California’s response to federal funding cuts could put key
services provided by California counties at risk – ripping apart
the social safety net and forcing cuts to sheriff’s and fire
departments.
“Counties cannot backfill for the lost dollars that would be
created from a potential federal freeze,” Ventura County CEO Dr.
Sevet Johnson told state lawmakers Thursday at an Assembly budget
subcommittee hearing.
While the Legislature went on recess mid-September, CSAC’s
legislative advocacy team has been closely following and
advocating on many of the hundreds of bills that were passed by
the Legislature and presented to the Governor in the waning days
of the 2023 Legislative Session. This period, which coincides
with baseball playoff season, is referred to as the “signing
period,” and is our advocacy team’s version of the Fall
Classic. This year, our advocacy team hit a quartet of home
runs, having secured Governor Newsom’s approval on four important
pieces of legislation that were co-sponsored by CSAC.
Recent amendments to SB 326 (Eggman) fail to address county
concerns. There are only days left to make changes (the amendment
deadline is Friday, September 8) to the
proposal, and we have received no signal that the
Administration’s next set of amendments will meaningfully address
counties’ concerns.
CSAC is calling on our members to engage your
legislative delegations and for each county to send letters in
alignment with the CSAC/county coalition letter.
Through the federal appropriations process, the United States Congress plays an influential role in setting an annual cap on available funds for the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VOCA). This cap fluctuates and is determined in the federal spending bill. As a formula grant program, the VOCA Victim Assistance Formula Grant Program supports 30 Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) programs, including more than 800 grant sub-awards, and 400 unique agencies – many of which are California county agencies and departments.
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 Administration of Justice policy
area provides information on new laws affecting criminal justice
fees, courts, police reform and juvenile justice.
The new laws listed below become effective January 1, 2022 unless
otherwise noted.
