State lawmakers said Wednesday they are wary of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to use cap-and-trade and pollution reduction dollars to fund the California Highway Patrol and the state Department of Motor Vehicles, but acknowledged the lack of other options for preventing a deficit.
What happened: Democrats raised concerns during an Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 hearing about a Department of Finance plan to shift $81 million from cap-and-trade revenues and $86 million from the Air Pollution Control Fund to backfill the state’s Motor Vehicle Account, which is the primary funding source for CHP and the DMV.
“That’s not what those funds are intended for,” said Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris. “That’s not consistent, I think, with the promises that we’ve made to Californians.”
But Democrats also pointed a finger back at themselves, saying lawmakers and governors have failed to develop a long-term solution to the account’s perpetual budget instability.
