Imagine sitting down to plan the family budget for the year. You set aside money for rent, food, transportation, health care and fun activities.

Fast forward 10 years and your income has doubled. For most families, this would be life changing. New cars, a new house, living debt-free.

Sadly, while the state has doubled its income over the past 10 years, reckless spending has left Californians worse off than before. The budget approved at the end of June is starting to dole out over $321 billion of taxpayer money to programs, institutions and pork projects.

In that same time frame, the cost of living has skyrocketed, the education system has worsened, roads have worsened, and our public safety system has failed to protect whole communities.

This reality was not lost on me as I evaluated the state budget and cast my vote in the state Senate on behalf of our district.

I worked to bring relief – real relief – to our super commuters as I supported an amendment to delay a gas tax hike that could soar as high as 65 cents per gallon. Sadly, the measure was rejected by Senate Democrats.

I advocated for funding Proposition 36 fully, so that law enforcement would have all the tools needed to hold fentanyl traffickers........

© Santa Clarita Valley Signal