Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered state agencies to stop buying “S.W.A.G” or “Stuff We All Get.”
Brown claims California spent $7.5 million on free giveaway and gift items like key chains and coffee mugs in the past three years.
“Not a cent of taxpayer money should be spent on flashlights, ashtrays or other unnecessary items, most of which likely end up in landfills,” said Governor Brown in a statement.
Brown is trying to cut $363 million in operational costs next fiscal year.
“Every taxpayer dollar we save by cutting waste is a dollar that can be used to pay for critical public safety and social services,” said Brown.
A breakdown of “S.W.A.G” expenditures from 2007 to 2010:
- S.W.A.G Expenditures 2007 -2010 Amount
- Business, Transportation & Housing Agency $5,088,037.00
- State and Consumer Services Agency $1,154,960.00
- Health and Human Services Agency $778,678.00
- Department of Food & Agriculture $175,530.00
- Labor and Workforce Development Agency $129,012.00
- California Volunteers $77,387.00
- Environmental Protection Agency $48,317.00
- Emergency Management Agency $41,810.00
- Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation $12,201.00
- Department of Veterans Affairs $4,968.00
- Total: $7,510,900.00
Word of the “S.W.A.G” ban comes on the heels of a hiring freeze and a state cell phone ban.