In partnership with residents and organizations across the state, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability successfully advocated for a budget that prioritizes people.

Specifically, Leadership Counsel and residents were instrumental in securing:

• $160 million to provide safe, affordable drinking water for all Californians;
• $1 million for a Fresno County community to connect to a nearby city’s safe water supply (in 2014, half of the water wells in Tombstone Territory went dry. Meanwhile, several wells have tested for TCP and nitrates);
• $60 million to fund the Transformative Climate Communities program to invest in neighborhoods that have been neglected by city and county elected officials.

In addition, Leadership Counsel and community members led the fight to slash funding for the dairy methane reduction program. “Dairy Digesters” will now receive a portion of the $34 million allocated for manure management, versus last year’s $99 million, but the fact is we should not be investing any money in digesters. This program is a severe health threat to low-income communities, doesn’t truly address our state’s climate crisis and only benefits large dairies.