SIPP. Thank you. Good morning, my name is Kevin Herndon. I'm also with the NorCal SBDC, the Small Business Development Center. And I'm here to respectfully ask that you guys continually fund, again, our ecosystem and part of our state and our small businesses. It really is, we all speak about, we have the fourth largest economy in the world. Well, this is the reason why, is these types of investments that we put into our small business ecosystem. And I think that this type of funding, like my colleague was speaking of, We deal with thousands and thousands of small business owners in here who may be at the beginning phase. Again, they're starting out pre-venture. From the idea phase to you've been in business 50 years, we're there to assist you in helping you grow your business, which in turn helps our economy, which in turn helps our tax base in our state, and overall just helps our overall small business ecosystem. So I'm here to really just respectfully ask that you guys continuously fund the $5 million for the SIP and for the TAP program. It's just very, very well needed in our overall ecosystem. Thank you. Good morning, Madam Chair and committee. Thank you for having us here. My name is Richard Strezzo. I'm an SBDC advisor financial center as well. As part of our ecosystem, I'm at the ground level as well. So I have an intimate knowledge of what small business owners need and the technical assistance that we're making reference to is exactly what we do. The need for these particular funds do participate in an already program that we already have committed to and that we're already using, it creates a multiplier effect. So not only are we having business owners realize their dreams and become active participants in the economy for the state of California, I've seen a lot of success stories, a lot of people happy, and that's what I love what I do because that's what drives me. Thank you again for your time. Hello, honorable senators. My name is Adriana Bautista. and I'm an Eaton Fire survivor who's come here this morning with some of my fellow community members because we want to communicate to you all the importance of investing in our community as we continue to wait for federal dollars. We need the state to stand with us in this gap, and our Senator Perez has introduced the Community Aid for Rebuilding and Equity proposal, which we really, really, our community is in desperate need of having this adopted as our state's budget this year. So we've made this trip this month knowing that time is ticking and that this investment will make real lasting impact in the recovery of our community members. Community members such as seniors, renters, persons with disabilities, and working class black and brown neighbors who really, really need support right now. We have community members who are taking their lives right now because of the lack of support that there is no clear pathway for them to recover. And we seeing the fabric of our community tested and tried And that why we here today because we really really need sustained community investment And the CARE Fund does just that It a vehicle that allows rebuild gap subsidies and also to preserve affordable housing, because our renters do not have a pathway back home right now. Seniors are being evicted from their market rate apartment units in LA County that Altadena had naturally occurring affordable housing and it's very vital that we replenish that and we invite you to join us in making sure that Altadena and other impacted areas of the Eaton fire, including parts of Pasadena and Sierra Madre, are not forgotten in the state's budget. And thank you so much for your time and support. Hello, my name is Adam Frankel. I'm an Eaton Fire survivor, a renter, and a member of the Dina Rise Up Coalition. We are here today to urge you to approve the $25 million care fund proposed by Senator Sasha Renee Perez to help prevent the most severely at-risk fire survivors from being permanently displaced from Altadena. If approved, this modest fund would help low-income homeowners rebuild by covering widespread insurance gaps and support vulnerable low-income renters by restoring and preserving affordable housing that was destroyed in the fire. Altadena is a diverse and historically black community. While the headlines continue to focus on the slow pace of rebuilding, many of us are still struggling tremendously and don't know if we'll ever be able to return. Insurance-backed emergency housing assistance has ended, and many don't know if or how they'll afford a place to live in the months to come. For renters, low-income people, and people of color who have disproportionately borne the most severe financial impacts of this disaster, we have literally no support from the federal government. That is why we are calling on you to invest in protections for the most vulnerable fire survivors. Please support us in approving the $25 million care fund for Altadena to ensure an equitable and inclusive recovery for all. Thank you. I have 34 years living in Altadina, we did it with all our work, and then the next day the incendios of the last year we took everything. We were to ask, please, the support with the heart and the hand, because we are needing now more than ever the 25 million to rebuild our beautiful Altadina. Perdimos no sólo a nuestra familia, a nuestros amigos, nuestras casas, perdimos absolutamente todo lo que luchamos por años. No queremos préstamos, no queremos seguir endeudados. Está muy cara la vida, estamos pagando taxes, estamos haciendo todo lo que podemos, pero si nos prestan no vamos a poder regresarlo. Y ya nuestra gente se está enfermando, estresada para poder pagar. Necesitamos la ayuda. Please help us and help us because we can make the difference together We can give the heart and the hands of the power the strength I going to translate for her Thank you so much. They came to Altadena several decades ago and built everything they could to establish a home. And because of the fire, they lost everything. She feels very small, but together as a collective, they are fighting to make sure that Altadena can rebuild. And she does not want loans. She does not want to live the rest of her life in debt, which is what is being offered by this industry right now in order for them to