{"id":146867,"date":"2026-01-23T21:43:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T21:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/146867\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T21:43:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T21:43:18","slug":"how-california-lawmakers-are-trying-to-speed-up-spending-on-voter-approved-climate-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/146867\/","title":{"rendered":"How California lawmakers are trying to speed up spending on voter-approved climate projects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Democratic lawmaker is pushing a proposal to speed up $10 billion in funding for climate programs more than a year after voters approved Proposition 4<\/a>, the state\u2019s biggest investment yet to combat climate change.<\/p>\n

Assemblymember David A. Alvarez (D-San Diego) introduced Assembly Bill 35<\/a> to cut certain regulations tied to Proposition 4 to more quickly disburse the billions of dollars voters approved for water improvements, wildfire and drought preparedness plans.<\/p>\n

The bill, which advanced from the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday, would exempt Proposition 4 funding from review under the Administrative Procedure Act, which dictates how state agencies follow rules and regulations and can cause lengthy delays in implementing programs.<\/p>\n

California voters have approved a slew of multibillion-dollar bonds over the last two decades, some of which have faced long delays from regulatory obstacles that balloon costs. Voters in 2014 approved Proposition 1, allocating $1 billion for a water storage project in the Sacramento Valley that remains under construction. A proposal to speed up building<\/a> high-speed rail by streamlining permitting failed in the Legislature last year despite voter approval of the $10-billion bond to construct it nearly two decades ago.<\/p>\n

For the environment bond, the largest portion of the money, $3.8 billion, has been approved to go toward updating drinking water systems and drought resistance.<\/p>\n

Alvarez has said his bill is a priority for addressing sewage pollution in the Tijuana River,<\/a> an issue that affects his district along the U.S.-Mexico border, and could provide as much as $30 million for cleanup projects near the river. The legislation could also help speed funding of other climate projects by 12 to 18 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe exemption is not new or unprecedented,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cThe urgency is especially real in my district where communities have endured years of sewage pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill is supported by local governments and environmental groups such as the Wilderness Society and National Audubon Society. There is no formal opposition.<\/p>\n

Opponents of the climate bond at the time criticized the amount of debt taxpayers would take on. They also cited likely project delays and a lack of accountability about where the money would go. It is expected to cost taxpayers $16 billion over 40 years to pay off, according to a legislative analysis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last year, lawmakers allocated $250 million from the $10-billion bond toward unrelated projects in their districts<\/a> as the state faced a budget deficit and slashed social services and state positions. Some of those earmarks included $50 million for a redwood trail<\/a> in the district of former Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire<\/a> (D-Healdsburg) and $1 million for an interactive water exhibit at a Santa Barbara museum<\/a> in the district of Sen. Monique Lim\u00f3n<\/a> (D-Goleta), who currently leads the state Senate.<\/p>\n

Voters approved Proposition 4 with the expectation it would quickly address climate-related issues and this bill would help accomplish that, Alvarez said at a committee hearing last week.<\/p>\n

The Wildlife Conservation Board, one of the state agencies expected to receive funding from Proposition 4, had a quarter of its $339 million allocation go toward additional earmarks for special projects in lawmakers\u2019 districts, such as $16 million to prevent urban development on San Julian Ranch in the district of Santa Barbara Assemblymember Gregg Hart, a Democrat.<\/p>\n

AB 35 would not affect the earmarks lawmakers approved from the bond.<\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones<\/a>, a Santee Republican who led the opposition to Proposition 4 in 2024 and criticized its subsequent earmarks, is among 30 co-authors of the bill from both parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cAB 35, in my opinion, is good government,\u201d Jones said. \u201cBecause its purpose is to eliminate delays and waste in getting these processes removed.\u201d<\/p>\n

As many as nine projects could receive expedited funding for the river, where little action has been taken at the state level.<\/p>\n

The bill awaits a floor vote in the Assembly next week.<\/p>\n

Nadia Lathan writes for CalMatters.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Democratic lawmaker is pushing a proposal to speed up $10 billion in funding for climate programs more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9331,3899,51138,7,9,4193,8,73096,4579,73095,4110,4489,73094,225,55411,1522,73093,72],"class_list":["post-146867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-alvarez","tag-assembly-bill","tag-bond","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-lawmaker","tag-california-news","tag-certain-regulation","tag-district","tag-formal-opposition","tag-funding","tag-proposition","tag-sewage-pollution","tag-state","tag-tijuana-river","tag-voter","tag-voter-approved-climate-project","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}