The CSAC Bulletin: August 25, 2016

The CSAC Bulletin for August 25, 2016

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August 25, 2016

In this Issue

Top Headlines
- Legislature Passes Key Climate Bills
- Transportation Funding Bills Unveiled

Policy Reports
- CAL FIRE Announces Tree Mortality Grants
- Recent Ruling Could Change Pension Policy
- HHS Bills Move to Governor as End of Session Approaches
- Medical Cannabis Regulations and Legislation
- Housing: Accessory Dwelling Units, Community Development Block Grant Fix
- Monthly Property Tax Collection Program Opposed by County Officials
- Aircraft Property Assessment Bills Stall
- AOJ News Briefs
- Other Bills of Interest

CSAC News
- CSAC Annual Meeting Kicks Off with Innovation Summit
- From Our Blog: Toolkit Will Help Elections in California and Beyond

Job Openings

Legislature Passes Key Climate Bills

This week the Legislature passed two key bills that will extend California’s climate goals officially beyond 2020 and provide additional oversight of the California Air Resources Board (CARB).Senator Pavley’s SB 32 passed the finish line yesterday after two years of negotiation and debate and is on its way to the Governor’s desk. In the end, the bill simply requires the CARB to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. This also codifies a Governor’s Executive Order B-30-15 establishing the same target.

In addition, the bill was linked to AB 197 by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia which was also approved by the Legislature this week.
Read more

Transportation Funding Bills Unveiled

As CSAC reported last week, Senator Jim Beall and Assembly Member Jim Frazier unveiled legislative language for a unified transportation funding proposal. The proposal has now been amended into Senator Beall’s existing SBx1 1 and introduced in the Assembly transportation special session as ABx1 26 (Frazier). The bills would include over $2.5 billion in new funding for local streets and roads purposes, to be shared equally between cities and counties, as well as accountability measures and streamlining to enhance transportation project delivery.
Read more

CAL FIRE Announces Tree Mortality Grants

CAL FIRE announced Wednesday it will be awarding nearly $16 million for fire prevention grants to local fire departments and fire safe councils to reduce the threat of large wildfires. The 2016-2017 State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and tree mortality grants are aimed at reducing the threat wildfires as well as dead and dying trees in and around communities within the State Responsibility Area (SRA).
Read more

Recent Ruling Could Change Pension Policy

A recent court ruling could be signaling a major shift in retirement and pension policy in California. The “California Rule,” the idea that pension benefits are completely protected and can never be changed or adjusted, may not be as strict as once thought. The rule stems from a series of court rulings and has significantly impacted many budget and policy discussions in recent years.
Read more

HHS Bills Move to Governor as End of Session Approaches

Things are picking up speed in the Legislature as the end of session approaches. Several health and human services bills that CSAC has been actively monitoring are either in the final stages of legislative approval or headed to the governor’s desk this week .
Read more

Medical Cannabis Regulations and Legislation

Medical Cannabis Cultivation Program – Public Scoping Meetings Announced
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has announced the dates for eight public scoping workshops throughout the State in September to provide the public information about the environmental impact review process and regulations developed for the Medical Cannabis Cultivation Program (MCCP).
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Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation Announces Dates for Pre-Regulatory Meetings
Continuing with the theme…the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation (Bureau) has scheduled a series of pre-regulatory meetings at various locations across the state. The Bureau will be teaming up with the California Department of Public Health to gather input throughout the state on upcoming regulations.
Read more

AB 2679 (Cooley) Medical Marijuana – Support
As Amended August 19, 2016

AB 2679, by Assembly Member Ken Cooley, would require state medical marijuana licensing authorities to include in their annual reports to the Legislature information on the number of appeals for license denials, disciplinary actions, and complaints.
Read more

Housing Bills: Accessory Dwelling Units and Community Development Block Grant Fix

CSAC removed its opposition to one bill related to the local permitting of second residential units, while adopting a support position for another. Both bills would rename “second units” as “accessory dwelling units.” CSAC is also supporting AB 723, a gutted and amended bill that would provide a timely and much-needed fix to ensure the smaller (non-entitlement) counties aren’t unfairly prevented from applying for an upcoming Community Development Block Grant funding opportunity.
Read more

Monthly Property Tax Collection Program Opposed by County Officials

Numerous County Boards of Supervisors, Auditor-Controllers and Treasurer-Tax Collectors throughout California are opposing Assembly Bill 2691 (Holden) that sets up a monthly, piecemeal property tax collection system for qualified seniors or persons with a disability. While well intentioned, this optional program falls short of providing necessary guidance.
Read more

Aircraft Property Assessment Bills Stall

Efforts to extend the soon-to-expire county-lead system for commercial airline property tax assessment stalled this year. Dueling measures included CSAC supported AB 2622 (Nazarian) and CSAC opposed SB 1329 (Hertzberg). AB 2622 sought to extend the sunset on the county-lead system by three years and provide administrative changes to help mitigate disagreements between counties and the airlines.
Read more

AOJ News Briefs

Court Futures Commission to Hold Public Comment Session in LA.

Cal OES Announces Request for Proposal re: Tribal Trauma-Informed Training Program

NACo Hosts Webinar and Interactive Discussion on Reforming Criminal Justice Fines and Fees

The National Stepping Up Initiative Hosts California Summit
Read more

CSAC Annual Meeting Kicks Off with Innovation Summit

When planning your arrival for this year’s CSAC Annual Meeting, please remember that the annual CSAC Innovation Summit will take place Tuesday morning, immediately before the Opening General Session.

The CSAC conference is set for Tuesday, Nov. 29, through Friday, Dec. 2, in Palm Springs, Riverside County. The Innovation Summit will run from 830 – 11:30 am. The focus of this year’s summit is “Changing Lives, Reforming Offenders and Preventing Recidivism.”
Read more

From Our Blog: Toolkit Will Help Elections in California and Beyond

By Kammi Foote
This election year, election officials will have a new collection of tech tools to help them engage their communities and improve how elections are run throughout the United States. The Election Toolkit, an online library of tech resources, includes tools like a Twitter guide, a free app to measure voter wait times, tools for publishing real-time election results and a collection of civic icons.
Read more

Other Bills of Interest

A roundup of bills from all policy areas of interest to counties that are not included in this week's Bulletin articles.

AENR Bill(s) of Interest

CARB
SB 1383 (Lara) – Removed Concerns
As Amended August 19, 2016
SB 1383 would require the California Air Resources Board to approve and implement the comprehensive short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) strategy to reduce various pollutants.

Job Openings

Click here to see the latest county and local government job postings.