Newsom declares State of Emergency in Solano County from storms

(File photo)

Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday declared a State of Emergency for Solano County in connection with a series of late winter storms that impacted the region earlier this year.

The declaration allows officials in Solano County to secure state emergency funds that can be used in storm response-related initiatives. It comes more than four months after county officials declared a localized emergency, though the declaration issued by state officials on Monday related to a series of winter storms in March, and not the earlier ones in May.

Solano County and 51 others are covered by the storm-related State of Emergency. It wasn’t clear from an announcement issued by the Governor’s office why Solano County was not included in earlier emergency declarations, or why Newsom decided to include the county now.

The declaration is part of a multistep process toward securing funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which requires a presidential disaster or emergency declaration following one issued by county and state officials.

Last week, Newsom announced plans to earmark around $492 million toward flood-related response and infrastructure improvement projects as part of the state’s $306 billion budget proposal. The budget must first be approved by lawmakers prior to the start of the new fiscal year, which is July 1.

The proposed flood initiative increases California’s funding for flood-related matters from $290 million. It comes as state officials grapple with a broad swing in the state’s finances from a $97.5 billion budget surplus last year to a $31.5 billion deficit this year.