Sacramento – Assemblyman Jim Wood’s “Small-town Grant Bill” unanimously passed the Assembly and moves on to the Senate.
AB 325 broadens access to millions of federal dollars for small counties and towns to address job creation, affordable housing, small business stimulus, and social service needs.
“Small California towns deserve a win, and this is a big step in the right direction,” said Wood. “I am really excited to see this bill earn so much support from both sides of the aisle.”
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is operated by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The department is supposed to serve as a pass-through for millions of federal dollars. HCD has instead created an intensely burdensome bureaucratic process that small cities and counties do not have the resources to navigate. AB 325 would dramatically streamline the process and create the stability and predictability small towns with limited resources need.
Assemblyman Wood said, “When the State gets in the way of Federal grant money, we have a serious problem and I am going to do something about it. The CDBG program is designed to help small-towns, not frustrate them, AB 325 aims to make things right.”
AB 325 will next be heard in the Senate Rules Committee.
###
Elected in 2014, Assemblymember Jim Wood (D- Healdsburg) represents the 2nd Assembly District, which includes all of Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt and Mendocino counties, plus northern and coastal Sonoma County, including the northern half of Santa Rosa.
CONTACT: Liz Snow, O) 916-319-2002