recover. She needs support now more than ever, and the CARE Fund is her and her family's ability and her community's ability to come back to Altadena and actually be able to restore their life and also ensure that their neighbors, their community, is also able to do the same. Thank you. Good morning, Charity. Dear Tarleton Senators, my name is Gustavo Gonzalez on behalf of NorCal SBDC. I'm the program manager and covering 36 counties in Northern California. I'm here to respectfully support $5 million for our technical assistance program and our capital access program as well. This is, over the last three years, these programs have been able to generate $4.2 billion in capital and $4.3 billion in taxable revenue for the state. and also support more than 416,000 jobs in the community. As you can tell, there's a lot of community members right here that are also benefiting for these programs. But this is a really, really important task. It's not just for organization, but it's really tangible results across the community and across the state. Thank you. Hi, Nikki Sims. I'm also with the SBDC, so I'll just echo everything everyone said. But in addition, I just wanted to focus on local ecosystem impact. So I'm an advisor for our health and biotech venture capital sector. And it's been really critical for university students also to start receiving our support, especially UC Davis graduate students. And there is a large push and impact to also make sure that we're focusing on economic development over at Aggie Square. So there's a huge partnership there within the region, and I think there's been a lot of momentum to support these types of companies when we're just slipping out of a market downturn in that space. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Elle Schneider. I'm a former Altadena resident. I was affected by the Eaton fire when my rental home, which was one block from the edge of the burn zone, was contaminated by lead and other hazardous substances from the smoke of over 9,400 burn structures. Due to lack of affordable, safe housing after the fire anywhere near the area, I was forced to leave my neighborhood of over 17 years, and California considers me lucky. But during this ongoing struggle of the last 19 months to recover including 11 months of displacement moving debt hazmat suits while trying to find help for remediation and virtually no resources made available from a federal state or county perspective I had to turn to my community to help and what I seen in that community is devastating particularly for the people who have lost everything Many homeowners are really unable right now to bridge the financing gaps They need to begin rebuilding. And only under 100 homes have been completed so far. And it's been 19 months. And no one's able to move home. And that's decimating families. It's decimating businesses. And so I support Senator Perez's care fund in order to invest in the rebuilding of Altadena for homeowners and renters like me who want to return and have been forced out of their communities at the time when they need them the most. And with the governor now discussing caps on pain and suffering and defining a very narrow window of who gets to be eligible as having been affected by this fire in the first place, something like the care fund is really important. to help people actually be able to return to this place that they call home. Thank you. Hey, good morning. I'm here for Altadena. And I think this morning, after 19 months, yesterday standing outside Southern California Edison's offices, opposite the street was a home that was there for close to 40 years, but the man of that home, after the fires, committed suicide. There's things that we just don't know that is happening in Altadena after the fires, but we're at a moral compass because the care fund is not the solution, it's the seed to other financial solutions to help Altadena's return home. And especially in the last week hearing the report from the firefighters that the fault was Edison and then the Altidinians get to hear that there is a bill that the governor would like to cap utility companies. Everything seems to be one slap after the other. While family school starts next week, I have many of my children who are still living in RVs, living in different homes around LA and trying to get back home. So the care fund is the seed to the return. It's the hope for Altadena. It's the line item in Sacramento that can also be put towards other catastrophes that may happen in other cities that can say, hey, this is what we did in Altadena, and this is what they did with what we gave them in Altadena. So thank you. Hello, good morning. My name is Jose. I'm born and raised in Pasadena Altadena. And like my colleagues and neighbors have mentioned, it's been 19 months since the Eden Fire, which devastated the whole community. And it's 19 months of challenges after challenges after challenges that people are facing. It's 19 months of homeowners not knowing if they can rebuild because they don't have enough funds. It's 19 months of renters not knowing if they're going to return to their community where they've lived for decades. It's 19 months of families moving to a shelter, then Airbnb, and then a hotel, and then that hotel, and then this apartment, and that apartment, and now not knowing if they're going to have enough funds to live where they're at currently because they don't know where they're going to get the money from. It's 19 months of the physical and mental health that people are facing, these conditions that are, you know, unfortunately, people are still passing away because of the problems that they're facing. Again, this unknown and not coming back to their community, not being with their family. It's 19 months. of just, again, challenges after challenges. And again, this CARE Fund is a step. So we ask that you stand with Altadena families and step with us. Next week, 100 Altadenaans and advocates are going to come to Sacramento and share their stories so that you can see them too. Again, it's been 19 months, and they still need the support, and they're afraid of being forgotten. And that's where we're at right now, that we might be forgotten. So if you can support us, help us, and stand with us and take this step with us. Thank you.
