GFA Recent News

October 15, 2020

This year, a new law went into effect, SB 234 (Chapter 244, Statutes of 2019), that aims to increase the availability of family child care homes. The sponsor of the legislation, the Child Care Law Center, reached out to CSAC to share resources with counties regarding the implementation of this law.

SB 234 makes various changes regarding licensing and zoning for family child care homes, including several that directly impact county regulations. These include:

October 1, 2020

The California Department of Finance (DOF) has published additional information regarding first quarter expenditures and obligations for the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), including information from counties, cities, schools, and the state. The main content is on the DOF COVID-19 webpage.

September 17, 2020

Last week, the California Supreme Court declined to review a state appellate court decision that allows local government special taxes to be increased by a simple majority, rather than two-thirds, if the tax increase is placed on the ballot by initiative petitions and not the governments themselves. This comes as a victory for those in favor of making tax increases easier to pass, as well as groups who might not seek taxes to benefit their causes via local initiative.

September 3, 2020

CSAC’s Government, Finance and Administration policy committee tracked a number of bills this legislative cycle. Here is a summary of the outcomes for a number of notable bills.

AB 107 (Budget): General Government: Assessment Appeals Deadlines

August 27, 2020

August 27, 2020

A new budget trailer bill, SB 815, would give county assessment appeals boards additional time to work through their backlogs and clarify that they are allowed to hold hearings remotely.

August 13, 2020

August 6, 2020

This week, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-72-20 – his 44th COVID-related executive action – which extends until January 31, 2021 the deadline to hear property tax assessment appeals filed on or before March 4, 2020.

July 30, 2020

In a case closely watched by public agencies, their unions, and pension hawks, the California Supreme Court this morning unanimously upheld the “California Rule” that prevents most reductions to pensions for existing employees. However, the decision itself found in favor of the pension systems and against the union plaintiffs, by finding that the changes in question served “the constitutionally permissible purpose of closing loopholes and preventing abuse of the pension system.”