Last week, CSAC reported on the final outcomes of measures that
were approved by the Legislature and delivered to Governor Newsom
for action. To keep counties informed of new laws of interest and
impact, CSAC will publish a series of articles to spotlight those
laws in each policy area. This week, the Government Finance and
Administration (GFA) policy area provides information on new
laws impacting broadband, the Brown Act, labor, pensions,
personnel, workers’ compensation, and more.
October 3 – 7, 2022 marks a special week in recognition and
celebration of Digital Inclusion.
Organizations and individuals throughout the nation are hosting
special events and campaigns to promote digital equity in their
communities. This year’s theme is “Turning Our Moment into
Movement,” and California has mobilized through Get
Connected! California.
California’s Broadband for All Action Plan directs the California
Department of Technology (CDT) to explore actions to enhance
permitting processes at all levels of government to support
broadband deployment in the State.
On Friday, September 23, 2022, at 11:00 am – 12:00 pm (Pacific
time), the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the
Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Broadband Data Task
Force will hold an overview of the ongoing Broadband Data
Collection process, which will be used to create an updated
broadband availability map. These forthcoming maps are
instrumental in determining the allocation of billions of dollars
in federal funds for broadband deployment from the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law.
Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed
AB 1951 (Grayson), which would have reduced county and city
revenues by more than $2 billion over five years by giving a full
sales tax exemptions for manufacturing equipment. This is
welcome news for CSAC and the broad coalition of local government
organizations that opposed this measure (veto
request).
The California Emerging Technology Fund is hosting its second Get
Connected California! Day on Saturday, October 22, 2022,
throughout California to expand access to eligible low-income
households. Information about the program and locations
(forthcoming) can be accessed at the Internet for All
Now website.
California’s legislative session came to a close in the early
morning hours this week with hundreds of bills now awaiting
action by Governor Gavin Newsom. The following provides an update
on major bills of interest for the Government, Finance, and
Administration policy area. CSAC staff will continue to monitor
and advocate for County priorities during the signing
period, which ends September 30, 2022.
Over its proposed five-year shelf life,
AB 1951 (Grayson) would reduce county and city revenues by a
combined $2 billion by exempting the local share of sales tax for
manufacturing companies that buy equipment. Manufacturing
equipment purchases are already exempt from the state share of
the sales tax, and they can get a full exemption through another
state program (CAEATFA) for equipment under certain conditions.
The California Emerging Technology Fund is hosting Get Connected
California! Day on Saturday, August 27, 2022,
throughout California to expand access to eligible low-income
households. Information about confirmed locations and the program
can be accessed at the Internet for All
Now website.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s (CalPERS)
2021-22 fiscal year investment returns will impact employer
contribution rates for contracting counties, cities, and special
districts beginning in fiscal year 2024-25. On August 10, 2022,
CalPERS hosted a webinar to discuss the impact of its recently
announced negative 6.1 percent return on investment for
employers. A recording of this webinar is anticipated to be
posted on CalPERS’ website by the end of this week.
The start of July marked the end of policy committee hearings for
legislative session before the Legislature adjourned for Summer
Recess. As the Legislature breaks before returning August 1st to
finish out the session, we want to update you on key legislation
the Government Finance and Administration team is following that
are of interest to counties:
A few hours ago, as expected, the Legislature passed a raft of
bills that together comprise the $300 billion budget agreement
reached over the weekend between the Administration, the Senate,
and the Assembly. AB 178 comprehensively amends the Budget Bill
(SB 154) passed two weeks ago and signed by the Governor on
Monday. We expect the Governor to sign the amended Budget Bill
and the many trailer bills by Friday. CSAC’s full summary is
available online.
Last Friday, May 27 marked the final day for the Legislature to
pass bills introduced in their house of origin. As policy
committees pick back up and the June 15 budget deadline
approaches, the CSAC Government Finance and Administration team
would like to provide you with an update on some of the key
pieces of legislation that moved last week.
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.
