August 9, 2022
The Honorable Anthony Portantino
Senate Appropriations Committee, Chair
California State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 94249-0061
RE: Assembly Bill 2046 — SUPPORT
Dear Chair Portantino,
On behalf of the Council of UC Faculty Associations, I am writing to express support for Assembly Bill 2046 authored by Assemblymembers Jose Medina and Adam Gray that establishes the Inland Rising Fund.
A majority of the Inland Rising Fund request is one-time funding that will construct the physical infrastructure and expand capacity at the University of California, Riverside and University of California, Merced to address critical needs of the state and local region related to educational equity, climate change and healthcare.
California is the world’s fifth largest economy with thriving industries, a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. Yet, it is also a tale of two states where prosperity is not equitably shared. California grapples with growing disparities between coastal and inland regions. Over 70 percent of job growth since 2010 has been in coastal California, and inland California counties are declining in income relative to the rest of the state. Inland communities have growing populations and countless assets to leverage for future economic growth. Increasingly California’s regions are interconnected–our future success relies on reversing our growing disparities.
In 2019, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, launched the Regions Rise Together initiative that drew attention to opportunities, needs and assets in all regions, especially inland California. AB 2046 is directly aligned with the goals of Regions Rise Together and the state’s Just Transition strategy to advance a regions-up approach to economic diversification and move the state towards a carbon neutral economy focused on creating quality jobs in new and emerging high road industries.
CUCFA supports this effort to build a stronger economic ecosystem, reliable pathways for students to access higher education, and expand access to quality healthcare in inland California.
Sincerely,
Constance Penley, CUCFA President and Professor of Film and Media Studies UC Santa Barbara