CALIFORNIA:

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July 7, 2009

California's Water Board last week approved about $83 million for public health and environmental projects, including $51.3 million in federal stimulus funds, according to a press release from the State Water Resources Control Board. With the projects approved last week, the State Water Board has allocated more than $93 million in stimulus funds to 31 projects.

 

June 19, 2009

California is positioned well for high-speed rail funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, California Recovery Task Force head Cynthia Bryant said. “We are more advanced than any other state in the nation in planning and have already legislatively cleared the way for public private partnership authority in this area,” Bryant said in a statement after federal guidelines on the funding was announced. Voters in California approved nearly $10 million in state bonds that could be combined with stimulus dollars for high speed rail, according to the Associated Press.

June 1, 2009

California in May became the first state to apply for fundiing under the State Energy Program through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The paperwork was submitted by the California Energy Commission, which will administer the $226 million.

"We are meeting and exceeding federal deadlines every day - and Californians can rest assured that the state is doing everything in its power to put Recovery Act funding to work to create jobs," Gov. Schwarzenegger said in a press release. 

The application focuses on creating and retaining jobs, achieving lasting and measurable energy benefits that follow the state’s energy and environmental mandates and policy goals of increasing energy efficiency, renewable energy and bioenergy as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to the release.

 

May 4, 2009

Workforce investment boards and community colleges can apply for job training grants through the new California Green Jobs Corps, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a press release May 1. The new job corps program makes up to $10 million of the state’s Recovery Act funding available for the grants. The initial phase of the program will place at least 1,000 at-risk youth ages 16 to 24 in green jobs over the next 20 months, according to the release.

May 1, 2009

Groundbreaking for California’s first infrastructure project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was held April 30. The $13.5 million project will improve the pavement on Interstate 80 between State Route 12 and Air Base Parkway in the Bay Area, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

 

April 20, 2009

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing for significant federal investment under the Recovery Act for California’s high-speed rail system, which is far ahead of any state’s system, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

“With more than 10 years of planning already completed and a commitment last November by voters to issue nearly $10 billion of state bonds, California is once again leading the nation as the first state to commence and fund high speed rail development,” Schwarzenegger said in the release.  “We have already laid the groundwork for high-speed rail in California and with a boost from our federal partners, nearly 40 million Californians and millions of travelers from around the world will be able to experience the reality of America’s first high-speed rail system.”

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass pledged continued cooperation from the legislature in the state’s efforts to build a high-speed rail system. “The legislature will keep moving forward and working with the Governor, Caltrans and the High-Speed Rail Authority to make sure California is as competitive as possible for these funds and that we are ready to go when it’s time to apply for this money in June,” she said in a press release.

California became the first state in the country to gain approval for a share of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund dollars in the federal Recovery Act, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Education. The approval from the federal government makes the state eligible for $4 billion, the release said. California became eligible for the funding after completing Part 1 of the State Stabilization Application, which was made available April 1, the release said. The action makes California school districts and universities immediately eligible for $3.1 billion in Recovery Act funding meant to save jobs and protect education funding, according a press release from the governor’s office.

March 24, 2009

A Freemont, Calif., company has been awarded the first green loan guaranteed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Solyndra, which makes solar panels, will receive a $535 million loan backed by the U.S. Department of Energy to construct a second manufacturing plant, according to businessGreen.com. The loan will help finance about three-fourths of the construction, which will employ about 3,000 people, the company told businessGreen. After completion, the manufacturing facility will employ 1,000 people full-time, according to businessGreen.

 

March 20, 2009

As President Obama traveled to California to discuss the economic stimulus package, the White House Press Office put together some informational backgrounders covering the state’s economic situation and the funding for California in the first 30 days of the stimulus act.

• Funding for California in the first 30 days since signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - Press release, The White House

• Background on California’s Economic Situation - Press release, The White House

March 17, 2009

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on March 13 launched an economic recovery Web site. In addition to providing resources about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Web site includes a transparency link that will provide detailed information on federal funds the state receives and spends. The site will also be used to provide the reporting and accountability requirements of the act, and will include a map showing the geographic distributions of expenditures.

 

California will receive nearly $412 million for weatherization funding and energy grants from the stimulus package, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Energy. The funding includes nearly $186 million for the Weatherization Assistance Program and $226 million for the state energy program.

 

The California Transportation Commission on March 11 selected 57 transportation projects totaling $625 million as the first to receive infrastructure-focused federal economic stimulus dollars, according to a release from the California Department of Transportation. The commission allocated funding for 56 of the projects pending approval from the Federal Highway Administration to release stimulus funds.

The California Budget Project on March 9 released a study of what the American Recovery and Reinvesment Act will mean to the state. The nonpartisan group estimated the state will receive $50 billion from the stimulus package, about 6.4 percent of the package. According to the study, California will receive $17.2 billion through increased Medicaid funding and the state fiscal stabilization funds.