(Photo Credit: Violeta Vaqueiro/CA Fwd)
California Forward (CA Fwd) congratulates Governor Brown for increasing the investment in workforce training in his 2017-2018 proposed budget. An increase of $150 million of one‑time Proposition 98 General Fund for grants to community colleges will help prepare more Californians for in-demand and high-growth jobs in major industry sectors. Addressing the growing skills gap is an imperative that has been promoted by the California Economic Summit and our partners.
While we were disappointed that no new spending was proposed to meet the state's critical housing shortage, we were pleased to see that the Governor's housing principles were closely aligned with the “all of the above” housing framework developed by the Summit. We agree that many answers to the housing issue lay within the regions, not in the Capitol. The stubborn fact remains that California ranks second to last in per capital housing units and we simply must address this issue if California is going to expand its middle class. CA Fwd and the Summit's regional leaders pledge to continue advancing solutions to this fundamental economic issue.
The slowing growth of revenue that the Governor pointed out is a sober reminder about the importance of building a healthy reserve to help safeguard critical programs and services against the inevitable next economic downturn. We are pleased the Governor remains committed to fiscal prudence.
— Statement on behalf of James Mayer, president and CEO of CA Fwd, www.cafwd.org
