Administration outlines multi‑year Proposition 4 spending plan for water and coastal resilience

California administration officials and agency leaders on Tuesday described a multi‑year spending plan for Proposition 4 that prioritizes drinking water and wastewater assistance, recycled water, dam safety, groundwater management and flood protection while reserving larger investments in later years for project implementation and staffing.

The administration plan allocates roughly $3.8 billion of the $10 billion bond to the water chapter, with roughly $183 million identified for drinking water and wastewater programs administered by the State Water Resources Control Board in the upcoming year, Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, told the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4. "These bond dollars are some of our most flexible" funding, Esquivel said, and can be used without some of the federal restrictions attached to federal aid.

Why it matters: Proposition 4 is intended to finance climate resilience and water investments statewide. Lawmakers and analysts told committee members they want more detail and more public reporting about how the bond will be spent and flagged concerns where the administration proposes shifting existing general‑fund appropriations onto the bond.

Administration overview and LAO review

Andrew Hall of the Department of Finance and Casey Shemke of the Department of Water Resources (DWR) said the administration pproach is deliberately multi‑year. Shemke said the budget year request for…