WASHINGTON, D.C. – California State Association of Counties
(CSAC) issues the following statement regarding House passage of
the Moving Forward Act.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives took a major step toward
reviving the struggling national economy when it voted to approve
a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package. The legislation (HR 2)
includes important investments in local roads, bridges, transit,
rail, housing, broadband, drinking and wastewater systems,
energy, health care, and other programs.
“CSAC applauds House lawmakers for passing a comprehensive
infrastructure investment bill,” said CSAC Executive Director
Graham Knaus. “As local economies struggle to find their footing
in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, this important legislation
would invest much-needed federal dollars for a wide range of
infrastructure initiatives while leveraging state and local
resources for shovel-ready projects. We urge the Senate to make
passage of an infrastructure bill a top priority.”
In addition to providing billions of dollars to help rebuild
California’s transportation infrastructure, strengthen rural
broadband, and support affordable housing, among other key
investments, the Moving Forward Act includes several
major transportation policy wins championed by California’s
counties.
SACRAMENTO – California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
issues the following reaction to Governor Newsom’s signing the
2020-2021 Budget Act into law.
The Budget Act signed today includes significant, substantial
financial relief for California’s Counties on the front lines of
the COVID-19 response. CSAC is deeply appreciative of the
financial resources for counties included in the budget that will
keep the state’s safety net from unraveling and fuel economic
recovery across the state. Counties need immediate distribution
of realignment backfill funding included in the budget to meet
increased demands for behavioral health, public health, child and
adult protective services. Counties also appreciate the inclusion
of CARES Act funds to partially reimburse County costs related to
COVID-19. CSAC looks forward to working hand in hand with the
Administration to facilitate the swift distribution of much
needed funds to Counties that have exhausted reserves combating
the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Employee Relations policy area falls under the jurisdiction
of the Government Finance and Operations (GFO) Policy Committee
and is responsible for all issues related to public employment
and retirement. Specific issues areas are pension benefits and
pension system administration; labor relations; issues regarding
county negotiations with employees; workers’ compensation; and
other risk management issues facing public employers.
The following blog post was written by Henry McCann
and Van Butsic for the Public Policy Institute of CA. The
commentary also appeared in in CalMatters on July
2, 2020. View the original posting here.
The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting
urban and rural communities across California. Congress is
exploring economic recovery legislation that includes investments
in workforce development and infrastructure. And in Sacramento,
there have been discussions about focusing future climate and
natural resource bonds on economic recovery.
As federal and state decision makers evaluate the options, they
should consider putting Californians to work on improving the
health of the state’s headwater forests. This approach would
alleviate economic hardships while reducing wildfire risk and
generating a suite of other benefits for forest-based communities
and the state.
California’s mountain forests are overly dense, riddled with
dying trees, and increasingly vulnerable to wildfire, drought,
and insects. Studies
show that fuel reduction on US Forest Service lands in
the Sierra Nevada headwater region would need to increase two- to
six-fold to meaningfully improve forest resilience. As we
outlined in our recent report on the benefits
of forest management, increasing such efforts—and
sustaining them over time—can reduce air quality impacts from
wildfire, limit greenhouse gas emissions, protect water quality
and enhance supply, and employ thousands of workers in a region
where unemployment and low incomes are rife.
