State Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres, issued a statement following Gov. Jerry Brown’s state of the state speech.
Cannella, who represents San Benito County, had this to say:
“Today, Governor Brown spoke about many of the topics I too believe are important to address this year: jobs, education reform, water and living within our means.
There are numerous reforms we can make to spur job creation. Of those, I believe that CEQA reform should be addressed immediately. As a civil engineer, I have been working with CEQA throughout my career. I believe that the goals of CEQA are valuable to our communities, but reform is needed so that special interests can no longer subvert the system by using it as a tool to unnecessarily delay development through litigation.
I am interested in hearing more about the Governor’s plans to change the way we fund our schools. I agree that we should place greater emphasis on local control, so each community can best address their unique needs.
Investing in California’s water system infrastructure must remain a priority. I support the Governor’s call for work in the San Joaquin Delta in order to ensure a safe and secure water supply so the agriculture community does not have to suffer again through devastating droughts.
I am also glad he agrees that we need to start to repay the borrowing that we used in recent years to balance our budgets. Fiscal discipline and spending restraint are critically important if California is to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.”
