Governor Newsom Announces $93.2 Million in Funding for JPAC Priorities Days After JPAC Advocacy Day
The Governor’s May Revise Includes $50 Million for Community Security, $40 Million to Rebuild Summer Camps Destroyed in Fires, and Funding for New Initiatives on Holocaust Education and Combating Hatred
Today, Governor Gavin Newsom released his updated budget proposal known as the May Revise. The proposal contains four major victories for the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC), totaling $93.2 million, including funding for JPAC’s two biggest requests. Two hundred Jewish community members converged on Sacramento earlier this week for JPAC Advocacy Day and met with the Governor’s Office and 88 legislative offices. These budget victories represent the immediate impact of those lobbying efforts.
The May Revise includes $50 million to fund the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP). An annual initiative led by JPAC and the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, the NSGP provides funding to nonprofits at risk of hate-motivated violence to help with their security infrastructure. Last year, the state directed $50 million to the program, representing an all-time high. This announcement matches that record amount.
Also included is $40 million to rebuild six Jewish and non-Jewish summer camps that were destroyed in recent wildfires. URJ Camp Newman and Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps are each set to receive $11.83 million, and the Shalom Institute would receive $9.47 million. Other summer camps included in the funding proposal are Camp Krem, Camp Skylark, and Camp Jack Hazard.
Two recent initiatives sponsored by JPAC also received funding. The Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education was established by executive action from Governor Newsom in 2021. Inspired by Senator Henry Stern’s JPAC-sponsored bill, the Council’s creation was a major victory for JPAC. The May Revise includes $1.4 million to staff the Council and ensure the proper educational goals are being achieved.
AB 1126 (Bloom) was a JPAC-sponsored bill signed into law in 2021, establishing the Commission on the State of Hate. The May Revise includes $1.8 million to further its mission of analyzing and proposing policy solutions to root out hate.
The state legislature must still put together their own budget proposal and reconcile it with the Governor by June 15, 2022, according to the State Constitution. JPAC will continue to advocate towards the legislature for other budget priorities, which total over $300 million.
“We thank Governor Newsom for his close working relationship with JPAC and the Jewish Caucus,” said Allison Gingold, JPAC’s Board Chair. “Governor Newsom has remained a steadfast ally to the Jewish community, and his inclusion of our biggest requests into the May Revise is yet another demonstration of that understanding of our community’s needs. We also thank Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, Senator Scott Wiener, and the entire Jewish Caucus for partnering with us to champion security grants and summer camp funding. We have more work to do, but this represents a major victory for JPAC following our recent Advocacy Day.”
“Governor Newsom has demonstrated once again that he understands how increasing acts of antisemitism and hatred have distressed Jews and other vulnerable communities, and he has heeded our call to address it on all fronts,” said David Bocarsly, JPAC Executive Director. “As a product of Jewish summer camps, I am also grateful that the state will help return these valuable institutions to our young people. Thank you, Governor Newsom, for working with us on these issues time and again, and to Senator Stern and Assemblymember Bloom for your leadership in creating these vital initiatives to root out hate. We also want to extend a special thanks to the Jewish Caucus, especially Chair Gabriel and Vice Chair Wiener, for partnering with us on our biggest initiatives. We will continue to advocate for funding for our remaining budget initiatives, but this is an incredible victory thus far. It’s clear our advocacy efforts this week made a difference.”
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