In this Issue

It’s about a thousand miles from the northwestern tip of Del Norte County to the southeastern tip of Imperial and the 58 counties in between are as broad and diverse as you can imagine. So it’s important to CSAC that we get out into our member-counties as often as possible, even if the far-flung nature of California makes that more challenging. This week alone CSAC staff visited six different counties to make presentations, attend conferences and foster two-way communication between counties and CSAC.

For example, CSAC Executive Director Matt Cate is in San Francisco today for a meeting of the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Leadership Council. The PPIC is the preeminent policy research organization in the state. Their research topics include public safety, health and human services, the environment and the economy just to name a few. Having Matt on their Leadership Council helps keep CSAC on top of emerging trends and policies. The Leadership Council is a virtual who’s who of leaders in public policy.

CSAC was also in Contra Costa, Inyo, Kern, Mendocino and LA Counties this week. To find out why--read more.

NACo First Vice President Bryan Desloge is seeking candidates for a variety of key leadership positions within the national association for 2016-17. 

California county officials are encouraged to apply for any of of the following:

• Policy steering committee chairs and vice chairs and subcommittee chairs and vice chairs.
• Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC) and Rural Action Caucus (RAC) chairs, vice chairs and members.
• Standing committee chairs, vice chairs and members.
• Ad hoc committee, task force and advisory board chairs, vice chairs and members.
• At-large NACo Board Directors.

The CSAC Policy Committee adopted a SUPPORT position on a raft of tobacco control measures heard in the Second Extraordinary Session on Health Care (Special Session) over the past nine months. All of the bills have now been sent to the Governor for his signature or veto.

These bills were previously being kept in enrollment, a little-used purgatory of sorts between the Legislature and the Governor, in an effort to stall threats made by the tobacco industry to overturn the proposed measures with a statewide initiative campaign and generally derail the initiative process. The tobacco bills are described in the chart below:
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) posted new proposed Public Assistance standards in the Federal Register. This proposed policy language would require applicants to apply nationally accepted hazard-resistant codes and standards to buildings located in hazard prone areas under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster and Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Comments are due by May 23, 2016. 
Read more

This week the legislature heard several bills on the siting of facilities for psychiatric patients and those struggling with substance use disorders. Each bill approached the issue of siting in a different way, but CSAC is opposed to all of them for the same reason: These facilities provide a critical health care service in the mental health and substance use disorder continuum of care.

The bills CSAC is opposing on sober living homes are described below:
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Featuring Programs from Santa Cruz and Los Angeles Counties

CSAC is producing a series of videos and blog postings highlighting California Counties’ best practices. The programs we are spotlighting are recipients of our annual Challenge Awards, which recognize the innovative and creative spirit of California county governments. 

This week we featured two innovative programs:

Santa Cruz County Collaborative PACT Making a Difference in Lives, Community

• Watch our video
• Read our blog posting

Los Angeles County: Women Helping Women Veterans

• Watch our video
• Read our blog posting

Aboveground Storage Tanks
AB 1147 (Galgiani) – Request Comments
As Amended April 4, 2016

Regional Conservation Frameworks
AB 2087 (Levine) – Request Comments
As Amended April 5, 2016