SACRAMENTO – Today, Assemblymember Devon Mathis (R-Visalia) opposed the 2019-2020 state budget. This budget entails a total expenditure of $320.9 billion, a 3.5% increase over last year’s budget.
“This budget has it all – the good, the bad, and the ugly,” said Assemblymember Mathis. “While there are a large number of supportable proposals that aim to increase the quality of life for our citizens, there are a number of misguided priorities that do far more harm than good.”
“Throughout the budget, we spend millions on new and untested proposals, and on programs which do not directly benefit our communities. Sadly, most of this spending comes at the expense of our most at-risk communities, including the Developmentally Disabled community. While studies have shown a substantial need in funding, far more than proposed within this budget, the Governor and Budget Chairs continue to underfund and ignore the needs of these individuals.”
“Furthermore, this budget ignores the underlying problem our communities face, especially in rural California, with regard to healthcare – access. Our communities experience a severe lack of access to quality healthcare providers, and the problem only grows year by year. Families in my communities are told they’ll have to wait weeks to see their doctors; this budget, through its massive expansion of the system, will force these wait times into months. This is unacceptable.”
“Finally, this budget contains more “pork” than a pig farm. Not only does this budget contain millions in spending for the construction of statues and dog parks, it comes at the expense of expanding funding for after-school programs for our youths. These misguided priorities cannot go unchecked.”
