CalTrout News
Written by Kam Bezdek, CalTrout Policy Associate
Each year in early January, the California Governor releases a state budget proposal, initiating the process to set California’s fiscal priorities for the year. The Governor’s proposal is analyzed and amended by the legislature until May, leading to a second draft known as the May Revise, and then is further refined until it is officially passed by the legislature in June. Throughout this process, the budget experiences many changes before the finalized version is passed by the legislature, providing opportunities for interested parties to advocate for changes they believe are important and for agencies to submit proposed changes to the Governor’s plan. CalTrout’s Policy team is currently fully engaged with the State Budget process including analyzing and discussing the current budget proposal, having conversations across the board, and advocating for changes we would like to see in the next iteration.
Analyzing the Budget Proposal
The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) provides policy and fiscal advice to the State Legislature and releases public analyses of budget proposals and predictions on future budget years based on tax revenue. These analyses often contain comparisons between the budget proposals each year and their own fiscal projections for that year, which come from a variety of factors including projected tax revenue and trends and investments from previous fiscal years. The LAO released its overview of the January 10 Governor’s Budget Proposal, providing key budget insights to organizations, agencies and other interested parties earlier this month.
Jason Sisney, director of state finance at the LAO, reviewed the LAO’s release for the January 10th Budget Proposal, which calculated “that the Governor’s plan addressed a $58 billion potential California budget deficit for 2024.”
According to Sisney’s substack, “The Governor’s revenue estimates are roughly $15 billion higher than LAO’s over the three-year ‘budget window’ (22-23 through 24-25), LAO says, terming the Governor’s estimate ‘plausible, but optimistic.’ The LAO discusses how the Governor’s Proposition 98 plan is treated in deficit calculations, stating that the Governor’s budget proposal ‘lacks a plan for implementing proposed reductions to schools and community colleges.’ The Legislature likely will face more difficult choices next year, the LAO report says.”
For lobbyists and policymakers, that difference between the proposal and the LAO’s analysis matters. Not only is it important to understand how optimistic or realistic the annual Governor’s proposals are, we also seek to understand how this budget fits into planning for future budget years and how investments from previous budget years are affected by the Governor’s proposal. The Policy Team has several methods and strategies we use when engaging with the state budget process annually.
What Are We Looking At?
At California Trout, the Policy Team is primarily concerned with funding packages that are earmarked for either natural resources or climate change. We also look for specific funding that is directed towards agencies and partners we frequently work with.
In addition to reading through the budget and its analyses, looking at reports, and speaking with folks in the legislature about their priorities, we also consult our partners and other organizations when looking at promising investments–or potentially concerning cuts.
After consultation with other folks and taking a deep dive into the LAO’s report and the proposal, the Policy Team is taking a close look at the following cuts made in the Governor’s January 10th Proposal:
- The Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) faces an overall reduction of $327.4 M, $85.4 M of which are funds already appropriated in previous budget years.
- The Department of Water Resources (DWR) faces a $126 million cut from its Watershed Climate Resilience funding; this leaves $35 M remaining in funding for this program.
- The State Coastal Conservancy (CCC) faces an overall reduction of $392 M.
- The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) faces an overall reduction of $60 M.
- The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) faces a $3.6 million cut from the Forest Legacy Program, which leaves $45.4 M left in funding for the program. CalFire also faces cuts of $5.7 M from the forest and vegetation monitoring funds, leaving $32.3 million in funding for the program.
Weighing In
While the legislature is working to make changes, the public and other interested parties like CalTrout have several opportunities to weigh in. One of the ways we can advocate for changes to the Governor’s Fiscal Agenda is through supporting budget change proposals (BCPs), which are submitted by state agencies and departments.
A BCP could ask for funding for certain programs, positions, and other priorities that the applicant wants to be included in the fiscal year budget. Organizations like CalTrout are then able to support these proposals when speaking with the legislature and their staff about budget issues.
Here are a few of the BCPs the Policy Team is supporting this year:
- The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is proposing 38 new staff to regulate the state waters no longer protected by the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision.
- The Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing five new positions to start the Upper Klamath River Fisheries Monitoring Program (UKRP) and the management of Parcel B Lands.
- The California Coastal Commission is proposing 3 new permanent positions to expedite state-funded priority projects, including ecological restoration, wildfire resilience and nature-based climate adaptation, in the coastal zone.
- DWR is requesting additional funding for Urban Flood Risk Reduction
- DWR is requesting additional funding for Central Valley Systemwide Flood Risk Reduction
- SWRCB is requesting ongoing funding for the Establishment and Implementation of Instream Flow Objectives in the Scott River and Shasta River Watersheds
The Policy Team spends ample time building relationships with legislators, their staff, and with other important decision makers. Once we have a grasp on the Governor’s proposal and the proposed changes that agencies want to make, we schedule meetings with staffers to understand their priorities and advocate for ours while their legislators work hard to make necessary changes to the Governor’s proposal.
We also build coalitions of support around issues that matter to us–we coordinate with our partners to write letters of support, hold meetings about the budget together and coordinate our efforts to build strong advocacy for the environment. Several parties will likely benefit from a single BCP or allocation, so we do our best to work together and create a united front when confronting challenging cuts like those we’ll see this year.
