For the environment, there is $400 million to buy, develop and restore state parkland and $100 million for nature education and research facilities. More than $4 billion will go to shore up the state's levees, which play a critical role in supplying Southern California with water. Yet for all this money, experts agree that it is nowhere nearly enough to quench California's ever-growing demands. The administration has estimated that the state faces more than $500 billion in infrastructure needs over the next two decades to accommodate a population expected to swell as much as 30%.Schwarzenegger's initial plan would have provided almost half that amount, but lawmakers reduced his proposal, saying it was too rich for the state's taxpayers, who may end up on the hook for up to $3 billion in annual debt payments for decades.
"There's a lot in there for everybody," said Richard Little, director of USC's Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. "But unfortunately, given the state's long-term backlog for transportation, I don't see how you could complete the equation without other funding mechanisms," he said.