Assemblymember Josh Hoover wants to fully fund Proposition 36 if voters return him to Sacramento.

Hoover, R-Folsom, laid out his re-election platform in a Folsom Times interview published Monday, Sept. 28, as part of the outlet's Coffee with Candidates series. He faces Democrat Amy Slavensky of Fair Oaks in the general election for California's 7th Assembly District, which covers Folsom, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova and several unincorporated communities including Carmichael, Fair Oaks and Orangevale.

First elected in 2022 after serving on the Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board of Education, Hoover called Prop. 36 funding his top priority. He said the measure, which he described as a repudiation of Proposition 47, passed with more than 50 percent support in every California county.

"My number one priority is to make sure that we fully fund Proposition 36 in the state budget so that our law enforcement and our DAs have the tools that they need to actually hold criminals accountable," Hoover said.

On affordability, Hoover said California's cost-of-living crisis is "pretty much fully government created." He pointed to gas taxes, saying the state pays the highest in the nation yet ranks 46th in road quality. He said the state budget has grown more than 70 percent since Gov. Gavin Newsom took office eight years ago.

The race matters locally. The 7th District seat represents Folsom and surrounding communities in the state Legislature.

Hoover also said he authored legislation this year to shield Historic Folsom from state housing mandates. He said the bill drew bipartisan support and is aimed at balancing the state's push for more housing with local control over land-use decisions.

On homelessness, Hoover argued the state's approach has failed. He said California spent $37 billion over roughly eight years while the homeless population grew by more than 30,000 statewide, citing the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. He called for shifting away from a housing-first model toward recovery-focused programs and named local nonprofits Powerhouse, St. John's and Jake's Journey Home as organizations he said cannot access state funding because they require sobriety.

Education is another focus for the former school board member and parent of three children in Folsom public schools. Hoover said California ranks 50th among states in literacy and has some of the worst math and English scores nationally. He said he co-authored bipartisan legislation to restore phonics instruction and authored the Phone Free Schools Act. Gov. Newsom signed Hoover's Assembly Bill 2071 on Thursday, Sept. 10, directing the California Department of Education to develop a plan to expand digital wellness instruction in public schools by Jan. 1, 2028.

Hoover serves as vice chair of the Assembly Education Committee and is a member of what he described as the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans in Sacramento.

In the June 2 primary, Hoover led with 30,387 votes, or 53.5 percent, to Slavensky's 25,444 votes, or 44.8 percent, according to Sacramento County's initial unofficial results. American Independent candidate Sanaz Motamedi received 999 votes.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Folsom Times series also features an interview with Slavensky.