To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator
Staff Name and Phone Number: Sheryl Bratton 707-565-2431
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): All
Title:
Title
Legislative End of Year Report and State Legislative Advocacy Professional Services Agreement
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Receive Legislative End of Year Report from the 2019 Legislative Session.
B) Authorize the County Administrator to extend State Legislative Advocacy Professional Services Agreement through December 31, 2020.
end
Executive Summary:
The County participates in various levels of legislative advocacy led by your Board and supported by departments, staff and community partners. Upon completion of the first year of the 2019-2020 legislative session, Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange (“SYASL”)
will present your Board with an end of year update in addition to discussing opportunities for efforts in 2020. Representatives from the California State Association of Counties (“CSAC”) and the Rural County Representatives of California (“RCRC”) will also provide an update on 2020 state association priorities. Legislative summary reports from State and Federal lobbyists are attached.
SYASL provides the County with State legislative advocacy services which have been critical to the County’s recent recovery efforts in addition to maintaining and generating new sources of state funding for Sonoma County.
Staff recommend extending the state advocacy service agreement with SYASL through December 31, 2020 to continue state legislative advocacy services on County priorities.
Discussion:
The Sonoma County 2019-2020 Legislative Platform is used by County staff, legislative advocates, and the legislative delegation in efforts to seek policy support and acquire state and federal resources for County priorities. See Attachment 1 Sonoma County Legislative Platform.
During the 2019 legislative session, the County made advancements in key priority areas at the State and Federal levels. The combined efforts of, your Board, the Sonoma County State Legislative Delegation, and the County’s state legislative advocacy consultants ensured that the needs of Sonoma County were prioritized at the state level. 2019 summary reports are attached from SYASL, Alcalde and Fay, and Van Scoyoc and Associates. Accomplishments include securing an additional $1.5 million allocation for Flood Recovery and $1 million disaster funding allocation to support behavioral health services for disaster survivors. Sonoma County continues to advocate for $1.9 million in property tax backfill related to the 2019 Kincade wildfire.
The County’s advocacy work was evident in the release of the 2020-21 State Budget as many County priority areas received significant investments. The Governor’s proposed budget was released on January 10th. Staff are assessing the local impacts of the Governor’s proposed budget to determine advocacy efforts needed to ensure that appropriate local resources are included in the enacted state budget. Items of note in the Governor’s proposed budget are listed below and a summarized budget report is attached.
Wildfire Recovery and Resilience
• $120 million in general fund to CAL Fire for operational flexibility and ongoing investments in staffing, infrastructure and pre-positioning of fire equipment.
• $110 million for the newly created Wildfire Mitigation Financial Assistance Program under Assemblymember Wood’s AB 38 (Chapter 391, Statutes 2019). The fund will be administered by CAL Fire and CAL OES to develop a home hardening pilot program with a focus on homes in low-income communities and in high areas of risk.
• $50 million in general fund for Community Power Resiliency to bolster community resiliency during Public Safety Power Shutdown (PSPS) events.
• $17.3 million general fund loan for the operation and maintenance of the California Earthquake Early Warning System
• $16.7 million in one-time general fund dollars to increase funding through the California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA). This augmentation increases the state’s total CDAA funding in the proposed budget to $79.3 million.
Climate Resilience
The Governor’s January budget proposal invests $12.5 billion collectively over the next five years in three major priority areas, including a climate resiliency bond, ongoing investments from the state’s cap and trade program, and a new climate catalyst fund that will provide low interest loans for climate- related projects.
Climate Resilience Bond
The Administration is proposing a $4.75 billion climate resilience bond for the November 2020 ballot. This builds on work of the Legislature from last year to develop a consolidated legislative bond proposal into one single measure. Key proposed investments include:
• $395 million to support local groundwater sustainability agencies;
• $360 million to provide grants and loans to disadvantaged communities to improve access to safe drinking water;
• $500 million to harden critical public infrastructure in vulnerable communities;
• $500 million to prepare for sea level rise, including funding to support coastal communities in planning for sea level rise; and
• $250 million for local communities to improve community resiliency planning and construct new and retrofit existing community resiliency centers.
Cap & Trade Expenditure Plan
The Governor’s proposed budget includes an allocation of $965 million in cap and trade expenditures. The annually appropriated revenues from cap and trade are focused on several existing program areas, including CAL Fires’ forest health and fuels reduction program, support for the AB 617 Air Quality Program, and investments in low carbon transportation, such as the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program. The plan includes $15 million for waste diversion to CAL Recycle to help implement our waste diversion requirements. Additional investments in this area may be available through the newly proposed Climate Catalyst Fund.
Climate Catalyst Fund
The Governor’s January budget also proposes to create a new Climate Catalyst Revolving Loan Fund to provide low-interest loans for a portfolio of climate-related projects that help meet the state’s greenhouse gas and resiliency goals. The fund includes a $1 billion ongoing general fund investment, with $250 million proposed in FY 2020-21 to be administered by the state’ Infrastructure Economic Development Bank (iBank) with direction from the Strategic Growth Council and Labor and Workforce Development Agency.
2020 Legislative Updates
Legislative updates have been presented to your Board with the adoption of each legislative platform. In response to requests from your Board for additional opportunities to guide legislative advocacy, staff will return to your Board at key points throughout the state legislative process to receive Board direction on County advocacy efforts. Advocacy consultants and state association representatives will continue to present informational updates to provide your Board with current information to support informed advocacy direction.
State Legislative Agreement Amendment 1
The County contract with SYASL expired on December 31, 2019. Staff recommend extending the state legislative advocacy service agreement with the contractor through December 31, 2020 to continue state legislative advocacy of the County’s legislative platform. Request for proposals for state legislative advocacy services will be released in the fall of 2020 to allow for potential contractor transitions at the end of the 2019-2020 legislative session.
Prior Board Actions:
January 29, 2019: Board awarded State Legislative Advocacy Agreement
January 29, 2019: Board approved 2019-2020 Legislative Platform
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 19-20 Adopted |
FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
66,000 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
66,000 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
66,000 |
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State/Federal |
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Fees/Other |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
66,000 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
This amount is budgeted from General Fund resources. This advocacy agreement allows the County to strengthen Board and Department led efforts in protecting and enhancing state and federal revenues. The County receives between $470-500 million in intergovernmental revenues annually. These sources are often at risk from federal and state policy changes. Advocacy is needed to protect and enhance these investments locally.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment 1: 2019-2020 Sonoma County Legislative Platform
Attachment 2: Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange 2019 Summary
Attachment 3: Alcalde & Fay 2019 Summary
Attachment 4: Van Scoyoc & Associates 2019 Summary
Attachment 5: Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange Amendment 1
Attachment 6: CSAC Governor’s Budget Summary
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None