In Case You Missed It: Newsom’s power play on the Delta tunnel

In an insightful Los Angeles Times column, George Skelton sharply criticizes Governor Newsom’s attempt to fast-track the controversial Delta Tunnel project by slipping it into the state budget process amid pushback from Delta communities, environmental groups, the salmon fishing industry, and legislative officials. 

As Skelton writes, the governor’s proposal has nothing to do with budget spending, but is merely a strategy to exempt the Delta Tunnel project from public hearings, environmental protections, and scrutiny. In response to the Governor’s attempt to bypass critical legal processes, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has recommended that legislators hold off voting on the proposal. 

As Assemblywoman Lori Wilson states, “The Legislature doesn’t like it when the governor injects major policy into a budget conversation. This level of policy change would usually go through several committees.”

The column firmly calls on the Legislature to stand its ground and spend an appropriate amount of time critically weighing the project, regardless of the governor’s self-interested urgency.

Read more from George Skelton here

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