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Lawmakers and analysts question continuous appropriations as billions sit programmed but unspent
Summary
Members and analysts at the Assembly subcommittee said statutory continuous appropriations have limited oversight and asked agencies for clearer reporting after CARB acknowledged a substantial portion of GGRF awards are not yet expended.
Lawmakers in the Assembly Budget subcommittee expressed repeated concerns about statutory continuous appropriations for programs funded from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), arguing they limit legislative oversight and can leave large sums committed but not spent.
Helen Kerstein of the Legislative Analyst's Office told the committee that about two-thirds of historical GGRF allocations were statutory and many were continuous appropriations. She warned that continuous allocations provide steady funding but reduce annual legislative control over changing priorities.
Committee members pressed CARB on the pace of spend-down. Mario Cruz, chief of CARB—s Climate Investments Branch, said the state posts project-level award and expenditure information on the California Climate Investments website. During the hearing CARB staff said roughly $33 billion has been generated from auction proceeds since the program began and that only a portion has been awarded and expended on the ground; CARB staff and members exchanged figures during the hearing about the award-to-expenditure gap and the time it takes for projects to move from award to construction and completion.
Several members, including Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan and Assemblymember Bauer (remarks conflated in the transcript), asked for follow-up deliverables: a program-by-program accounting of awards versus expended funds, and clearer milestones and sunset dates for any statutory allocations. LAO and members said the combination of multi-year awards, constrained administrative capacity and statutory continuous appropriations make it harder to understand whether funds are being used efficiently.
Why this matters: Continuous appropriations reduce annual scrutiny and can lock state policy into decade-old priorities, while the public expects to see tangible results more rapidly. The committee signaled it may seek changes in how GGRF funds are allocated or require additional reporting and sunset dates for statutory allocations.
What comes next: CARB and other administering agencies were asked to provide project-level expenditure timelines and a clearer account of obligated versus expended funds ahead of future hearings.
