August 1, 2019

The Bureau of Cannabis Control was appropriated $10 million in grant funds to award to cities and counties that have local equity programs focusing on inclusion and support of persons in the cannabis industry who were negatively or disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition.

July 18, 2019

CSAC submitted a public comment letter to Cal Recycle in response to recently proposed changes to its SB 1383 Organic Waste Diversion regulations. CSAC has been actively engaged in this regulatory process since the passage of SB 1383 (Lara) in 2016.

The recently released text did include several changes that will benefit counties, however CSAC has ongoing concerns regarding the implementation of the proposed regulations and the heavy cost burden that will ultimately be borne by local rate payers.

June 28, 2019

Cal Recycle released an updated version of its SB 1383 Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Regulations for a 15-day public comment period. The public comment period is open now and closes on July 5 at 5 p.m.  These regulations will require individual local jurisdictions, including counties, to require residents to separate and sort their own organic waste and pass a series of local ordinances by January 2022 to implement and enforce a state wide organic waste diversion program.

June 13, 2019

June 6, 2019

May 30, 2019

May 23, 2019

CSAC Responds to CPUC Proposed Decision on Public Safety Power Shut-Offs

May 9, 2019

CSAC recently submitted comments to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regarding De-Energization proceeding R.18-12-005. On April 26, the CPUC issued a Proposed Decision for these Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) de-energization procedures, which incorporated feedback from CSAC and other interested parties.

May 9, 2019

FEMA announced the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Post Fire program as part of the agency’s implementation of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA) of 2018. Section 1204 of the DRRA allows FEMA to provide HMGP Post Fire assistance to any area that received a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) declaration on or after October 5, 2018. In previous fiscal years, funding for this program has been provided through appropriations. Now, it is a permanent, eligible HMGP program of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

May 2, 2019

The Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery met in Ventura County this week to continue their efforts in developing recommendations to the Legislature on how best to socialize the costs associated with catastrophic wildfire. The Commission heard expert testimony on a number of topics, and CSAC testified on several panels addressing issues related to utility liability, the creation of a wildfire fund and community wildfire mitigation.

April 18, 2019

The California Office of Emergency Services is working on statewide outreach plan regarding public safety power shutoff events. They are holding several listening sessions to gather input from local government officials to help shape planned outreach and education efforts. The next listening session will take place on April 19 at 10 a.m. The agenda for the meeting can be found here.

April 11, 2019

On April 2, the California State Water Resources Control Board adopted an updated version Waters of the State regulation. These regulations define the scope of protected waters of the state and how to interact with these protected water bodies and wetlands.

April 4, 2019

CSAC is requesting feedback on the following bill. Please send any comments to Legislative Analyst Nick Cronenwett at ncronenwett@counties.org.

March 28, 2019

CSAC’s Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources team requests feedback on the following bills. Please send any comments to Legislative Analyst Nick Cronenwett at ncronenwett@counties.org.

March 28, 2019

CSAC recently submitted comments to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regarding its development of rules for Investor Owned Utility (IOU) Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) procedures.

This rule will provide clarity in the event that an IOU decides to shut off power to its customers and includes potential procedures of how to notify local governments and communities of shut offs.

March 21, 2019

CSAC and our wildfire coalition partners sent a letter to the Governor and Legislature regarding the California’s increasingly devastating wildfires. The letter reaffirms the coalition’s commitment to working with the Legislature and Administration to address both the root causes of the growing threat of catastrophic wildfire and on critical safety measures that will help to prevent future events. The letter also reiterates our opposition to any changes in utility liability law, specifically to the constitutionally protected property rights doctrine of inverse condemnation.

March 7, 2019

CSAC has been tracking and analyzing hundreds of bills that have been introduced this session. This week, the CSAC AENR team provides you with bills of interest in the area of wildfire and disaster. We are actively soliciting feedback on the following measures.  

March 7, 2019

CSAC and several county engineers joined a broad coalition of water agencies and business industry stakeholders at a public workshop of the State Water Resources Control Board to support changes to a draft Waters of the State regulation.

Dave Leamon, Chair of the CEAC Flood Control and Water Resources Policy Committee and Stanislaus County Public Works Director and Dr. Mark Strudley, Santa Cruz County Flood Control Division Manager both testified at the hearing, expressing the impacts the proposed regulations would have on counties.  

February 21, 2019

February 14, 2019

January 31, 2019

CSAC is actively monitoring the complex situation related to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)’s official filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy this week. As a key stake holder in a wildfire coalition that includes insurance companies, wildfire victims groups, other local government advocates, and consumer protection attorneys, CSAC’s top priority is ensuring that our communities are safe and that people who are trying to recover from a disaster can be made whole.