The implementation of the Affordable Care Act is a complex morass
that will impact California’s 58 counties on wide variety of
fronts – from budgetary to service delivery. For most
county officials, there are currently more questions than
answers.
The CSAC Institute for Excellence in County Government has spent
the past two days trying to answer some of those questions
through a course that is providing county officials with a
balanced, fact-based discussion on how federal health care reform
is being implemented in California and its effect on county
health, mental health and social service
As a kid living in Sonoma County, I remember being frightened by
the once-rampant rumor that the next big earthquake would split
the state at the San Andreas Fault and everything west of that
geologic line would sink into the Pacific Ocean. Our five acres
in Penngrove would suddenly be beach-front property.
San Diego, Sonoma and Yolo Counties shine as Supervisors and
county staff spotlight their local sustainability activities in
short videos produced by the Institute for Local Government.
The CSAC offices are located exactly one block north of the State
Capitol, perfectly positioned to observe that hallmark of
American democracy – the political rally. Many of them occur on
the north steps of the Capitol—a long chip shot from the side
door of the CSAC building. Today’s issue was health care – with
those gathered arguing for a single-payer health care system in
California.
As a reporter in the earlier part of my career, I covered dozens
of political rallies at the Capitol.
The California State Association of Counties and the CSAC Finance
Corporation held our Premier Forum in San Diego County late last
week. The venue was lovely and the social and recreational events
were wonderful, but the meeting was definitely the highlight of
the event.
Yesterday was the most exciting day of the year for demographers
who moonlight as futurists. For the rest of us was just a
Thursday.
But it just so happens to be the Thursday that the Department of
Finance’s Demographics Research Unit released the population
projections through 2060. The projections cover detailed
information about age, race, and gender population changes for
each county. And by detailed, I mean nine decimal places.
For instance, the projection estimates that there will be
3806.311917436 white, male, 79-year olds in Sacramento County in
2058.
I don’t know if Governor Jerry Brown, a life-long Californian,
has ever actually been surfing, but he is currently riding a wave
of political acumen, popularity and good fortune that could
qualify him to compete in the elected official’s equivalent of
the “Mavericks” big surf contest.
Some of his earlier public policy wins are well documented; 2011
realignment, pension reform, and passage of Proposition 30 come
to mind.
The Governor has called a “special session” of the Legislature to
work on implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). When
the ACA takes full effect in January 2014, about a million more
people will be eligible for Medi-Cal and the Governor has
outlined two possible ways to expand Medi-Cal coverage.
I have always admired the African tribe the Masai – not for their
fighting spirit or intelligence, but for their cultural
values. Their traditional greeting, passed down through
generations, is “Kasserian Ingera.” Simply translated, this
means, “And how ar
It’s not often that you hear the Bible, William Butler Yeats, and
“The Little Engine That Could” quoted in the same political
speech, but Governor Jerry Brown did just that today in a wide
ranging State of the State address that was aimed as much to
inspire as it was to inform.
The Governor told the story of Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s
dreams about feast and famine as he talked about ending
California’s cycle of boom and bust by living within its means,
even as Proposition 30 is providing some additional revenue.
Speaking about the need for more local control in
schools Governor Brown qu
The best solutions to complex issues often come from a solid
application of the three Cs: communication, collaboration and
cooperation. And that is exactly what was going on earlier this
week in the CSAC Conference Center in Sacramento. About 40 county
administrative officers from across the state came together to
talk about allocation of AB 109 public safety realignment
funding.
I was lucky enough to squeeze into room 1190 at the Capitol on
Tuesday for Governor Brown’s press conference regarding prison
conditions in California. It was a virtuoso performance by one of
the preeminent figures in the last half century of California
politics.
The Governor, citing a significant reduction in the number of
inmates and major improvements in physical and mental health
care, officially ended the state of emergency in California
prisons.
[caption id="attachment_3983" align="alignright" width="300"
caption="New San Diego County Supervisor David Roberts is sworn
into office Monday."][/caption]
The new year always brings new beginnings – and every two years
it brings a new class of county supervisors.
We are starting to see some
specific analysis from the last minute deal to avoid the
fiscal cliff, but even as we digest more details, some
pundits are saying the specifics are less important than the
deal itself.
Dear CSAC Members and County Colleagues all over California,
Allow me to take a minute of your time to wish you the brightest
of holiday seasons, a very happy New Year, and a 2013 that is
full of opportunity, success and service to the people of
Californi
CSAC Institute has partnered with California State
University-Northridge to offer an exclusive, executive-level
Master of Public Administration degree program.
One beauty of CSAC is its diversity. We are as diverse as
California itself – geographically, politically and
demographically. For CSAC to be truly reflective in policy
development, though, it is important for us to be a reflection of
the state residents we all represent. In that light, our officers
enthusiastically supported the recent creation of the Latino
Caucus of California Counties. Sacramento County Supervisor Phil
Serna is serving as President of this new organization.
Day Two of CSAC’s 118th Annual Meeting is going
strong. The day started on the right foot with a very insightful
and candid look at Congress by Washington Post political
columnist Ezra Klein.
