Feb 20 - Waste Board Consolidation Not in Budget

In a conference call this afternoon, two senior Schwarzenegger Administration officials, Cal/EPA Secretary Linda Adams and Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman, announced that a proposal to consolidate the recycling and waste functions of various state agencies has not been included in the budget. The package will, however, borrow nearly $100 million from the Bottle Bill fund for the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Secretary Chrisman also announced that the state intends to spend $1.5 billion over the next five years in an effort to streamline and combine the departments and agencies that deal with energy policy.