Board asks Gov. Newsom to veto AB 2494 after forestry experts warn of funding risks

After extended discussion and expert testimony, the Board voted 3-1 to send a letter asking Governor Gavin Newsom to veto AB 2494. Supervisor Sabatier requested more specific statutory language and warned the Board should understand what would be gained or lost; county forester Michael Jones and Chief Deputy CAO Matthew Rothstein explained why the change in fund pathways could reduce the resilience of demonstration state forests that historically rely on timber-generated income.

Jones told the Board that demonstration state forests are historically funded through timber operations and the Forest Resource Improvement Fund (FRIF) and that the bill would create a supplemental pathway to the Timber Regulation and Forest Restoration Fund (TERF), a tax-funded account that supports regulatory agencies. "The bill would change that to suggest that FRIF still exists… but there's a supplemental pathway through to another fund called TERFR," Jones said, adding that reliance on tax-funded sources could undermine the self-sufficiency and research mission of forests such as Boggs. The Board's letter followed public comments urging the Board to communicate county concerns to the governor.