• After President Joe Biden’s announcement that a deal was reached with the Senate on infrastructure spending, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) issued a statement commending the agreement. “Gridlock has kept us from modernizing our roads, bridges, trains, buses, and water pipes for long enough,” Carbajal said. “This deal is proof that we can get things done if we roll up our sleeves and work together. Glad President Biden achieved this bipartisan deal, which has eluded previous administrations.” Carbajal, a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, added that the committee passed the Invest in America Act earlier this month to fund transportation systems. “I helped secure $20 million for Central Coast projects that will buy electric buses, a new bike path, and ease traffic on Highway 101,” Carbajal said. “I will keep fighting to make sure we invest in the things that matter, including funding to tackle the climate crisis and measures to create good-paying jobs. Now, let’s get to work on another comprehensive plan to meet the needs of Central Coast families.” Among the funding that Carbajal secured for the Central Coast is $11 million for the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments to fund the Highway 101 Multimodal Corridor Project and other street improvements. U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) also issued a statement after Biden’s announcement of the bipartisan infrastructure deal. “I’m encouraged by the progress made with the bipartisan infrastructure deal announced today, but by itself, it does not meet all the critical infrastructure needs of the country,” Padilla said. “Today’s bipartisan proposal is historic. We need to invest in our roads and transit systems, in the resiliency of our electric grid, expand and upgrade broadband, and improve our water systems. But our human infrastructure needs are equally important—tackling the climate crisis, fixing our broken immigration system, and investing in our care economy.”
• On June 25, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Senate and Assembly leaders announced an extension of the state’s eviction moratorium and increased rent relief. Assembly Bill 832 extends the current eviction moratorium through Sept. 30 and ensures “that California quickly uses the more than $5 billion in federal rental assistance to help the state’s tenants and small landlords and protect vulnerable households from eviction,” according to Newsom’s office. “The agreement widens rental assistance by enhancing current law. Provisions include increasing reimbursement to 100 percent for both rent that is past due and prospective payments for both tenants and landlords.” Newsom said in the statement that the economic impacts of COVID-19 disproportionately impact low-income Californians, and that the moratorium extension will aim to close that gap. “That’s why I am thankful for today’s news from the Legislature—protecting low-income tenants with a longer eviction moratorium and paying down their back-rent and utility bills—all thanks to the nation’s largest and most comprehensive rental assistance package, which I am eager to sign into law as soon as I receive it,” he said. “Our housing situation in California was a crisis before COVID, and the pandemic has only made it worse—this extension is key to making sure that more people don’t lose the safety net helping them keep their home,” Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) said in the statement from Newsom’s office. “People are trying to find jobs and make ends meet and one of the greatest needs is to extend the evictions moratorium—which includes maximizing the federal funds available to help the most tenants and landlords possible—so that they can count on a roof over their heads while their finances rebound.”
This article appears in Jul 1-8, 2021.