Should the statutes and internal regulations that govern the
information practices of state agencies also be applied to all
local agencies? AB 2677 would do just that in regard to how
personal information is stored and shared, without regard to the
many differences between state agencies, counties, school
districts, cities, and all manner of special districts. In doing
so, it would impose tremendous costs, both upfront and ongoing,
new civil liabilities, and would even threaten termination for
employees that make mistakes in how the information is handled.
During the Middle Mile Advisory Committee meeting last week, the
state’s contracted third party administrator, GoldenStateNet,
released new draft maps of the statewide middle mile network
design. The maps contain a number of changes, including
additions, to previous proposals, so interested county officials
should be sure to examine how they would affect their regions.
April is always a busy month in the Legislature, and this year is
no different. Tomorrow, April 29, marks the deadline for policy
committees to hear and report all fiscal bills introduced in
their house of origin. As the vast majority of bills are keyed
fiscal, policy committees have heard thousands of bills over the
last few months. Below you will find an update on key bills the
CSAC Government Finance and Administration team are currently
tracking.
CSAC will be
co-hosting a webinar with the California Emerging Technology
Foundation (CETF) this Friday, April 29 at 9:00 a.m. focused on
how counties can increase enrollment in the federal Affordable
Connectivity Program (ACP).
CSAC will be co-hosting a webinar with the California Emerging
Technology Foundation (CETF) next Friday, April 29 at 9:00 am
focused on how counties can help increase enrollment in the
federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Created through
the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, ACP
provides a $30-per-month service subsidy for low-income
households. This webinar will highlight a successful case study
that counties can replicate and build on to increase
participation among eligible households.
The state and federal governments will both be presenting
webinars in the coming days for local agency technical
assistance.
The CPUC will host the first of two webinars on the Local Agency
Technical Assistance Program this Tuesday, April 5 from
10-11 a.m. The program dedicates $50 million in
reimbursable grants to local agencies and Tribal governments for
pre-construction work on last-mile broadband connections to
unserved and underserved areas. Of this $50 million, at
least $5 million is set-aside for Tribes.
The state is nearing a final decision for how to distribute $2
billion of last-mile broadband infrastructure funds. A
preliminary decision adopted earlier this month addressed
questions like how much will go to projects in each county, what
types of organizations are eligible, and what kinds of
affordability requirements the state will attach to the funded
projects.
SB 1100 by Senator Dave Cortese passed out of Senate Governance
and Finance Committee today with a 4-1 vote. The bill, which is
co-sponsored by the CSAC and the Urban Counties of
California, seeks to give local boards tools to curb the
increase in disruptive and threatening behavior seen in many
local public meetings across the state.
Update #2:On April 19, CalPERS began the
process of adopting the temporary duration regulations for
retired annuitants.
As amended, the regulations would allow employers who are
unable to fill positions to extend appointments for retired
annuitants, as described in
the staff analysis.
At its meeting last Thursday, the CSAC Board of Directors voted
overwhelmingly to oppose a proposed initiative designed to make
it harder for the state, counties, and other local agencies to
approve or collect taxes and other revenues. The measure has not
collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, but its
proponents are attempting to qualify it for the November ballot.
Tied by strict federal funding deadlines, California agencies are
working swiftly to implement the historic $6 billion investment
in broadband infrastructure. CSAC staff have provided an overview
of the progress of these investments to date, as well as
important funding opportunities for counties in the near future.
Building on last year’s historic $6 billion investment in
broadband infrastructure, CSAC is currently evaluating a package
of bills that seek to increase data collection, expand
connectivity, and increase affordable broadband options for
Californians. The bills below are generally in line with the
broadband portion of CSAC’s
2022 Policy Priorities, as approved by the Board of Directors
in December.
Amidst Russia’s violent and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,
California leaders are calling on state pension systems to cut
financial ties to Russia. According to a
letter sent to CalPERS, CalSTRS, and University of California
Retirement Plan chairs on Monday, California holds over $1.5
billion in investments in relation to Russia’s financial markets.
Several newly introduced bills would change the requirements for
local Brown Act meetings and state Bagley-Keene meetings. The
bills follow two years of changes to public meetings caused by
the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing hostility and incivility
exhibited in many communities.
