Political Watch

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) visited the future site of more than 30 new studio apartments and a health clinic in downtown Santa Barbara, and presented a ceremonial check for $1 million, an investment he secured in this year’s federal budget to support the project, according to an April 16 statement from Carbajal’s […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) joined Grover Beach officials to present a $543,000 federal grant that the congressman helped secure through his work on the 2024 federal budget, according to an April 12 statement from Carbajal’s office. The funding included in the 2024 federal funding bill signed into law by President Joe Biden […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) is continuing his push to preserve the Affordable Connectivity Program, the federal internet affordability program that is lowering monthly internet bills for more than 38,000 Central Coast households, according to a March 26 statement from Carbajal’s office. Carbajal and his colleagues created the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) through […]

• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) led 17 Senate Democrats in requesting administrative relief for undocumented immigrants, according to a March 26 statement from Padilla’s office. As the Biden administration considers executive actions on the border, the letter outlines recommendations to make immigration relief more efficient for […]

• The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced legislation that prevents Coast Guard Academy cadets from punishment when reporting an incident of sexual assault, and language in that legislation was proposed last year by U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), according to a March 22 statement from Carbajal’s office. The bill advanced by the committee also […]

• Assemblymember Gregg Hart announced Assembly Bill 1866, which will address idle wells by requiring oil operators to develop a comprehensive plan to expeditiously plug the estimated 40,000 idle wells in California within the next decade, according to a March 12 statement from Hart’s office. The bill also requires operators to prioritize plugging wells within […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal and several colleagues introduced legislation to designate spaceports including Vandenberg Space Force Base, as eligible for tax-exempt municipal revenue bonds to incentivize investment in spaceport infrastructure, according to a March 8 statement from Carbajal’s office. Projects such as airports and docks currently qualify for tax-exempt municipal revenue bonds, which attract […]

• U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) and Julia Brownley (D-Oxnard) are urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to finalize the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary with a larger footprint than the most recent federally proposed alternative and to include parameters that recognize the need for coexistence with future offshore wind development […]

• Assemblymembers Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara), Steve Bennett (D-Ventura), and Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) authored Assembly Bill 2298, legislation that would help establish a statewide Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies program, according to a Feb. 21 statement from Hart’s office. The program is meant to prevent fatal ship strikes on endangered whales and reduce […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) urged House Republican leadership to bring the Senate-passed bipartisan national security supplemental aid bill to the floor for a vote, emphasizing its potential to meet the nation’s security challenges and help save lives in the short and long term, according to a Feb. 14 statement from his office. […]

• The California Strategic Growth Council awarded Resilient Cuyama Valley $1.08 million in funding through the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Program, according to a Feb. 8 statement from Assemblymember Gregg Hart’s (D-Santa Barbara) office. The TCC Program funds community-led development and infrastructure projects that achieve major environmental, health, and economic benefits in California’s most disadvantaged […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) joined an “overwhelming majority” of the U.S. House of Representatives to advance a bipartisan tax package that includes an expanded Child Tax Credit and housing affordability tax credits and would provide additional support for small businesses and families affected by recent natural disasters, according to a Jan. 31 […]