Good morning. Lizzie Guansone here on behalf of the Office of Cat Taylor, a member of the Campaign for California Borrower's Rights Coalition. I want to echo the comments of colleagues made before me, including NextGen California, and I want to uplift the urgent request to include $3 million in one-time funding for DFPI to continue the Student Loan Empowerment Network. Thank you for your consideration.
Good morning. Danny Kandalkaiser on behalf of the National Consumer Law Center and California Low Income Consumer Coalition would align my comments with my colleague who just spoke and strong support of the $3 million allocation for the Student Loan Empowerment Network. Thank you.
Good morning. Ronald Comenbaese here on behalf of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. CHIRLA, we're asking for legislators to provide $25 million one-time investment for the CARE fund to support closing the rebuilding gap for Altadena homeowners. families are facing gaps in funding and without help many could permanently be displaced and lose generational wealth. Their care fund can also help land bank and preserve affordable housing in the region prioritizing family-sized and multi-generational homes so displaced renters can also return and working families can continue to afford to live in Altadena. Without this help rebuilding will be challenging. We urge legislators to include this one-time $25 million investment for the CARE Fund. Thank you.
Good morning, Madam Chair and members. Christopher Sanchez with the Mesa Verde Group here on behalf of Inclusive Action for the City in support of Senator Durasol and Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez's request for $4.7 million in response. And we would like to highlight the $7,750,000 to support small businesses and street vendors. and this request is in response to the Lineage fire that happened in Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles. Small businesses and street vendors have been negatively impacted and the chaos continues today with Lineage not being responsive to our communities. As a response to the Lineage fire, our organization launched the Boyle Heights Fire Relief Fund for small businesses and street vendors. We've fundraised most of this funding right now. the need is much greater than what we've been able to provide at this moment. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Hello, Yesenia Rabancho on behalf of End Child Poverty California, also sharing on behalf of Sergio Salinas, who's here in the room with us. We are here in support of a care fund and also in opposition to Edison's last-minute effort to cap their corporate liability for the trauma they have caused to the Altadena community and also to so many others More than one year after the Eaton fire ravaged parts of Altadena and Pasadena families are still fighting to come back home I personally have visited Altadena and it's devastating to see how the community has been ravaged. Historically, it's been a black community. Now it remains to be a black community and brown community. There are immigrant families who are also in the throes of this devastation and are looking for solutions and support from this legislature legislature and from our governor. Unfortunately, the June budget failed to address Altadena wildfires, survivors gap funding and affordable housing needs. What Altadenians are asking is not for an additional mortgage loan. They are already paying for a mortgage for a home that they no longer exist. And also on top of that paying for rent, whatever they call home, many of them calling cars home, tents home, this is not right. And we really look forward to having your support, Senator Hurtado as a subcommittee chair of this committee to support Altadenans. Thank you.
Good morning, Madam Chair and members. Marcus Detweiler with the California Special Districts Association, also here on behalf of the Association of California Healthcare Districts, ACHD. Looking to address this committee with regard to Senate Bill 122, which was chaptered earlier this year. And with that was chaptered an extension of the sales and use tax on digital pre-written software. The understanding in our sort of theory of the case was that the revenue generated by this sales and use tax would make whole the state and cities who would be subject to the tax. However, the special districts that I represent, special districts that the Association of California Healthcare Districts represent, do not generally receive the proceeds of sales and use taxes. This has created a disparity where some local governments are seeing sort of the effects of this tax ameliorated, ameliorated, whereas special districts are being writ large, sort of left to absorb the costs with limited cost recovery methods. Looking forward with the members of this committee and the legislature to address this disparity in subsequent budget action. Thank you.
