You’ve come to rely on CSAC as a source of thorough, factual
information regarding countless budget and policy topics.
We’ve faithfully filled your inboxes with weekly Legislative
Bulletins and Around Our Counties, ensuring that
you are always provided with the most up-to-date knowledge on
what is happening at both the county and state levels.
We are excited to continue this service by officially launching
The CSAC Bulletin, an easily-navigable combination
of our
In a move redolent of past accounting gimmicks that saved the
state money, the Budget Conference Committee ended an era
yesterday when it voted to end state reimbursements to local
agencies for following parts of the Brown Act. They unanimously
approved an LAO plan that instead makes certain parts of the
Brown Act more like “safe harbor” provisions for complying with
Proposition 59.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seems to have pulled
the plug on a popular energy financing program that would have
allowed homeowners to finance solar panels and other energy
improvements through an assessment repaid through their property
tax bills.
In an official statement released yesterday, the Federal
Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reaffirmed its concerns with
Property Assessed Clean Energy financing programs, stating that
these programs, “present significant safety and soundness
concerns that must be addressed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and
the Federal Home Loan Banks.” In i
One part of CSAC’s mission is to provide our membership with as
much information and knowledge as possible surrounding county
government. While we have traditionally done so through our major
meeting workshops, policy committee meetings and the New
Supervisors Institute, CSAC launched a new endeavor just 16
months ago: The CSAC
Institute for Excellence in County Government.
Last November, the Institute reached its first milestone: our
first five individuals were honored with Institute credentials.
We received an interesting comment last night to our June
9th posting,
“One Vote… Just One Single Vote.” It came from Sierra
County supervisorial candidate Karen Rickman.
If our counties have been wondering what their portion of the
Williamson
Act subvention allocation is going to be for 2009-10, their
wait is over. Sent yesterday by the State Controller’s
Office, the checks are in the mail. But don’t hold your
breath; 22 counties and three cities are receiving checks for
under $10.00, six of these are actually getting a check for under
$1.00. And shockingly, four are receiving checks for under 10
cents! Orange County and the City of Camarillo are both
getting checks for one penny.
Let’s just say that it is unlikely that the Legislature will pass
and the Governor will approve a budget by the start of the
2010-11 fiscal year. Hope springs eternal, of course, but
it is very unlikely that a state spending plan is in place by
July 1.
The State Controller’s Office, undoubtedly deluged by queries
from the media and others about what that really means, posted on
its website today
an outline of what can and cannot be paid without a state budget.
Generally, federally required payments will continue to
flow. Counti
A quick update on the bill that’s at the top of our most disliked
list.
AB 155 (Mendoza) was sent to the Senate Inactive File. This
means that the bill is off of the Third Reading File and cannot
be taken up without a two-day notice. While this may put
the bill on pause for the meantime, don’t for one second think
that the bill won’t fly off of the Inactive File when the
proponents think the time is right.
Interested in what this is all about? Check out our series
of blogs
on this issue.
State Controller John Chiang announced today that, for the month
of May, state General Fund revenues are $592.2 million (9.8%)
higher than the budget anticipated. Most of that amount was from
personal income taxes, but percentage-wise corporate income taxes
were the highest above budget expectations.
Never believe that your vote – one single vote – doesn’t make a
difference. It does. Just take a look at the 5th
District supervisorial election in Sierra County, where one vote
could be the difference. Each morning after a primary and general
election, I put together a summary of supervisor election results
from around the state.
The Budget Conference Committee started up today amid bipartisan
bickering, concern about cost shifts to counties, and attacks
from all sides on the Assembly Democratic “jobs” budget.
Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, Dept. of Finance’s Todd Jerue,
and Republican Senator Bob Dutton all jumped on the plan.
More than 300 county officials gathered in Sacramento this week
for the 2010 CSAC Legislative Conference. In light of the dire
status of the state budget, the timing couldn’t have been better.
Conference attendees listened to State Treasurer Bill Lockyer and
State Senator Denise Ducheny provide candid insights on
California’s fiscal challenges. They heard grim reality peppered
with much-needed humor from journalist Greg Lucas.
Our members attended workshops focusing on labor relations,
federal funding and local initiatives.
The Bakersfield Californian published an insightful
editorial yesterday titled
“County cuts will go deeper than dollars.” Its message: Even
“non-mission critical” programs, such as libraries, positively
impact the community in a way that is difficult to measure
strictly in dollars and cents. Closing a library – or even
reducing its hours – impacts everyone from senior citizens to job
seekers to students.
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.
