Praising American Recovery Plan, Senator Stern Introduces Bill to Raise Standards for California Spending
SACRAMENTO – Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) applauded the signing of the American Recovery Plan (ARP), introducing Senate Bill 46 to ensure California’s administration of federal funding incentivizes high road employers to offer better jobs, and addresses economic, racial and climate injustice.
“The ARP gives California the opportunity to recover fast, but this needs to be a just recovery that is sustainable over the long term,” said Stern. “I introduced SB 46 to ensure our recovery generates good jobs and helps address systemic racial, economic and climate injustices. We need to keep our eye on the long term, while we move money out the door.”
Under the $1.9 trillion ARP package, California should receive approximately $42 billion, with $26 billion going to the state and $16 billion going directly to cities and counties. The funding will be available for a large swath of programs, including general budget assistance, vaccine distribution, school re-openings, childcare, housing and food assistance, infrastructure projects, and paid sick and family leave.
SB 46 would require California’s administration of ARP funding, and future federal assistance, to focus on uplifting the most vulnerable communities hit hardest by COVID-19 and other disasters; reversing the anticipated spike in climate pollution from the economic recovery; and promoting high quality job growth with incentives for “high road” employers.
Echoing elements of the European Union’s economic recovery plan, which included $267 billion in green bond investment, SB 46 would attempt to mitigate a widely anticipated spike in climate change pollution from the pending economic recovery, and further prioritize funding in communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, pollution, discrimination and inequality.
The bill draws on recommendations set forth by Governor Newsom’s “Future of Work Commission,” which Stern helped conceive with Senate Bill 1470 in 2017. The report, released earlier this month, proposes ideas to evaluate and incentivize “high road employers,” who treat their workers well, and touts investment in “future proof” sectors of the economy like fighting climate change and health care. Last April, Stern led a group of 20 legislators calling for a just and resilient recovery, a call that has been renewed in SB 46.
“This funding is a lifesaver,” concluded Stern. “Now we have to spend smart, so it’s more than just a shot in the arm, but dollars that drive long lasting change and right some of the wrongs of this pandemic.”
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