Caballero bill aims to boost economy
By MARTÍN E. MARTÍNEZ / Vida En El Valle
(Published Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 08:45AM)
SACRAMENTO -- Javier Escobedo is hurting financially ever since construction work became scarce a few months ago. The situation is something he's never seen before in his 20 years as a freelance construction worker.
He used to be able to find work every day, now he's lucky to work once or twice a week.
"The situation is difficult. I have never gone through a period like this before. I never struggled to find work before and what I make now is not enough to sustain my family," said Escobedo, 42, a native of Jalisco, México, who has a wife and three children.
Things improved a little recently for Escobedo, when he was hired to work for two weeks at a downtown Sacramento construction site. He figures things could improve a lot once a $300 million bond package approved by voters in 2006 is implemented.
On June 30, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved AB 1225, a bill to speed up the bond package's implementation.
Assemblymember Ana Caballero, D-Salinas, who authored the bill, said the release of the bond money for infrastructure projects will benefit construction workers, an industry which employs thousands of Latinos.
"We could say that the Latino community of California will benefit the most from this because construction sites and infrastructure projects largely rely on Latino labor," she said.
She added that many construction workers are unemployed due to the economic and real estate crisis and the resulting construction slowdown.
"The bond package includes $100 million for the development of 19 regional or housing projects," she said.
Other projects include transit improvement ($50 million), road improvement ($87 million), and grade separation ($63 million).
"All of these projects will attack our state's biggest challenge, from affordable housing to goods movement and traffic jams and long commutes," said Schwarzenegger.
The accelerated implementation of the bonds means thousands of new jobs -- which will reduce unemployment -- and will provide a much-needed stimulus to the economy, the governor said.
"Construction workers are among the most vulnerable (in the current economy) and the ones who need the most help since the real-estate crisis began," Schwarzenegger said.
Among the construction projects in the bond package are Fancher Creek in Fresno; Broadway Lofts in Sacramento; King's Crossing in San José; Armstrong Senior Housing in San Francisco; and Chinatown Blossom Plaza in Los Ángeles. It also includes the construction of 2,893 housing units throughout the state.
"This is good for the voters because they see their vote and their money at work. It's good for our economy, because we put people to work right away. It's good for our families, because we create safe and affordable housing. And it's good for our state, because we invest in our transportation infrastructure," Caballero said.
State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass said the bond program means more accessible housing so that families can move closer to their places of employment.
"That means fewer cars on the road, more time spent with our family and fewer greenhouse gases. These are smart investments at a time when our economy need them the most," Bass said.
Jim Earp, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs, a group that represents more than 1,700 heavy construction companies and 50,000 union construction workers, said fast-tracking the the bonds will boost the state economy and reduce unemployment.
"We have a lot of people out of work right now, particularly in the construction industry, particularly in the housing industry and so we've got key money coming into the pipeline that will keep these people working and hopefully give them a little cushion until the economic cycle begins to come back," Earp said.
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