Tomorrow, February 18, marks the final day for members of the
California State Legislature to introduce new bills for the
2021-22 legislative session. Although new bills have trickled in
daily since the Legislature reconvened on January 3, members
often wait until the final deadline week to introduce the bulk of
their new proposals. With hundreds of bills introduced each day
this week, this year is shaping up no differently.
This week, the Senate approved
SB 213 (Cortese) to move off the Senate floor and over to the
Assembly with a final vote of 21 senators, narrowly allowing its
move into the Assembly. At its core, this bill will impose
significant financial burdens on employers in the health care
industry who are already struggling under the effects of labor
shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic. For California
Counties, this means costs to taxpayers.
The Government Finance & Administration (GFA) Policy
Committee will meet next week
on Wednesday, January 26, from 1:00 - 2:00
p.m. to discuss a proposed ballot initiative
proponents have labeled “The Taxpayer Protection and Government
Accountability Act.” The initiative would amend
the California Constitution to restrict the ability of the
state, counties, other local agencies, and the electorate to
approve or collect taxes, fees, and other revenues. This
will be a virtual only meeting, and the meeting materi
Following the release
last week of their final rule for use of ARPA’s local
recovery funds, the U.S. Department of the Treasury held a
webinar on multiple dates to provide an overview of the rule’s
provisions. The hour-long webinar recording is now
available online on YouTube, along with the
PDF of the slide presentation.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) will host broadband grant program public virtual listening
sessions in connection with the five new broadband grant programs
authorized and funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act: The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program;
the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program; and
the Digital Equity Act Programs, which include the State Digital
Equity Planning Grant Program, the State Digital Equity Capacity
Grant Program, and the Digital Equity Competitive Grant
Program. These publi
Demonstrating the urgency and collaboration appropriate to the
task, the state has announced the first 18 sections for the
statewide open-access middle-mile network just a few short months
after the network was authorized by SB 156.
Middle-mile infrastructure will not provide broadband service
directly to consumers, but it will make it faster and cheaper for
all internet service providers to provide last-mile service to
both unserved and underserved households, as well as those who
currently live in a broadband monopoly.
Nearly two months after California voters rejected an attempt to
recall Governor Gavin Newsom that cost counties and the state
about $276 million to conduct, state officials continue to
examine California’s recall system for potential reform.
Discussions for potential reforms include raising the signature
threshold to qualify a recall election, altering the election
process for successor candidates, and creating a malfeasance
standard for justifying a recall election.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is
developing the Clean
California Local Grant Program as part of a two-year program
through which approximately $296 million in funds will go to
local communities to beautify and improve local streets and
roads, tribal lands, parks, pathways, and transit centers to
clean and enhance public spaces.
County officials and personnel are invited to attend a two-day
conference on private 4G/5G networks, an alternative to
traditional Wi-Fi networks that might help local agencies
implement connected traffic signals, provide public services, and
help close the digital divide. The event, “Enterprise 5G Live,”
includes educational workshops, networking opportunities, and an
exhibit hall where attendees can connect and learn about private
wireless networks.
Governor Newsom met the October 10 deadline to take action on
measures approved by the Legislature and delivered to his desk.
To keep Counties informed of new laws that impact them, CSAC will
be publishing a series of articles to spotlight those laws in
each policy area. This week, the Government, Finance, and
Administration (GFA) policy area provides information on new
laws impacting broadband, elections, labor relations, and more.
California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA), part
of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development
(GO-Biz), announced that it is now accepting applications from
California County governments to administer the California
Microbusiness COVID-19 Relief Grant Program (MBCRG). Counties are
encouraged to apply for funding to provide $2,500 grants to
eligible microbusinesses that have been impacted by COVID-19 and
the associated health and safety restrictions.
Governor Newsom had until October 10, 2021 to sign or veto bills
passed by the Legislature last month. Following is an update on
major bills of interest or concern for the Government, Finance,
and Administration policy area, including victories broadband
access and public meeting requirements. For additional
questions, please contact Geoff Neill, Ryan Souza, or Danielle Bradley.
