Governor Brown’s proposed budget reflects a continued prudent and fiscally responsible approach that will help secure the state’s economic stability.
We congratulate the Governor for making it a priority to invest $200 million to implement the recommendations of the Chancellor’s Workforce Task Force and to incentivize regional collaboration among community colleges and with civic and business organizations to align programs with needed job skills.
Through the California Economic Summit, CA Fwd has worked to steer state resources toward programs that improve the workforce pipeline to prepare one million more middle-skill workers over the next ten years.
Affordable housing and housing for homeless are already under active consideration in the Legislature. While the governor did not specifically call out housing in the budget, we believe that the issue will be addressed this year. Housing is a top priority of the California Economic Summit given that the state has an acute affordable housing shortage. CA Fwd will continue working to build awareness and develop ideas on how to address the need for one million more housing units for low- and middle-income Californians in the next decade.
CA Fwd was a strong supporter of the Proposition 2 Rainy Day Fund – advocating for the measure and campaigning for its passage – and we are proud to see it is working as intended. With this budget the state could have an $8 billion budget reserve by the end of 2017, leaving us better positioned to pay down debt and face the next inevitable economic downturn, while protecting our most vulnerable populations.
— Statement on behalf of James Mayer, president and CEO of CA Fwd
