An effort to root out corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse in Democrat-led California’s government has reportedly uncovered that almost $1 billion was taken from a solar panel program and given to Democrat causes.
Leaders of CAL DOGE (California Department of Government Efficiency) argued the $928 million went to Democrat voter registration and activism when it was from gas tax and electric bills for the panels on apartments, the New York Post reported Thursday.
“SOMAH, which stands for Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing, was created by AB 693 in 2015. Since then it has been funded for up to $100 million every year using ‘cap and trade auctions proceeds,’” the article read, noting CAL DOGE claimed SOMAH said it had finished only 269 projects for $72 million.
The news comes after Vice President JD Vance in January said about $7 billion worth of Small Business Administration (SBA) fraud was uncovered in the Golden State, meaning the issue there could be much bigger than any other state when it comes to fraud, per Breitbart News.
According to the recent Post report, Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is working to get answers about where the rest of the funds ended up. He pointed to the fact the money belongs to taxpayers.
“$928 million has been stolen. Your money. Do you know where it’s gone? Voter registration. By leftist groups supporting the Democratic Party. It is an absolute scandal. Just the latest in the amount of money that’s been stolen from you,” he said.
CAL DOGE argued that a group linked to SOMAH called California Environmental Justice Alliance Action is a project of Tides Advocacy.
“CAL DOGE said the political organization published voter guides, and mobilized voters of color in 2024, along with endorsing 24 progressive candidates for the CA legislature,” the Post article read.
The outlet shared a link to the video of Hilton talking about the alleged fraud.
Hilton announced the CAL DOGE launch in late January via his campaign website, stating its purpose was to “expose corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse in California government and to implement long-overdue reforms to cut bureaucracy, eliminate duplication, and reduce the cost and burden of government.”
On February 18, Breitbart News reported Hilton was leading Democrats and Republicans in the race for California governor.
Hilton said February 12 that CAL DOGE’s first fraud report uncovered “$370 million in Cannabis Tax money that was supposed to be used for ‘substance abuse prevention’ siphoned off into a Democrat voter registration slush fund.”
“This is not drug prevention — it’s a taxpayer funded pipeline from the governor’s office to leftwing political organizing,” he claimed.
Read the full article here