Final California Budget Includes $141.2 Million in JPAC Priorities
The $308 Billion State Budget Includes a Record Amount of Funding for Seven JPAC and Jewish Community Priorities
On Thursday evening, Governor Gavin Newsom signed California’s 2022-2023 State Budget. The $308 billion budget represents the final agreement between the Governor and the Legislature after weeks of negotiations.
The budget includes a record amount of funding for Jewish community priorities, including seven items prioritized by the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC), totaling $141.2 million. JPAC worked closely with its member organizations and the California Legislative Jewish Caucus to champion these advocacy efforts.
The JPAC priority items in the final State Budget are:
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- $50 million for the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
- $40 million to rebuild six Jewish and non-Jewish summer camps lost in recent wildfires.
- $36 million for the California Holocaust Survivor Assistance Program (CHSAP).
- $9 million for the construction of a Los Angeles-area housing project for adults with disabilities, being developed by Cornerstone Housing (an offshoot of ETTA).
- $3 million to renovate and enhance the Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) Holocaust Center in San Francisco.
- $1.8 million for the Commission on the State of Hate.
- $1.4 million for the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education.
Find more details about each of these budget allocations at https://jpac-cal.org/our-work/2022-budget-items/.
These are unprecedented budget victories for the California Jewish community. JPAC priorities funded in the state budget amounted to $76 million in 2021, and $40 million in 2019 (the 2020 state budget funding was sparse due to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic). Each of these numbers represented record highs at the time.
The California State Budget takes effect at the start of the new fiscal year, on July 1, 2022.
Quotes
“The Jewish Caucus is proud to have secured unprecedented funding for numerous important Jewish community priorities in this year’s state budget,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Woodland Hills), Chair of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. “This funding will help make a real difference on issues including hate crimes, community security, Holocaust education, and rebuilding our beloved Jewish summer camps. We are most grateful to JPAC and our other partners across the state for their tireless advocacy to help secure these important resources.”
“This is an historic year for California Jewish advocacy,” said David Bocarsly, JPAC Executive Director. “The final budget includes record investments in our social service priorities and declares that California is dedicated to rooting out hate in all forms. Amidst large-scale efforts to address gun violence, reproductive rights, and rising gas prices, the Governor and Legislative leaders also demonstrated a continued commitment to Jewish community priorities. We are especially grateful to Assemblymember Gabriel, Senator Wiener, and the entire Jewish Caucus for championing many of our priorities this year, and for their ongoing and steadfast partnership. Together, we are ensuring the California Jewish voice is being heard louder than ever.”
“We thank Governor Newsom, the Legislative leadership, and our Legislative Jewish Caucus for supporting the critical and necessary funding of JPAC’s budget requests,” said Allison Gingold, JPAC Board Chair. “In the wake of increases in acts of antisemitism and hate of all forms, the need for additional security for nonprofit organizations and teaching about the Holocaust is more important than ever. We must also assure the basic needs for people with disabilities and our aging Holocaust survivor population. We are grateful that our California leaders recognized these needs and took action to address these critical issues.”
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