Dear Friends and Neighbors – 

My colleagues and I wrapped up the first year of the two-year session on September 13 in the late afternoon. Yes, session wrapped up on a Saturday, which was unusual but was necessary as both the State Senate and Assembly voted to reauthorize the state’s Cap-and-Trade greenhouse gas reduction program, which was set to expire after 2030.  

This historic vote – taken after I served on the Senate Cap-and-Trade Working Group and then the Senate negotiating team – means the program, renamed to Cap-and-Invest, is reauthorized through 2045, and will continue California’s efforts to cut climate pollution and transition to a clean economy future. As the federal government continues to roll back crucial environmental programs, I was proud to stand beside the Governor as he signed this historic legislation into law. 

I also had the great pleasure of attending this year’s Climate Week in New York City with a group of my Senate colleagues, where California showcased California’s climate leadership.  Again, the time is now to step up and protect our communities from climate change and push policies that will build a cleaner, healthier future. 

While Sacramento will be quiet for a few months, there is one significant event, which will take place on November 17.  Senator Monique Limón will officially take over to serve as the 53rd President pro Tempore of the California State Senate.  She will make history as the first Latina to head one of California’s legislative branches – and will make the Central Coast proud, as both the Assembly Speaker and Senate President will be from the Central Coast.  I look forward to working with her as she leads the State Senate during these crucial times. 

With the legislative session on break until next year, I am looking forward to being back in the district for the next few months to connect with constituents and enjoy the fall on our beautiful Central Coast. 

Warm Regards,

JOHN LAIRD
Senator, 17th District

The first year of this legislative session is now in the books, and I have 14 bills off to the Governor’s desk. Within this bill package are measures supporting transparency and public access in our state government, enhancing consumer protections, strengthening worker protections, improving battery storage safety, ensuring access to housing and shelter in our communities, and more. All of these bills have an October 12th deadline for the Governor to sign or veto.  

Despite a tough budget this year, as Chair of the Budget Subcommittee on Education I fought tirelessly to ensure our higher education institutions maintained their funding, stopping cuts to both the University of California and the California State University systems. I also secured $1.5 million for UC Santa Cruz to kick-start a medical school program, bringing much needed investment in healthcare access to our Central Coast communities. For our TK-12 schools, I obtained $1.7 billion in discretionary block grant funding so each district can target additional educational dollars where it is needed most in their community. 

Team Laird (District Director Kara Woodruff) attended the celebration of the renovation of the Cayucos Landing - a remarkable project for the local community and visitors to the Central Coast, which I was honored to support. 

The San Luis Obispo Team honoring the groundbreaking of the Welcome Home Village project, which provides needed housing for formerly homeless people. 

Enjoyed touring Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes, they are a community-supported kitchen and pantry that serves the greater Watsonville area five days a week. 

Had a great visit to the Pajaro Valley Commercial Kitchen Incubator. This nonprofit assists small businesses and entrepreneurs by providing capital and physical resources to start and grow their operations. 

Engaging conversations with the  students at New School in Watsonville who are taking part in El Sistema’s Career Technical Education Pathway. El Sistema is a nonprofit that partners with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District to bring youth orchestra, mariachi, and audio recording/production to future entrepreneurs. These talented students demonstrated their audio mixing and music skills. 

Another great visit with students this time at Mount Madonna School.

I was proud to present the John Laird Lifetime Achievement Award to conservationist Kaila Dettman, the Executive Director of the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County.  The award is made by the Central Coast State Parks Association at its annual Butterfly Ball, which is always an inspiring, educational, and wonderful event.

It was great to attend the groundbreaking of the Cabrillo College / University of California Santa Cruz joint student housing project. This development is a joint public private project received state funding to support the creation of 624 beds for students attending Cabrillo College and UCSC. I worked hard from the appropriation of monies for higher education housing, to making sure the grant to Cabrillo College and UCSC survived budget cuts