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My name is Daryl Little Jr., state policy director for CALSTART, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing clean transportation solutions. For California, clean transportation is essential to meeting the state's climate and clean air goals. Transportation remains California's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. That reality means we cannot afford a narrow approach. We need sustained investment across the full suite of clean transportation programs from passenger vehicles to trucks, buses, infrastructure, and community-based solutions. 

Programs like HVIP and the clean mobility options program are foundational are financial to that strategy. Clean transportation programs deliver results. They reduce emissions, improve public health, support equitable access to transportation, and drive private investment into California. If funds for these programs are delayed or diverted, there could be economic consequences that destabilize the market, putting thousands of transportation jobs and private investment at risk while also leaving communities that are counting on cleaner air and better transportation options left waiting. Market certainty depends on follow through. Idlemakers, fleets, utilities, and infrastructure providers make long-term decisions based on predictable state investment. When funding becomes uncertain or inconsistent, private investment slows, innovation stalls, and progress becomes harder and more expensive to regain. 

California's investment in clean transportation is not optional. It is essential. It will protect good paying jobs, keep transportation affordable for families and businesses, and deliver real public health benefits in communities across the state. But these gains are not guaranteed. Without consistent, reliable budget support and without incentives that keep clean transportation solutions within reach, we risk stalling the momentum we've built in manufacturing, infrastructure, and workforce development. The sector remains as a major and growing pillar of the world's fourth largest economy. The choices we make now will determine whether California continues to lead or seeds ground at a moment when leadership has never mattered more.