In this Issue
Top Headlines
Transportation Funding Bill Gains Traction
Best Practices: San Diego County First Responder Training Videos
Celebrate National County Government Month
CSAC News
CSAC Hosts Legislative Breakfast
Policy Reports
Federal Issues Update
Feedback Request on Ag, Environment and Natural Resources Bills
CSAC Opposes AB 890
New SGMA FAQs from State Water Resources Control Board
DWR Offers County Drought Contingency Planning Webinar
Traffic Amnesty Program Ends April 3
BSCC Releases 2017 Performance Metrics Datasets
Administration of Justice Bills of Interest
Mandates Meeting Primes the Conversation on Introduced Bills
Report Spotlights State’s Role in Elections
Request for Comments: Housing Infill Funding Proposal/Local Resources
Feedback Request: Government Finance and Administration
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Watch Governor Brown explain the need for more transportation funding at a Capitol press conference held Thursday.
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Transportation Funding Bill Gains Traction
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 The Governor and Legislative Leaders unveiled a compromise transportation funding plan this week that, while smaller in scope than earlier proposed legislation, would still provide $5 billion dollars a year for transportation infrastructure in California. $3 billion a year would be split evenly between the state highways system and local streets and roads, dedicated to basic maintenance. The bill also includes reforms to streamline some projects and an accompanying constitutional amendment ensures that the money will be spent as intended.
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The San Diego County Office of Emergency Services has developed a video series which provides first responders training for evacuating individuals with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities.
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Best Practices: San Diego County First Responder Videos
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San Diego County’s emergency website, ReadySanDiego.org, has information on a wide variety of natural disasters that could result in large-scale evacuations, such as an earthquake, tsunami, fire, or flooding; there are also man-made crises, like gas leaks or terrorism. The County and its cities work to prepare for such disasters – and now have a new tool to assist in their emergency response: a series of informative videos that provide first responders training on evacuating individuals with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities.
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Celebrate Best Practices During National County Government Month
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National County Government Month (NCGM), held each April, is an annual celebration of county government. Since 1991, the National Association of Counties has encouraged counties to actively promote the services and programs they offer. Counties can schedule activities any time during the month. NCGM is an excellent opportunity for your county to highlight effective county programs and raise public awareness and understanding about the various services provided to the community.
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CSAC Hosts Legislative Breakfast
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CSAC hosted breakfast this morning for a group of state legislators who used to be county supervisors, and also for several supervisors who used to be members of the legislature. The discussion among these public servants who have served at both levels of government is always lively and enlightening.
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Feedback Request on Ag, Environment and Natural Resources Bills
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CSAC’s Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources Policy Committee wants your feedback on a variety of bills working through the legislative process. From CEQA to solar siting to coastlines to utility issues – your input is needed to help CSAC advocate for county interests. Please click the link below for the list of bills and descriptions, and please contact Cara Martinson or Besty Hammer with your feedback.
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CSAC Opposes AB 890 – Would Insert Environmental Review Procedures Into Initiative Process
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AB 890 (Medina) would require environmental review of proposed local initiatives. CSAC recognizes the important role of environmental review, but AB 890 would limit initiatives with the potential for a direct or indirect physical change in the environment. All such initiatives would be required to go through environmental review in addition to the title, summary, and signature process. CSAC raised concerns about encroachment on local authority, as well as basic constitutionality, and also cited the potential for a large increase in costs and workload for local governments. While the scope of the reviews would depend on the projects, this additional work would add significant time and expense considerations to the ballot initiative process, which is governed by strict elections timelines. It also opens the door to additional lawsuits.
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New SGMA FAQs from State Water Resources Control Board
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The State Water Resources Control Board issued a new round of FAQs about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). This document addresses various questions about SGMA implementation as the initial deadline of June 30, 2017 approaches.
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DWR Offers County Drought Contingency Planning Webinar
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The Department of Water Resources will offer an interactive webinar on county drought contingency planning on Thursday, April 6 from 9am to noon. This webinar is part of continuing efforts to implement the Governor’s Executive Order B-37-16.There is some limited in-person seating for those who would like to attend in person.
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Traffic Amnesty Program Ends April 3
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The 18-month Traffic Ticket/Infraction Amnesty Program that began October 1, 2015, designed to provide relief to individuals from the increasing costs of fines, fees, penalties, and assessments that were incurred from unpaid traffic and non-traffic tickets, will end April 3.
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BSCC Releases 2017 Performance Metrics Datasets
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The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) has recently posted the 2017 Performance Metrics dataset for the state and each county. This dataset is provided to assist the public and policymakers in understanding local and statewide conditions that impact the justice system.
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Administration of Justice Bills of Interest
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Victims of Violent Crimes: Trauma Recovery Centers.
AB 1384 (Weber) – Support
Supplemental Security Income and CalFresh:Preenrollment.
SB 708 (Skinner) – Support
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Mandates Meeting Primes the Conversation on Introduced Bills
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CSAC recently convened another productive meeting of the Local Government Mandated Services Working Group where participants discussed the deluge of bills with potential mandate impacts currently under consideration by the Legislature (list available here).
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Report Spotlights State’s Role in Elections
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The Legislative Analyst recently released a report bearing positive news for counties who have long been fronting the bill for elections costs. The report describes the landscape of elections administration and ultimately recommends that the state provide “regular, ongoing support” to counties in an area which is currently receiving sporadic, one-time funding.
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Request for Comments: Housing Infill Funding Proposal Could Maximize Local Resources
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Comments are requested on a proposal to leverage existing state and local funding streams to maximize investments in infill housing projects. Senate Bill 711 is sponsored by the League of California Cities and would create the “Local-State Sustainable Investment Incentive Program.”
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Feedback Request: Government Finance and Administration
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Please send your feedback on these bills to Dorothy Johnson or Tracy Sullivan.
AB 551 (Levine) – Political Reform Act: postemployment restrictions
AB 804 (Garcia) – State Controller: internal control guidelines
SB 548 (Atkins) – Public Employee Relations Board: firefighters
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Click here to see the latest county and local government job postings.
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