Dear Friends and Neighbors,

In December, I was appointed by the leadership of the State Senate to serve as Chair of Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 4, which oversees much of the administration of the State of California. I was also appointed as the only Central Valley Democrat to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, placing Valley communities in a key leadership position as the Legislature debates California’s budget priorities, fiscal oversight, and government accountability.   

It is a tremendous honor to serve in these roles, and it comes with a serious responsibility: ensuring that state government is accountable to the people who fund it. The resources managed by the state do not belong to government. They belong to the working families, small businesses, and communities who pay into the system and expect it to function responsibly. 

As Chair, my focus will be clear and direct oversight. Budget Subcommittee 4 reviews the core systems that keep state government operating, including state administration, public employment, technology infrastructure, procurement practices, and government accountability. These functions may happen behind the scenes, but they determine whether government operates efficiently and whether taxpayer dollars are used responsibly.

In the months ahead, I will chair weekly bipartisan hearings to closely examine the performance, spending, and management of state departments. These hearings are an opportunity to ask hard questions, demand transparency, and ensure that agencies remain focused on serving Californians effectively.

Families across our state are working hard to keep up with rising costs and economic uncertainty. They deserve to know that the government they support is operating with discipline, transparency, and respect for every public dollar.

In this newsletter, you will find a list of upcoming hearings and the topics we will be examining. You can follow the hearings live or watch archived recordings through the California State Senate website.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve our communities and represent the Central Valley in these important discussions.

Wishing you and your family a wonderful spring season.

Melissa Hurtado
State Senator, 16th District

Upcoming Hearings of Budget Subcommittee 4

In February, I chaired the first hearing of 2026 for Budget Subcommittee 4. Our committee’s focus for this hearing was an examination of the state of homelessness in California and how state departments are implementing homeless programs and spending public dollars to address homelessness in California. While the state has made massive investments to reduce homelessness in our communities, progress in this area is slow and not always visible on our streets. The critical bipartisan work to ensure taxpayer money to reduce homelessness doesn’t go to waste will be ongoing. Upcoming Budget Subcommittee 4 hearings are as follows:  

• Thursday, March 12, 2026 – 9:30AM: The committee will hear testimony and discuss state entities that deal with consumer protection, namely the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and the Privacy Protection Agency. The committee will also hear testimony about Exposition Park in Los Angeles and the Fair Political Practices Commission.
• Thursday, March 19, 2026 – 9:30AM: The committee will hear testimony and discuss California executive branch entities that deal with taxes – the State Board of Equalization, the Department of Tax and Fee Administration and the Franchise Tax Board. The committee will also hear testimony about the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement.
• Thursday, April 9, 2026 – 9:30AM: The committee will hear testimony and discuss an entity with particular importance to the Central Valley – the Department of Food and Agriculture. The committee will also focus on state departments and entities that regulate gambling, cannabis and alcohol – notably the Gambling Control Commission, the Cannabis Control Appeals Panel, the Department of Cannabis Control and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
• Thursday, April 16, 2026 – 9:30AM: The committee will hear testimony and discuss two entities directly under the Governor’s authority – the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development and the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation.
• Thursday, April 23, 2026 – 9:30AM: The committee will hear testimony and discuss the state departments that support the basic functioning of state government and also deploy the technology that state entities use to serve Californians – the Secretary for the Government Operations Agency, the Department of Technology, the Office of Data Innovation, the Department of General Services and the Financial Information System for California.
• Thursday, April 30, 2026 – 9:30AM: The committee will hear testimony and discuss state departments that impact housing policy in California – Housing and Homelessness Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Housing Development and Finance Committee and the California Housing Finance Agency. The committee will also hear from the Business and Consumer Services Agency – which oversees many of the state boards that issue small business licenses – and the Civil Rights Department, the Debt Bond Allocation Committee and the Tax Credit Allocation Committee.
• Thursday, May 7, 2026 – 9:30AM: The committee will hear testimony and discuss the budgets of three constitutional offices in California – the offices of the Secretary of State, the State Controller and the State Treasurer. The committee will also hear from the Commission on State Mandates, the Military Department and the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Senator Melissa Hurtado currently represents the 16th Senate District in the California Legislature, which includes portions of Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern Counties. Senator Hurtado is Chair of Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 4, and a member of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, the Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, the Environmental Quality Committee, the Governmental Organization Committee, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies.