Snuggled between the boisterous capital and rich ecological
wonders of the Centennial State, county elected and appointed
officials from across the country are gathered for the 2022
National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference in
Adams County, Colorado.
Mobilization is underway for the first Get Connected! California
Month. In March 2022, The California Broadband Council issued a
“Call to Action” to get 90% of all eligible low-income households
connected to high-speed Internet by 2024. In response, state
agencies and the Get Connected! Coalition are coordinating a
month-long effort called Get Connected! California.
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Hopelab
recently launched a study on youth vaping cessation called
Quit the Hit. The purpose of this study, led by Dr. Pamela Ling,
is to see if and how support on social media can help teens quit
vaping. The study will compare an Instagram vaping cessation
intervention to “standard care,” where participants can sign up
for any cessation services provided by Kick It California.
Join Sonoma County Supervisor and CSAC Immediate Past President
James Gore and distinguished county leaders from across the
nation to share top priorities, challenges, and hard-won
successes. This virtual event is part of Supervisor Gore’s
roaring campaign to serve counties nationwide as the next Second
Vice President for the National Association of Counties (NACo).
Join Supervisor Gore virtually on Wednesday, July 13th
anytime between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. to hear from:
Big or small, urban or rural, all counties are feeling the
workforce squeeze. County and industry leaders gathered in San
Luis Obispo County on June 23, 2022, for CSAC’s Summer Regional
Meeting on county workforce issues.
The Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS) Behavioral Health
Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) recently
awarded several grants, and counties will benefit from more
than $500 million in grant funding to expand housing resources
for people living with severe mental illness and substance use
disorder.
This week, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System
(CalPERS) Pension and Health Benefits Committee
received an update on the Rate Development Process and the
2023 proposed premiums for the CalPERS health plans. The
preliminary premiums reflect an average increase of 6.8 percent
but vary widely by plan, with two popular PPO plans increasing
substantially more. The proposed increases are largely due to
rising medical costs.
CSAC’s affiliate, the Institute for Local Government
(ILG), is hosting regional training sessions for planning
commissioners using content from the newly released Planning
Commissioner Handbook.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury released new information on
how counties can access their second tranche of the over $65
billion directed to counties through the American Rescue Plan Act
of 2021 (ARPA). ARPA required payments to counties to be divided
into two tranches, allocating 50 percent last year and the
remaining 50 percent no earlier than 12 months after a county
certifies its first tranche.
This week, the Assembly approved by-right affordable housing
legislation by Assemblymember Wicks and a bill authored by
Assemblymember Robert Rivas to create new “shot-clocks” for
review and approval of housing “post-entitlement” phase permits.
The Assembly also narrowly passed two transportation bills
opposed by CSAC.
Housing Permitting and Planning
Assembly Bill 2011 (Wicks) – By-right housing on
commercial zones/parking lots – Pending
Ahead of a two-week break, House lawmakers considered a number of
bills this week addressing high profile issues ranging from
rising consumer prices to baby formula shortages.
Over the past 18 months, CSAC has participated in the development
of a needs assessment for stream gaging across the state.
Counties have a direct interest in how we monitor water in the
state, from drought to new challenges in flood management and
quarter quality across regions. The Technical Advisory Committee
made its recommendations to the state agencies who have begin the
formal review process. We encourage counties to participate in
this public process.
The CSAC William “Bill” Chiat Institute for Excellence in County
Government congratulates eight California County Supervisors
and 53 California County staff members that took part in the
second cohort of NACo’s High Performance Leadership Academy.
California County Supervisors and staff completed an intense
12-week online program designed for emerging leaders who are
preparing to lead change, equipping them with the tools and
resources to effectively lead, serve, and navigate change within
county government and California communities.
