Many governors have budget surpluses in the state, including federal coronavirus stimulus payments, and are using the money for projects to fight “climate change.” Excess cash can also be derived from tax collection and post lockdown consumer spending. Governors from both red and blue states are directing funds for extreme weather protection. Democrats blame fossil fuels and human activity.
California’s Gavin Newsom, Washington’s Jay Inslee, and Washington’s Jay Inslee are both clear about their plans for climate-related spending. These include expanding access to electric cars and increasing storage for renewable energies like solar. When Newsom presented his state budget, he called climate change one of the five “existential threats” to the nation’s largest state.
Governors in Republican-led states want to help communities avoid drought and natural disasters, but many won’t tie such spending to global climate change. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey offered $1 billion to water infrastructure in the West, as drought threatens Western U.S.A., which is threatening water supplies to cities and farms. Governor of Idaho Brad Little, who acknowledged the role of climate change in increasing wildfires, has proposed $150 million to cover five years’ worth of firefighting costs and more for new firefighters. Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina proposed $150 million for five years’ worth of fire-fighting costs and more for new firefighters. Henry McMaster urged lawmakers to spend $300,000,000 in federal money for, among others, protecting South Carolina’s coast from flooding, erosion, and storm damage.
The governors’ budget proposals are only the first step in budget negotiations. They will need to work closely with state legislators on the details. Many governors will release their plans over the next few weeks. Some have already begun to telegraph their priorities. Governor of New York. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat used her state-of-the-state address to demand $500 million in funding for offshore wind projects.
McMaster stated that he could not think of a more worthy use of taxpayer money than to preserve these pristine properties for future South Carolinians. He presented the South Carolina state budget to McMaster, which includes $17 million to address weather-related damages.
The climate crisis is real and not an abstraction. It is something I, and all the governors in the United States have to deal with almost every week,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat said it last week.
Our state’s long-term well-being is at stake, from extreme flooding to massive fires to seemingly inexorable ozone alerts. … We must do everything we can to ensure that this is not the new norm,” said Steve Fenberg, Democrat Colorado Senate Majority leader in the AP report.
Newsom is seeking $22 billion to fund various projects over the next five years. The majority of the money will go to electrifying school buses and expanding vehicle charging stations within low-income communities. Newsom also seeks $2 billion to fund “clean energy storage” and development.
Newsom also wants tax credits for “green” technologies to help advance the “clean-energy” political agenda.
Democrat New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked the New Mexico legislature to finance the creation of a climate change bureau with a staff of 15 and an initial funding amount of $2.5 million.
These budgets do not reflect the role that fossil fuels play in the economies of western states, particularly New Mexico. “Where the output has soared to an all-time high under Lujan Grisham’s administration,” AP reported. “At least one-fourth” of the state’s general budget can be traced back to income from oil and natural gas companies that underwrite public education, health care, and other services.
