The Senate Appropriations Committee just moved AB 155 by Assembly
Member Tony Mendoza from the Suspense File to the Senate Floor on
a 6-4 vote. The bill was amended to eliminate the ability
of the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC)
to impose conditions on a local agency’s request to seek Chapter
9 bankruptcy protection.
Yesterday, the Senate Rules Committee declined Senator Dave Cox’s
request to send the bill back to the Senate Local Government
Committee after amendments made significant policy changes to the
bill.
AB 155 was heard today in the Senate Appropriations Committee,
where it was sent to the Suspense File due to state costs
associated with the bill.
Assembly Member Mendoza presented the new amendments to the bill,
which authorize a local agency to override the decision of the
California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC) with a
majority vote.
Yesterday, the Senate Budget Subcommittee #4 heard an
Administration proposal to suspend a mandate associated with the
Open Meeting/Brown Act. These mandated services include
agenda preparation, agenda posting, closed session disclosures,
and staff training. The Administration’s proposal to
suspend would essentially make these procedures optional to local
agencies, thereby saving the state about $17 million for 2010-11.
Instead of approving the Administration’s proposal, the
Subcommittee approved an alternative offered by the Legislative
Analyst’s Office (LAO). The LAO suggested that stat
This year’s ERAF/Prop. 172 survey is finished and available at
the link below.
Every year CSAC surveys all 58 counties for the money shifted to
ERAF from each county, each city, and special districts. The
survey also asks for Prop. 172 allocations for each county and
the cities in them. The survey covers actual data from the
previous fiscal year and estimated data for the current year.
Take note: if you are one of a growing number of Californians to
vote by mail, you can expect to receive your ballots this
week. County elections officials across California are
mailing out ballots to officially get the June primary under way.
They used to be call “absentee ballots,” and there was a time
when Californians could only vote by mail if they were traveling
on Election Day or had a medical reason for not being able to go
to the polls. Now we refer to them as “mail-in ballots”
since so many voters take advantage of this option.
By SUSAN LOEW Every day we work our hardest to keep kids safe and
help families overcome the challenges that too often lead to
children being abused, neglected, and ultimately removed from
their homes. Every child deserves to live in a safe home and have
a good shot at a bright future.
So when decisions in Sacramento threaten child welfare services
and undercut children’s chances for a successful future, we must
fight to protect our children. And we must hold Gov.
As you no doubt know, the governor chose not to consolidate the
SD 15 vacancy election with the November statewide, for reasons
either political (keeping a Republican in the seat) or personal
(a stick in the eye to legislative Democrats that delayed
confirming Maldonado for Lt. Governor).
Since 1947, the symbolic “Doomsday Clock” has provided insight
into how close we are to a global disaster. For CSAC and our
member counties, our own clock has been ticking for the past four
months. It’s a clock that focuses on the enormous state budget
deficit and the action our state elected leaders will have to
take in order to balance the books.
The Associated Press released its nationwide
“Economic Stress Index” for March today and the numbers
aren’t pretty – at least for California. While economic stress
declined in the vast majority of the country’s 3,100-plus
counties, you can’t say the same for California. In fact,
counties from the “Golden State” dominated the Top 20 list of
most economically distressed counties. Twelve California counties
are in the Top 20, and seven are in the Top 10.
Staff here at CSAC that have the pleasure of working with Phil
Demery, Sonoma County Director of the Department of
Transportation and Public Works, are excited to share the news
that he was sworn in as president of the National Association of
County Engineers (NACE) last week during the NACE Annual
Conference in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Well almost. You might have thought it was the end of the world
if you were in the Capitol today and saw the Sierra Club,
Counties and the Farm Bureau walking hand in hand advocating
together as a coalition.
I had the privilege of attending the recent annual
conference of the California Association of Public Information
Officials. While attendance was down slightly this year due to
budget constraints, enthusiasm remained high among local
government PIOs. “Thinking outside the box” and “doing more with
less” were two common themes and discussion points.
These are themes that CSAC has been adhering closely to for some
time. Budgets are tight all over and we are not immune. But at
the same time, never has there been a greater need for us to
communicate our message and inform our members.
That’s the amount of revenue the state needs to receive in order
to meet April’s cash projections. What was once a
somewhat-rosy financial picture over the last few weeks appears
to be withering away.
The state took in about $574.5 million in personal income tax
receipts on Friday, April 23, taking the monthly total to $5.2
billion. The Administration’s projections assumed the state
would take in $10.2 billion in April.
The state collected about $2.7 billion more in total revenues
than expected through March, but that cushion seems to be
shrinking by the day.
For counties (and cities and special districts), the situation
with mandates is getting out of control. Deferrals,
suspensions, and modifications at the state level keep local
officials’ heads spinning. Counties are offering three
suggestions to the Legislature and the Governor to stop the
madness.
For purposes of this discussion, we are focusing on post-1975
mandates, those that meet the Constitutional test for state
reimbursement.
(To answer the question, “what
is a mandate?”, the Legislative Analyst’s
When the Governor used his blue pencil before signing the 2009-10
budget, he drew a line right through the future of foster
youth by vetoing $80 million and his proposed 2010-11 budget
continues the cut.
CSAC is part of a broad coalition – including foster youth,
foster parents, providers, labor, social workers, and welfare
directors – that is advocating to restore the child welfare
services budget.
Sometimes things in government just don’t make sense. When you
look at the facts – the state pays nearly $43 million annually to
guard and provide life-sustaining medical care for 32 critically
debilitated state prison inmates – something seems out of whack.
That’s an average of $1.3 million in costs per person.
Most of these inmates are completely incapacitated: incapable of
independent movement or speech and with extremely limited
cognitive function. The public safety threat posed by this small
number of prisoners is virtually non-existent.
When most Californians think of land-use planning or
infrastructure, they think of their local city – the new
residential neighborhood being built or the condition of their
local streets.
Yet few people may realize the role that counties play in these
crucial areas. In fact, cities, counties and regions are
intricately linked in these arenas.
Okay, so maybe you aren’t so interested in an Algebra exercise,
but we were wondering just what it is that makes people think
that Assembly member Tony Mendoza’s AB 155 is a good idea?
The bill passed out of the Senate Local Government Committee this
afternoon with three “aye” votes from Senators DeSaulnier, Kehoe,
Price (Senators Cox and Aanestad voted “no”). Local
governments appeared in force to opposed the measure but, after
relatively little debate, AB 155 was sent off to the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer appeared before the Committee to
support AB 155,
County government provides a wide range of services to its
residents from public safety to health care to recycling
programs! Included in this long list of services is the
lesser known Land Conservation Act, also known as the Williamson
Act.
Simply put, the Williamson Act is the single most effective
agricultural land preservation program in California.
Enacted in 1965, this voluntary program provides lower
property taxes to agricultural landowners in exchange for their
contractual commitments with participating cities or counties to
keep their land in agricultural or open space uses for
State budget crisis and pressures to reduce prison costs and
population.
And the result? Counties, local law enforcement, and communities
are bracing for unknown impacts that could result from an influx
of prison inmates. Depending on outcomes of state budget
discussions and a case pending before the U.S.
