Subcommittee #1 (Education) Laird (D-Santa Cruz) Chair, Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa), and Pérez (D-Pasadena)
Money for Administrative Functions Could Better Support Student Housing. The subcommittee discussed various budget issues for California’s community college system. Unlike the University of California and California State University systems, for which the Governor proposes budget cuts of more than $1.2 billion, community college funding is protected by the state’s constitution and would see an increase in the upcoming budget. However, the Governor has proposed to spend over $330 million on community college information technology systems, even though required evaluations of these projects are not yet available. The funds for these projects could instead improve student services directly or restore past cuts to student housing construction. In the 2023-24 budget package, the Governor and legislative Democrats cut cash support for student housing construction and switched over to borrowing instead, thus reducing the number of projects that could be built.
Subcommittee #2 (Resources, Environmental Protection, and Energy) Allen (D-Santa Monica) Chair, Choi (R-Irvine), Blakespear (D-Encinitas), and McNerney (D- Pleasanton)
Accountability Needed for CalRecycle Amid Program Delays. At Thursday’s subcommittee hearing, Senator Steven Choi (R-Irvine) joined fellow lawmakers in expressing frustration over Governor Newsom’s directive for CalRecycle to restart the rulemaking process for SB 54 (Allen, 2022), the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, which aims to reduce single-use packaging and plastic foodware waste. Legislators from both parties criticized CalRecycle's delayed regulations, citing concerns about agency efficiency and expansive regulatory power. Consequently, lawmakers are delaying decisions on CalRecycle’s budget. Senator Choi, who opposes SB 54, also raised concerns about the unchecked power of regulatory agencies under the Newsom administration. “This is just one example of why stronger oversight is needed to maintain public trust and ensure accountability,” Choi stated.
Subcommittee #3 (Health and Human Services) Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) Chair, Grove (R-Bakersfield), Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley)
Budget Prioritizes Immigration Legal Serves Over Housing and Homelessness Programs. The Governor’s proposed budget for 2025-26 includes $75 million in continued funding for immigration legal services, with an additional $10 million provided in the recent special session, but offers no additional funding for housing and homelessness programs directed at vulnerable populations. Programs such as Bringing Families Home (BFH) and Home Safe provide housing support for families involved with the child welfare system and individuals in adult protective services, frequently as a result of elder abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. Previous one-time funding has begun to run out, leading eight counties to close their Home Safe programs already, with 27 more counties expected to close their programs by July 2025. Senate Republicans remain committed to addressing the housing and homelessness crisis that continues to plague California, and call out the lack of prioritization for these programs in the Governor’s budget.
Subcommittee #4 (State Administration and General Government) Cabaldon (D-Yolo) Chair, Niello (R-Fair Oaks), and Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles)
Governor Expands Bureaucracy, Creates Three New State Entities. The subcommittee discussed the Governor’s reorganization proposal to split the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency into two agencies. The proposal also would create two new state departments: the Department of Housing Development and Finance and the Housing Development and Finance Committee. Senator Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) questioned whether the proposal would improve the state’s annually poor performance in building homes or possibly result in even greater levels of confusion within the housing construction market. While the proposal may be intended to improve oversight of the state’s homelessness programs, the reorganization would fail to consolidate over 30 programs under one department umbrella, which could at least provide some semblance of improved efficiency. Additionally, despite his proposal to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, the Governor has again failed to propose unwinding the many state mandates and regulations that make homebuilding in California significantly more expensive than in other states.
Subcommittee #5 (Corrections, Public Safety, Judiciary, Labor, and Transportation) Richardson (D- San Pedro) Chair, Seyarto (R-Murrieta), Wahab (D-Hayward), and Durazo (D-Los Angeles)
Backlog of Armed Felons Grows, Fueled by Recent Legislation and Poor Management. The subcommittee discussed a request from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to fund recently-enacted firearms restrictions bills. Absent from the discussion was DOJ’s March 13, 2025 report on the state’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System. The report revealed that the number of felons and other persons in the state who still possessed guns despite a legal prohibition had grown by more than 10 percent since 2023, reaching over 27,000 by the end of 2024. This is partly due to new laws that expand firearm prohibitions, as discussed by the subcommittee. Some of the blame also resides with the Attorney General, who has failed to effectively oversee the DOJ unit charged with disarming prohibited persons. A fact not lost on Senator Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) is that disarming dangerous felons known to have guns is a far more effective strategy to reduce violence than passing endless gun control bills.