53 days until the November election
First, a clarification on last week’s report: Our ranking of how lawmakers performed in the final stretch of session focused on bills that were signed and enacted into law. That didn’t include measures that have been approved by both houses and await the governor’s signature or veto.
A handful of members have more than a dozen bills in play, including ones to help speed up construction for the new San Diego sports arena and another to implement CARE Court reforms.
Democratic senators lead the pack. Catherine Blakespear has 17 bills on the governor’s desk, and Akilah Weber Pierson and Steve Padilla each have 15 bills as of publication time.
In the lower chamber, Democratic Assemblymember Chris Ward clinched 11 and Democratic Assemblymember David Alvarez has 9 atop the governor’s desk.
Sept. 30 is the last day for Newsom to sign or veto bills.
Islamic Center, UC San Diego to Receive Millions in State Funding
A science center. Zoo programs. A research boat.
Dozens of organizations received hundreds of millions of dollars from San Diego lawmakers who chose which projects got special funding during secretive negotiations in this year’s budget.
More than $90 million in earmarks went to parks, service programs and universities in Assembly Bill 113 thanks to what’s known as “pork-barrel spending.” That includes a slew of pet projects in and around San Diego, from $700,000 for public restrooms in a park in Lemon Grove, to $150,000 for habitat restoration for a creek near Mission Bay.
Who brought the most pork home?
Residents in affluent areas lucked out. Projects in the city of San Diego were awarded the most money, followed by those in wealthy North County towns such as Oceanside and La Jolla.
In the city, $2 million was approved for “security infrastructure improvements” for the mosque at the center of this year’s terrorist attack in Ward and Weber Pierson’s districts.
There was also $2 million for a conservation research center at the San Diego Zoo, $1.5 million for the Natural History Museum and $2 million for the African American Museum of Fine Arts.
Some of that funding came from Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond voters approved nearly two years ago for climate projects.
The Fleet Science Center, a museum in Ward’s district, was allotted $2 million from the bond, for example.
In an emailed statement to CalMatters and Voice of San Diego, Ward said groups submit funding requests every year and that he was “grateful” several projects, including the Islamic Center and science museum, made the cut.
“There were a number of other San Diego regional investments I was happy to see and vote for, making this overall a significant win,” he said.
Weber Pierson’s office did not return requests seeking comment.
UC San Diego gained too: More than $6 million was slated to go to the university to replace a research ship owned by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It’s one of the bigger earmarks for San Diego.
Blakespear requested Prop. 4 funds for the new ship, according to spokesperson Andrew Lamar.
“This is funding to help pay for replacing an existing Scripps research vessel that has reached the end of its life,” he said in an emailed statement. “The Scripps Institute is a world leader in climate science, and a maritime research vessel is crucial to the work it does to assess the impact of climate change and study the ocean.”
Another $3 million from the general fund is to go toward new degree programs in South County in Alvarez’s district and his biggest legislative priority.
Among the other pet projects that received funding were at least $1.5 million for park projects in La Mesa, in Democratic Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins’ district and $200,000 for maintenance at a fire department in Republican Sen. Brian Jones’ district.
Millions of dollars in one-time gifts went to religious and nonprofit groups, including $4.5 million for Feeding San Diego from Democratic Assemblymember Darshana Patel and $1 million for immigration services at Catholic Charities of San Diego from Alvarez.
Money for districts or for votes?
Earmarked spending is a longtime practice by lawmakers to gain the favor of their constituents. It also helps gain positive coverage during an election year and most members, including Ward, Blakespear and Alvarez, are up for reelection in November.
Across the state, legislators earmarked $1.3 billion combined for special projects in nearly every county. Los Angeles’ delegation took home a whopping $300 million according to a CalMatters review.
Alameda and San Francisco counties pulled in $178 million and $109 million respectively.
Amid ongoing budget deficits and looming funding cuts, some have criticized the practice as an unfair way to distribute taxpayer dollars. Last year, Republicans slammed then-Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire when his district received more than a dozen earmarks totalling over $100 million, 50 percent of which came from the 2024 climate bond.
What I’m Reading Now
- California lawmakers set aside $20 million for a security detail for current and former state officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, KCRA3 reports.
- It’s a bit of an adrenaline rush. New York Magazine wrote a love letter to the push alert, an increasingly consequential notification as more and more readers digest news through the instantaneous, single-sentence bites.
- Two California parole commissioners were ousted following public backlash after their decision to release men convicted of sex crimes, CalMatters writes.
- Thanks for reading this week’s report! Please email me at nadia@voiceofsandiego.org for any questions or comments.
CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu contributed to this report.
