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Cervantes Statement on the Governor Signing the State Budget

For immediate release:

(SACRAMENTO) – The following is a statement by Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, regarding Governor Gavin Newsom signing the 2023-2024 state budget today:

“The state budget that the Legislature approved and the Governor has signed is balanced and fiscally responsible. Despite the fact that our state did not enjoy the groundbreaking surpluses of recent years, this budget nonetheless maintains essential services that Californians deserve. It does so while not only avoiding tapping into our rainy-day reserves but prudently growing those reserves for the future.

“As a member of the Assembly Budget Committee and Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance, I am proud of the investments that this budget makes in TK-12 education and our public institutions of higher learning. This includes an increase of $3.4 billion in Proposition 98 funding for local school districts; an increase of $1.673 billion in state general fund and federal funding for child care reimbursement; $762 million to make Universal Transitional Kindergarten more accessible to California families; and increases the enrollment slots available for California students at the University of California and California State University while reducing enrollment for nonresident students. This budget also restores $5.1 billion for public transit systems across California, provides over $1 billion to fund local efforts to reduce homelessness, and includes $100 million to support the development of affordable multi-family housing.

“I am also proud that this state budget includes $4.5 million in state funding for the Army Specialist Jesus S. Duran Eastside Library Project in the City of Riverside. I am proud to have worked with Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes to secure funding for this new permanent library in Ward 2 of the City of Riverside, the only ward in Riverside that does not have a permanent library facility. This new library will serve as a community hub for the majority-Latino Eastside neighborhood, and help support literacy efforts in Riverside. Councilmember Cervantes is a fierce advocate for working families in Ward 2 and the City of Riverside.

“I also want to thank Governor Newsom and leadership in both the Assembly and Senate for working with me and Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) to secure the following investments for the Inland Empire:

  • $91.39 million to support debt service payments for, among other projects, the expansion of enrollment and classroom facilities for the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Program at California State University, San Bernardino
  • $33.3 million to support debt service payments for campus expansion projects at, among other campuses, UC Riverside and UC Merced
  • $28.55 million for the development of the Center for Human Performance and Kinesiology at Norco College
  • $6.5 million in ongoing funding to support debt service payments for the UC Riverside School of Medicine
  • $3.063 million for a new Inland Empire LGBTQ Resource Center powered by TruEvolution and services provided in Southwest Riverside County, including in the cities of Menifee, Lake Elsinore, and Norco
  • $2 million in ongoing funding to support operational costs at the UC Riverside School of Medicine
  • $500,000 for local historical preservation efforts by the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California in the City of Riverside
  • $500,000 for the California Military Department to conduct a feasibility study regarding a possible Youth Challenge Academy in Riverside County
  • Approval of a joint student housing project between UC Riverside and the Riverside Community College District

“I want to thank TruEvolution for being essential partners in securing this $3.063 million in state funding, and in fighting for equal rights and dignity for the LGBTQ+ community in the Inland Empire. The new Inland Empire LGBTQ Resource Center powered by TruEvolution and the services provided in Southwest Riverside County will stand as a bulwark against the persecution, discrimination, and violence still faced by the LGTBQ+ community on a daily basis in our region.”

“For years, TruEvolution has worked alongside our sisters and brothers in the LGBTQ community to fight for our communities in a region that lacks sufficient support,” said TruEvolution CEO Gabriel Maldonado. “Under Assemblymember Cervantes’ transformative leadership, we will not only be able to open an LGBTQ Resource Center in downtown Riverside but will also open one in Southwest Riverside County where we know members of our community lack strong support. We will support anyone and everyone—in both Riverside and San Bernardino counties—who need it.”

Assemblymember Cervantes continued, “The Inland Empire is one of the fastest growing regions not only in California but in the United States. This means, inevitably, that our inland region will help shape the future of both our state and our entire country. This fiscally prudent state budget will provide critical, necessary investments in the Inland Empire’s working families, which will continue to make our region a destination for TK-12 and higher education, technological innovation, and the creation of well-paying jobs.”

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Sabrina Cervantes is a working mother of triplets who proudly represents the 58th District of the California State Assembly, which encompasses the Inland Empire cities of Grand Terrace and Jurupa Valley; portions of the cities of Corona, Eastvale, and Riverside; and the unincorporated communities of Coronita, El Cerrito, Highgrove, and Home Gardens. Cervantes also serves as Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus.