State lawmakers blasted Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday over budget proposals that could reduce transit spending by over $1 billion.
What happened: Four Democratic lawmakers, state Sens. Scott Wiener, Jesse Arreguín and Catherine Blakespear and state Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez, held a rally in front of the Capitol in an attempt to pressure Newsom (D) to fully restore $690 million in emergency transit funding. Newsom agreed to earmarking the money in 2023 but did not include it in the updated budget plan he released last month.
The move comes after more than two dozen lawmakers signed a letter Friday asking Newsom and legislative leaders to restore the emergency funds.
The lawmakers also called on finance officials to preserve $600 million in transit dollars generated by the state’s carbon auction revenues. That request is in response to the California Air Resources Board’s decision last month to weaken the cap-and-invest program in an effort to lower costs for oil refiners.
