California Legislature likely to ask voters to borrow $20 billion for climate, schools

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Mired in a stream of multi-billion dollar budget deficits, the California Legislature on Wednesday will likely turn to voters for help.

But the money isn’t free. The climate bond alone will cost taxpayers more than $19 billion to pay off, with annual payments of $650 million per year, putting more pressure on the state’s finances. “I would have thought that the razor-thin margin on Proposition 1 would be a wake-up call on these ill-defined bonds,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. “Whether it comes to education homelessness or climate, California citizens perceive that they are not getting value for their dollar.”

“It’s something that’s more tangible for people here and more real because they’ve seen it so much,” said Melissa Romero, deputy legislative director for California Environmental Voters, an advocacy group that supports the bond. “It would continue the status quo, with some nominal equity adjustments that really won’t address the underlying issue,” said Nicole Gon Ochi, deputy managing attorney for Public Advocates, a nonprofit law firm and advocacy group.

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California voters to decide on $10 billion bond measures for climate and schoolsCalifornia lawmakers have agreed to put two bond measures before voters in November. One measure would let the state borrow $10 billion for climate programs, including helping communities recover from wildfires. Another would allocate $10 billion to build or repair public school. The measures will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.
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