Subcommittee #1 (Education)
Supporting Students with Affordable Housing. The subcommittee heard an overview of community college proposals, including testimony on college funding challenges stemming from the state’s massive budget deficit. California college students must deal with the state’s outrageously high cost of living in addition to completing their studies, and the continued lack of affordable housing creates additional negative impacts. Last year, a late backroom budget deal among the Governor and legislative Democrats pulled back state grants funds for housing construction from community colleges and directed the colleges to borrow instead, thus slowing down student housing projects. Senator Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) spoke in support of building student housing: "It's the community college students that are most challenged with housing. We need to plow through this and get this done… Done well, but done as quickly as possible." The subcommittee will vote on student housing and other community college budget issues at a future hearing in May or June.
Subcommittee #3 (Health and Human Services)
Foster Children and Youth Should be a Priority, Not an Afterthought. The subcommittee discussed the Governor’s budget proposals to eliminate some services for children and youth in foster care, including the Family Urgent Response System (FURS). This system provides a 24/7 hotline and in-person mobile response support for current and former foster children and caregivers who are dealing with emotional, behavioral, or other difficulties that require immediate support to prevent the destabilization of a home situation. In 2023, nearly 5,000 calls were made to the FURS statewide hotline, with about 1,000 resulting in an in-person mobile response. Foster children and youth are the legal responsibility of the state, and cutting services to this extremely vulnerable population could be avoided entirely if the Governor were willing to delay or stop new program expansions in other areas of the budget. Senate Republicans remain committed to ensuring those in foster care are provided with the support and services they need and deserve. This item will be voted on at a later hearing.
Subcommittee #4 (State Administration and General Government)
Salton Sea Lithium Extraction Challenged by California Restrictions. The subcommittee held an informational hearing on the Salton Sea region, lithium extraction, and economic development. The Salton Sea contains lithium that can be used to make lithium-ion batteries. As the demand for electric vehicles and electricity storage facilities increases, demand for lithium is expected to increase as well. But numerous challenges exist, including extraction processes, taxation rates, and production and manufacturing facilities. The lithium separation process is expensive and not yet commercially viable, and there are significant environmental concerns with the contaminated soil. If a successful lithium industry can develop around the Salton Sea, it could help meet demand for batteries, produce clean power, create new jobs, and provide additional tax revenue for the local economy and environmental remediation efforts. Senator Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) commented on the major challenges California’s current regulatory regime imposes on businesses, including restrictive environmental and labor requirements, and questioned whether the state could be competitive in the lithium industry without significant regulatory reforms.
NOTE: Subcommittees #2 and #5 did not meet this week