• On July 10, the House Appropriations Committee moved forward a bill that includes a proposal from U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) to prevent President Donald Trump’s plans to expand oil and gas development in offshore areas, including the Central Coast. “Protecting our environment and local economy is paramount, and I refuse to let the Trump administration put the interests of the oil and gas lobby over the well-being of our coast,” Carbajal said in a news release from his office. “We on the Central Coast know firsthand how devastating an oil spill can be to our marine life, economy, and community.” Earlier this year, Carbajal led the writing of two letters urging the committee to include language in the Interior-Environment Appropriations package for the 2021 fiscal year to keep federal funds from being used to approve new oil and gas leases in the Outer Continental Shelf. According to the news release, the House is expected to vote on the bill in late July.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on July 16 that the state opened up $600 million in funding for local governments to purchase housing for people experiencing homelessness. This effort, called Homekey, is designed to assist cities and counties with purchasing housing for homeless individuals who are at high risk of becoming severely ill from COVID-19. The funding could be used to purchase rooms at hotels, motels, and vacant apartment buildings that are then converted into long-term housing options. “Homekey is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to massively expand housing for the homeless in California with federal stimulus funds,” Newsom said in a release from his office. “This unique opportunity requires us to move quickly, in close collaboration with our city and county partners, to protect the most vulnerable people in our state.” To acquire these funds, cities and counties have to submit project proposals to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which planned to begin accepting applications on July 22.
• The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) is looking for residents who are interested in serving on a committee that oversees the investment of funds raised through Measure A, a sales tax measure that voters approved in 2008. The measure is estimated to provide funding for more than $1 billion in transportation projects through 2040, according to a news release from SBCAG. The committee is made up of 11 members, including four from North County, four from South County, and three at-large members. SBCAG is looking to fill the three at-large positions and is seeking two North County members who can “represent transportation interests in the county,” according to the organization. Residents interested in applying must do so by July 29. For more information. visit sbcag.org/news or contact SBCAG Government Affairs and Public Information Manager Lauren Bianchi at lbianchiklemann@sbcag.org.
• State legislators reacted to Gov. Gavin Newom’s decision to shut down certain indoor businesses throughout the state, with additional closures in counties that have hit hard by COVID-19, including Santa Barbara County. In a Facebook post, Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) encouraged her constituents to listen to public health guidance to beat the virus. “Help our counties by wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and avoiding public gathering,” Limón said in the post. “Let’s continue to do our part for the health of our communities.” In a post on her Facebook page, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) said that it’s clear the state failed to limit the spread of the virus as businesses reopened. “Now we must, again, significantly wind down our efforts to reopen so we can more seriously attack this virus and its insidious and rampant expansion,” Jackson said in the post.
This article appears in Jul 23-30, 2020.