Governor Jerry Brown delivers his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the California State Legislature in the Assembly chambers.

Tuesday, Assemblyman Dante Acosta, R-Santa Clarita, responded to the Governor’s State of the State Address.

“There are two Californias: a wealthy California flush with opportunity, healthcare, great schools and smooth roads, and another California that is being left behind, drowning in the cost of healthcare, with underfunded schools and streets riddled with potholes and traffic. While the Governor has rightly acknowledged that ‘Democracy doesn’t come from the top,’ he does not seem to accept that the majority has forced a command and control style top-down economy that has been a main driver of middle and working class struggles. Decades of Democratic policies have given us the highest poverty rate in the nation. The wealthy are doing fine, but the rest of California is burdened by impossible housing prices or rents that eat up too much income, sky-high fuel rates, and the ballooning cost of education. The Governor talked a great game today, but he missed the opportunity to call out his own party which has overseen the state for decades with a policy agenda that preaches compassion, but routinely ignores the problems that truly drive poverty. I call on the Governor to join with me and my fellow Republicans and progress-minded Democrats to push policies that will increase organic growth in housing for renters and first time homebuyers, address the healthcare needs of all Californians, fix our crumbling roads, and educate our youth without saddling them with debt. Let’s stop playing games and fix the real problems our state faces with bottom up solutions and not chase pie-in-the-sky wasteful spending.”

Assemblyman Dante Acosta represents the 38th Assembly District stretching from Vazquez Rocks in Agua Dulce to the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, which encompasses the communities of Santa Clarita, Porter Ranch, Chatsworth and Northridge.

Board of Equalization Member George Runner issued the following statement in response to Governor Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address:

“They say ‘as California goes, so goes the nation.’ Let’s hope not, because Governor Brown’s vision for our state includes even higher gas prices and taxes that hurt working-class people. There’s enough money to fix our roads without raising taxes, our leaders just need to make the right priorities. Noticeably absent from the governor’s address was a real plan to strengthen the private sector. That’s really a shame, when you consider the fact California continues to have the highest poverty rate in the nation. Rather than fighting Washington, I hope the governor will spend his remaining years as the state’s executive fighting for the people of California by making our state a more affordable place to live and work, and improving the quality of life for all Californians. We should seek paths of cooperation rather than conflict.”