EAST PALO ALTO, CA – At the Cooley Landing Park in East Palo Alto, Senator Josh Becker (D–Menlo Park) announced today that he and the Bay Area Caucus have successfully secured a doubling of state funding for coastal resilience and Bay Area flood protection projects through Proposition 4 allocations in the FY 2025–26 budget.
Because of this advocacy, the State Coastal Conservancy’s coastal resilience allocation has doubled from $31 million to $62 million, while the allocation for the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority Act and San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program has doubled from $20 million to $40 million, bringing the total amount our communities will receive to $102 million.
“These investments are critical to protecting California families, jobs, and infrastructure from the growing risks of sea level rise and climate-driven flooding,” said Senator Becker. “San Mateo County is the single most vulnerable county in California to shoreline flooding. By acting now, we are safeguarding our communities while reducing future disaster response costs.”
“Thanks to increased Prop 4 funding this year, we can restore wetlands, strengthen levees, and build nature-based infrastructure that makes the Bay and our communities more resilient,” said Josh Quigley, Policy Manager at Save The Bay. “These investments will protect people, jobs, and wildlife as sea levels rise.”
“BCDC strongly supports the investments that the Legislature and Administration are making to strengthen California’s coastal resilience. Sea level rise is an urgent challenge for the Bay Area — by 2050, more than 75,000 households could be at risk from flooding caused by rising seas. To protect our communities and shoreline, our region will need to invest almost $100 billion over the coming decades.” – Larry Goldzband, Executive Director, BCDC
A recent joint report from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission found that the Bay Area is expected to bear two-thirds of the state’s impacts from sea level rise in the coming decades. Without immediate action, tens of thousands of households, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and billions of dollars’ worth of public infrastructure remain at risk.
The expanded funding will accelerate the construction of shoreline resilience projects that both protect residents and deliver environmental and community benefits. Projects supported by these funds include the Colma Creek Adaptation Project and the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, which employ nature-based solutions to strengthen flood defenses while enhancing ecosystems.
“Federal funding for climate resilience is uncertain, but California is stepping up,” Senator Becker added. “This is exactly why voters passed Proposition 4: to ensure that our state makes smart, forward-looking investments in resilience and adaptation. I was proud to co-author Proposition 4 – the climate bond – and I’m proud we delivered.”