Senate Budget Subcommittee 2 advances broad natural-resources and energy package after hours of public comment; votes recorded

The California State Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 2 advanced a large slate of natural-resources and energy budget items Thursday after more than three hours of public comment on topics that included transit funding, demand-side grid programs, dam-safety grants under Proposition 4, the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (voluntary agreements) program, and proposed exemptions from standard regulatory reviews.

The subcommittee, chaired by Senator (name listed in the transcript as) Allen, heard more than three dozen public commenters representing transit agencies, water districts, environmental groups, energy providers and business associations before moving through a series of roll-call votes on grouped budget items. Committee members ultimately approved large portions of the packages; several item groupings drew a dissenting “no” vote by Senator Choi and a number of other items that Choi recorded as abstentions.

Why it matters: the subcommittee’s actions shape which programs receive near-term funding and which items the Legislature will send forward for the full budget process or to policy committees. Witnesses told the panel that funding decisions this year could affect wildfire prevention staffing, water-supply projects already under contract, grid reliability programs that use batteries and smart thermostats, and longstanding environmental restoration efforts in the Delta and Central Valley.

Most important actions and themes

- Transit and related climate programs: Pimentel, representing the California Transit Association, thanked the committee for rejecting proposed cuts to transit in the two‑party budget agreement and urged preserving continuous appropriations for transit programs (transit funding and cap-and-trade linked programs remain subject to later negotiations). BART, LA Metro and other transit interests also welcomed the decision to hold cuts in abeyance.

- Grid reliability—DSGS and DEBA: Multiple clean-energy speakers, including Ellie Fenton Sutliff for the California Solar and Storage Association and representatives of Advanced Energy United and Rewiring America, warned that the state’s Demand-Side Grid Support (DSGS) and Distributed Electricity Backup Assets (DEBA) programs risked being underfunded. Witnesses said DSGS — which leverages home batteries and smart thermostats to avoid use of polluting peaker plants — could run out of funds after the 2025 summer without new appropriations. The transcript records a specific claim that this year’s budget bill takes $18,000,000 away from DSGS.

- Dam safety and Proposition 4: Speakers for the Dam Safety Funding Coalition, including representatives of Yuba Water Agency and Irvine Ranch Water District, asked the Legislature to appropriate at least the governor’s originally proposed $231,500,000 in Prop. 4 dam-safety funds for the year. Witnesses said an earlier $50,000,000 solicitation produced responses requesting roughly $369,000,000 across 72 projects, a signifiers of demand for funding.

- Healthy Rivers and voluntary agreements; Delta conveyance trailer bills: A large group of environmental organizations, water agencies and Delta stakeholders urged support or rejection depending on their view of the voluntary agreements. Several speakers — including Jennifer Pierre (State Water Contractors), Julia Hall (Association of California Water Agencies), and multiple environmental groups — urged continued funding for the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program and said ongoing projects and contracts depend on it. Conversely, some organizations praised the committee’s decision to move proposed Delta Conveyance trailer bills and related water-quality plan items into the policy process rather than resolving them in the budget package.

- Regulatory review and CEQA exemptions for SB 253 / SB 261: Business groups including the California Chamber of Commerce, California Business Properties Association, California Retailers Association and others urged the committee to reject proposed exemptions that would bypass the Standardized Regulatory Impact Analysis (SREA/SRIAs) and, in some cases, CEQA review for SB 253 and SB 261 rulemaking. The business groups argued exemptions would reduce transparency and remove independent economic analysis of major regulations.

- Community and wildfire programs: Testimony included support for the wildfire county coordinators program (47 counties) from the California Fire Safe Council and endorsements for SGIP trailer language clarifying community choice aggregator (CCA) eligibility from San Diego Community Power and several CCAs. The State Parks library pass program drew concern after the Legislature’s version did not include the governor’s proposed $6,750,000 expansion.

Votes at a glance (grouped motions recorded in the transcript)

1) Part A (natural resources) — Unanimous approvals (4–0): committee advanced items listed in the transcript as Part A items 3, 6–9, 11–14, 16–20, 23, 26–30, 32–33, 35–36, 38–40, 44–45, 49–55, 57–63, 65, 70–71, 76, 79–82, 84–88. Motion status: approved 4–0. (Roll call: Senator Allen — aye; Senator Blake Spear — aye; Senator Choi — aye; Senator McNerney — aye.)

2) Part B (energy and air quality) — Unanimous approvals (4–0): committee advanced Part B items recorded as 1, 3, 12–16, 19, 21, 29, 31, 33, 35–42, 45, 48. Motion status: approved 4–0. (Roll call: Allen, Blake Spear, Choi, McNerney — all aye.)

3) Part A — Items with a recorded “no” by Senator Choi: items recorded as Part A 10, 15, 21, 72 and 83. Motion status: passed 3–1 (Allen aye; Blake Spear aye; Choi no; McNerney aye). (Motion moved by Senator Blake Spear as recorded.)

4) Part B — Items with a recorded “no” by Senator Choi: Part B items 2, 4–8, 10, 17–18, 20–28, 30, 32, 34, 46–47. Motion status: passed 3–1 (Choi recorded as no; others aye). (Motion moved by Senator Blake Spear as recorded.)

5) Multiple Part A items recorded as abstentions by Senator Choi: Part A items 1, 2, 4–5, 22, 24–25, 31, 34, 37, 41–43, 46–48, 51, 56, 64, 66–69, 73–75, 77–78. Motion status: passed 3–0 with Choi abstaining (Allen aye; Blake Spear aye; McNerney aye; Choi abstain). (Motion moved by Senator McNerney as recorded.)

6) Part B — Final small group with unanimous approval: Part B items 9, 11, 43–44, 49 were recorded approved (roll call shows aye votes by Allen, Blake Spear, Choi; McNerney aye as well).

Committee members’ remarks and next steps

Committee members thanked staff and stakeholders for extensive testimony and emphasized the scale and complexity of the work — natural resources, energy, water, wildfire, and transportation — in the Subcommittee’s jurisdiction. Members repeatedly noted the state’s projected budget deficit and the need to prioritize funding. Senator Choi said she would balance competing priorities and expected to support some items while opposing or abstaining on others. Several members also praised the decision to move Delta conveyance items into the policy process.

What the transcript does not show

The hearing transcript records the grouped item numbers, votes, and public comment but does not include the full text of each budget item, trailer bill language, or detailed appropriation amounts for every listed item. Where commenters cited dollar figures or contract details (for example, requests for Prop. 4 dam-safety funding, or quoted allocations for DSGS), the committee record should be consulted for the authoritative budget text and appropriation amounts.

Taper: The subcommittee adjourned after recording the votes and will return to additional budget work in future hearings as negotiations continue.