Sacramento, California - Monday the California State Legislature voted to approve the 2018-2019 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) Expenditure Plan. Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) is pleased to report the successful inclusion of his local priorities into the plan.

This year, Garcia went up to bat, working alongside the Budget Subcommittees to ensure that the expenditure plan encompassed allocations for agricultural grant programs as well as Natural Resource programming that were not originally listed into the bill language.

 “From the minute I arrived in Sacramento, I set out to make sure that our region received equitable investments from the state. This year, I rallied support from my colleagues and pushed to secure greenhouse gas reduction funding allocations for the programs that have proven their ability to provide significant health, environmental and economic benefits,” stated Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia.

 “After three years of consistent efforts, our Coachella, Imperial and Palo Verde Valley areas have finally begun to see climate investments across a diverse benefit spectrum including grants for agriculture, affordable housing, transportation and parks infrastructure projects.”

 “This funding mechanism has the potential to transform environmentally vulnerable areas, like those in my district. Our successful advocacy efforts will open up millions in additional investment avenues for critical natural resources and agricultural programs. I am committed to continuing monitoring the administration of cap-and-trade revenues to identify opportunities to better align greenhouse gas reduction funds to meet our region’s unique geographical needs and to ensure the fair distribution of funding.” 

2018-2019 GGRF Expenditure Plan Highlights:

• $255 million for AB 617 (C. Garcia/.E. Garcia, 2017)  for pollution reduction programming and technical assistance funds for community-based organizations.         
• $50 million a year for two years to local air districts for AB 617 (C. Garcia/.E. Garcia, 2017) implementation.
• $40 million in new Natural and Working Lands program funding: urban greening, urban forestry, wetland restoration, and coastal adaptation.
• $40 million to Transformative Climate Communities.
• $10 million to low-income weatherization, including $2 million specifically for farmworker weatherization.
• $279 million for agricultural programs including FARMER and healthy soils.

Examples of Recent 56th Assembly District Climate Investment Grants:

• SunLine Transit Agency was awarded $12.5 million to deploy five new zero-emission fuel cell buses and support the development of the largest hydrogen fueling station in the United States.
• Imperial County is expected to receive about $1.2 million under the new Funding Agriculture Replacement Measures for Emission Reductions (FARMER) state grant program that was designed to help farmers to secure funds to replace old and highly emissive vehicles and equipment for more efficient ones.
• Comité Civico del Valle, Inc. was awarded $500,000 / 3-year project timeline towards installing air quality monitors to expand the existing IVAN air network into the eastern Coachella Valley to effectively cover the entire Salton Sea Air Basin.
• The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians will receive $395,386 / 3-year proposed timeline for air quality monitoring will additionally benefit the communities of the eastern Coachella Valley, and Imperial Valley, including other federally recognized tribes (i.e., Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, and Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians).
• The City of Coachella and Coachella Valley Association of Governments acquired a $170,000 Transformative Climate Communities planning grant, which will help them to orchestrate a more sustainable and healthy city model.
• El Centro and North Shore park projects were able to utilize a collective $4 million of these dollars to break ground and construct new and much needed local parks.