Good morning, Chair Hurtado, members of the committee, Julian Canetti, President and CEO of California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, here in support of the $10 million request to enhance the technical assistance and the CIP program. You've heard from many of our counterparts and beneficiaries of the program. I think more importantly is that, you know, there's over 4 million small businesses in California that this program assists. But more specifically, from a study that we did with Cal OSBA, with the state Asian Chamber and the state African-American Chamber, there are 1.8 million diverse and emerging businesses that this program really, really helps. And that's the successes you've heard. And, you know, I just want to talk about return on investment. We're asking for $10 million. But over the last couple of years, just through the SBDC programs, it's generated over $4.3 billion in additional tax revenues. It's maintained over 400,000 jobs here in California. And I think that's an investment well worth what we're asking for. So again I not going to repeat what everybody else said here I think they were very eloquent all of our partners and counterparts throughout the state But again I think this funding is important to California economic growth and the growth of our small businesses And again, I do want to close with thanking the legislature, all of you, for your past support of the small business requests that we've made. So thank you.
Good morning. My name is Yancy Garcia. and I'm also a student at UC Irvine and representing here the UC Student Association. And we're also a member of the Campaign for California Borrows Rights and Coalition. Though now on the agenda today, we want to uplift an urgent request to include $3 million one time to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation to continue the Student Loan Empowerment Network as students deserve the right to an education and academic success. Thank you.
Thank you. Do we have any additional members of the public that wish to comment? Be sure. This is the last committee hearing that we'll have for the year. All right, seeing none. Okay, we're moving on. Thank you so much to each and every one of you for taking the time to come in and provide comment and your input, your participation is deeply noted and we appreciate it. Also thank you to all the subcommittee staff for working with committee members this entire year. I wanna thank my colleagues here on the dais for your patience, for the laughter, for the education. It's really been an amazing and wonderful opportunity to work with each and every one of you as well. and also to the consultants who do a lot of the work behind the scenes, making sure that all of your comments and your input are being noted and advocating for Californians. So thank you so much. I know that there's a lot of work behind the scenes that doesn't come up here and presented here on the dais. So thank you to each and every one of you. If you're not able to testify here today, I want to make sure that you submit your comments and your suggestions in writing to the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee or visit our website. As you know, this is our last subcommittee hearing for the year, and a focus of mine in Budget Subcommittee for this year has been delivering efficiency and accountability in state government, making sure that taxpayer dollars work for Californians, for all Californians. I have been very pleased this year to achieve successes in consumer protection, public safety, and cybersecurity, as well as Pacific Subcommittee 4 successes in food security, local agriculture, and housing affordability. I'm proud of the work that we have accomplished here in Subcommittee 4, and thank my fellow committee members once again, and all those who provide our presentations, information, public comment over the year to the subcommittee. I want to provide an opportunity to our vice chair and any other members on the subcommittee to provide any closing remarks if they like We start with our vice chair Thank you, Madam Chair. I've appreciated your chairmanship and generous allowance for me to provide input. Sometimes either welcome or not, but thank you very much. And you mentioned consultants, and Chantelle Denny sitting next to me, our Republican consultant, spends a lot of time jamming facts into my head, making sure that I understand what we're doing. And she's mostly successful, but thank you very much also. So thanks. Senator Cabaldon. Yeah, Madam Chair, thank you. It's been obviously an important and productive year, as you've indicated, as your predecessor as the chair of the subcommittee. I just want to thank you for distilling the essence of what matters in this work. This subcommittee has, I think, the most sprawling jurisdiction of any of the budget subcommittees. Other subcommittees have more cash. Many of the other ones have life and death issues in every single, and we do too, but the sheer range of topics and issues that this subcommittee takes on is mind-boggling. And one of the things I have very much valued about your leadership here is constantly bringing it back. What is this going to mean for everyday Californians? And that's a question not asked often enough in this building and certainly in this subcommittee. And so thank you for putting Californians at the center at helping to make understandable the complexity of what we deal with. And then, of course, to give the floor to your colleagues. We have a wide range of perspectives and issues and comments, but it's been an incredibly collaborative subcommittee. It's one of my favorite ones. We work very well across the aisle with one another in order to make sure state government and local government are efficient and effective, and then we're getting that job done. So thank you so much for your leadership here. Thank you, Senator Cabaldon, and Mr. Vice Chair, thank you. Once again, as Senator Cabaldon said, this is a subcommittee that perhaps we don't have the largest pot of money compared to other subcommittees, but I do believe that the funding that we have, that we have oversight over, we do need to be careful and cautious in making sure that it works because it is the foundation of what makes government work for people, and that's why this subcommittee is so important. With that, I want to conclude the agenda for today's hearing. I want to thank you once again. And the Senate Budget Subcommittee 4 is now adjourned. Thank you.