Valley Center – Today, Assemblymember Marie Waldron (R -Valley Center) issued her response to Governor Newsom’s May Budget Revise.
California has 12% of the nation’s population, yet we have 30% of the nation’s homeless. This administration has spent $17 billion on the problem, but the homeless population has surged. Californians are fed up.
The cost of gasoline continues to spiral out of control. Gas prices rose by 38% last year, fueling overall inflation, which rose by 7.9%. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that was the highest inflation rate in 40 years, and unfortunately, there is no end in sight.
On April 26, due to time-consuming debates in previous sessions and untimely equipment failures, the Health Committee, which I serve as Vice Chair, dealt with 56 bills in a hearing that lasted well into the evening. Several important pieces of legislation made it through the committee.
The rising cost of virtually everything is costing Californians dearly. March inflation surged to 8.5%, the largest increase in 40 years. This spike, driven largely by the cost of gasoline, made March the tenth straight month with inflation over 5%.
Last November the Centers for Disease Control reported over 100,000 overdose deaths in the United States, a new record. This represented a 30% increase over the previous year, a number driven by fentanyl and related substances. 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin, fentanyl is a deadly scourge.
Under California’s constitution, the Legislature must produce a balanced budget by June 15th, and it has to be signed into law no later than June 30th. Expenditures over the coming Fiscal Year are expected to be around $286 billion.
The bipartisan California Legislative Women’s Caucus (LWC) was formed in 1985 by nine Democrats and six Republicans. Today, 38 of the Legislature’s 120 members are women -- the Caucus now includes 14 Senators and 24 Assemblymembers.
This year California observed AG Day on March 23nd; a day we celebrate our state's unique contributions to the nation’s food supply. California has been recognized as the country’s number one agricultural state for over 60 years, supplying about 50 percent of our fruit, vegetables and nuts.
Californians are fed up with the state’s inability to deal with homelessness. With 12% of the nation’s population, we have 30% of its homeless and 47% of the total unsheltered population. In recent years, we have thrown $17 billion at the problem, yet there are no appreciable results. In fact, the situation has grown much worse; we have become a national embarrassment.