$500,000 for Condor Program at Zoos Is Approved by State Committee
New funding for the San Diego Zoo’s efforts to preserve the endangered California condor cleared a key hurdle Wednesday when the Assembly Ways and Means Committee approved spending $500,000 for the program.
The money would come from the state’s environmental license plate fund and would go to the San Diego and Los Angeles zoos by June 30, when the current fiscal year ends.
The funding is included in a measure by Assemblywoman Lucy Killea (D-San Diego). The committee approved the bill on a 20-2 vote and sent it to the Assembly floor.
Killea had asked for $1.5 million for the program, but committee members objected to that amount. They said it would take too much from an $8-million pot that the Legislature will divide among members’ favorite environmental projects, usually in $200,000 or $300,000 increments.
Committee Chairman John Vasconcellos (D-San Jose) told Killea that the committee would consider allocating more money to the condor program if a subcommittee concluded that more funds are needed.
Vasconcellos also suggested that Killea introduce an additional bill to fund the condor during the 1988 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
