On Wednesday, December 30th, Governor Gavin
Newsom issued an executive order to further assist
communities across the state recovering from devastating
wildfires dating back to 2017. The order extends the state’s
prohibition on price gouging for Butte, Los Angeles, Mendocino,
Napa, Sonoma and Ventura Counties.
The full text of the executive order can be found
here.
The Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has announced that
it will hold a public workshop on proposed changes to the state’s
fire safe regulations on December 22nd from 9 AM to 5
PM. Please find the workshop notice
here.
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development has
announced that the fiscal year 2020-2021 Grant Solicitation for
the Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions is now
available. The Grant Solicitation guide, the link to the Online
Application Portal, an Application User Guide, and required
documents can be found at
www.business.ca.gov/CEG.
The U.S. Geological Survey announced the completion of a new mobile tool that
provides real-time information on water levels, weather and flood
forecasts all in one place on a computer, smartphone or other
mobile device.
Governor Newsom met the September 30 deadline to take action on
measures approved by the Legislature and delivered to his desk.
To keep counties informed of new laws that impact them, CSAC will
be publishing a series of articles to spotlight those laws in
each policy area. This week, the Agriculture, Environment, and
Natural Resources (AENR) policy area provides information on new
laws affecting emergency planning, wildfire prevention, recycling
& pollution, cannabis, and firefighting.
CSAC is requesting feedback on our draft response to the recent
Safety and Enforcement Division Report issued by the California
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). CSAC has been working on
behalf of California’s Counties to make sure that their voices
are heard at the CPUC, and to achieve appropriate compensation
for costs incurred during the PSPS events of 2019.
On Friday, October 30th from 10:30 AM to 3:30
PM, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and
the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will hold a
public workshop on water affordability impacts from COVID-19. The
workshop will include panel discussions on solutions to customer
protections, arrearage management, fee forgiveness, CARE funding,
and small water system operation impacts.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Fairs
and Expositions Branch has announced the 2020-21 fair
distribution of $12 million in allocations from two sources. The
first source is a General Fund base allocation of $2.7 million
statewide. The second source is AB 1499’s New Fair Funds,
which CDFA anticipates reaching $9.3 million that will be
allocated separately from the General Fund allocation.
As California’s counties look for ways to manage responsible
urban growth, conserving existing rangeland in rural areas is a
smart and cost-effective investment to protect the state’s
environment, according to a recent study
from the University of California, Berkeley commissioned by the
California Rangeland
Trust.
