The Barbed Wire - April 15, 2016

April 15, 2016
PG&E Awards $2 Million in Wildfire Prevention Project Grants
Assembly Committee Passes Controversial Telecom Measure – RCRC Opposes
Assembly Budget Committee Set to Begin Cap-and-Trade Discussions
Senate Begins Debate on FAA Reauthorization Bill
BLM Extends Comment Deadline on Planning Regulations
BULLETIN BOARD
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
REGULATORY UPDATE

PG&E Awards $2 Million in Wildfire Prevention Project Grants

This week, RCRC staff joined the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) at a press conference announcing their awarding of $2 million to local Fire Safe Councils to reduce the increased risk of wildfires due to massive tree mortality in Northern and Central California.  According to the U.S. Forest Service, tree mortality has reached more than 29 million trees due to historic drought and bark beetle infestations.  The funds will be used to protect communities from wildfires in at least 18 high fire-risk counties by clearing brush and dead, dying, or diseased trees for the current fire season.

“Wildfires have been devastating our rural communities for years, and the increased risk due to drought and tree mortality will only escalate this problem,” said John Viegas, RCRC Chair and Glenn County Supervisor.  “On behalf of RCRC’s 35-member counties I applaud PG&E’s proactive efforts to protect our communities, steward our resources, and protect California’s precious watershed.”

The selected recipients will be identified in the following weeks.  The full press release can be accessed here

Assembly Committee Passes Controversial Telecom Measure – RCRC Opposes

On Wednesday, the Assembly Utilities & Commerce Committee approved Assembly Bill 2395 (Low), a measure which addresses “legacy phone service” and is sponsored by AT&T.  

On the surface, AB 2395 offers consumers the promise of an alternative telecommunications service, often available through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or Internet Protocol (IP) and/or wireless services.  These services primarily rely on fiber or broadband-based networks that are often non-existent and too costly to deploy in rural communities.  The primary purpose of the measure is to allow a mechanism for legacy carriers to relinquish their decades-old obligations that guarantee basic two-way telephone service via a landline.  The bill attempts to require legacy telephone carriers to meet certain thresholds before a relinquishment; however RCRC is troubled by the approach of the bill in ensuring alternatives are affordable, have good quality-of-service, and remain viable over the long-term.  Furthermore, the enforcement burdens fall upon the California Public Utilities Commission and failure by the Commission to meet regulatory requirements in very limited timeframes are problematic. 

AB 2935 will now be reviewed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in the coming weeks.  RCRC’s letter of opposition can be accessed here

Assembly Budget Committee Set to Begin Cap-and-Trade Discussions

The Assembly Budget Subcommittee 3 on Resources and Transportation will hold its first discussion of 2016 on expenditures from Cap-and-Trade funds on Wednesday, April 20, 2016.  Of particularly interest to rural counties will be discussions of the Governor’s proposed $140 million allocation to CAL FIRE for forest health and resilience programs, including tree mortality mitigation and wildfire prevention, and a proposed $100 million allocation to CalRecycle for waste diversion programs such as the implementation of Assembly Bill 1826 (Chesbro).  

The Legislative Analyst’s Office has been critical of Cap-and-Trade spending proposals on resources programs so far this year, claiming that the responsible agencies need to better spell out exactly which programs and projects will benefit from the funds.  However, agencies such as CAL FIRE maintain that until the funds are appropriated and the budget year is closer at hand, it is hard to pinpoint exactly where the need for the funds will be – especially with the worsening tree mortality and resulting wildfire risk due to recent severe drought conditions.  There have also been several bills introduces by urban legislators that seek to permanently allocate an even greater portion of the Cap-and-Trade fund to benefit urban interests, which would dramatically shrink the funding available to benefit rural communities.

The Assembly Budget Subcommittee 3 on Resources and Transportation will convene at 9:30 a.m. in State Capitol Room 447. 

Senate Begins Debate on FAA Reauthorization Bill

This week, the Senate continued debate on H.R. 636, the legislative vehicle for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization bill.  H.R. 636 provides $33.1 billion for aviation programs, and would reauthorize the FAA through FY 2017.  

On Tuesday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that an earlier deal on energy tax extenders expected to be added to the bill fell through due to the number of other controversial tax provisions some Senators had pushed to have added to the package.  Instead, a clean extension of the aviation tax provisions has been added to the bill.  Several other amendments have been adopted including an amendment sponsored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune and Ranking Member Bill Nelson which added a number of aviation security provisions to the bill in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Brussels.  The Senate will continue to debate the bill and consider additional amendments.  A final vote on the package is expected early next week.

BLM Extends Comment Deadline on Planning Regulations

The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has granted a 30-day extension to the deadline for comments on proposed amendments to its existing resource management planning rules used to prepare, revise and amend the BLM’s land use plans.  

The proposed amendments are part of a broader effort by the BLM known as “Planning 2.0” to adapt its planning program to improve the land use planning procedures required by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.  While many of the amendments are minor, there are major changes to the language regarding coordination with local governments, as well as a more limited scope and opportunity for public input.

The comment deadline extension is a result of numerous requests from stakeholders, including RCRC.  Originally, the BLM only offered a 60-day timeframe for stakeholders to submit written comments, with submissions due on April 25, 2016.  Comments are now due on May 24, 2016, and can be submitted by any of the following methods:

  • Mail: Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20240, Attention: 1004-AE39.
  • Personal or messenger delivery: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 20 M Street, S.E., Room 2134LM, Attention: Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20003.
  • Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

The full text of the proposed amendments to the planning rule and related documents can be accessed here.

BULLETIN BOARD

State Water Board American Iron and Steel Training

Click here

California Capital Financial Development Corporation- Sacramento International Trade Seminar

Click here

California Finance Coordinating Committee Funding Fairs

Click here

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

AB 2678 (Gray): State-Designated Fairs: Funding.  Assembly Bill 2678 would dedicate the State portion of the sales and use tax collected from transactions at fairgrounds to support small and medium-sized fairs.  Status: Placed on the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee Suspense File.  RCRC Position: Support

SB 1170 (Wieckowski): Public Contracts: Water Pollution Prevention Plans: DelegationSenate Bill 1170 would prohibit a public entity, charter city, or charter county from delegating to a contractor the development of a plan, as defined, used to prevent or reduce water pollution or runoff on a public works contract, except as provided.  SB 1170 would also prohibit a public entity, charter city, or charter county from requiring a contractor on a public works contract that includes compliance with a plan to assume responsibility for the completeness and accuracy of a plan developed by that entity.  Status: Passed out of the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.  RCRC Position: Oppose

SB 1188 (McGuire): Wildlife Management Areas: Payment of Taxes and Assessments.  Senate Bill 1188 will return the ‘may’ back to ‘shall’ in Fish and Game Code Section 1504 making future State Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) payments required rather than permissive.  Status: Passed out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee.  RCRC Position: Support

SB 1317 (Wolk): Conditional Use Permit: Groundwater Extraction Facility.  Senate Bill 1317 would require a city or county overlying a basin designated as a high or medium priority basin to establish a process for the issuance of conditional use permits for the development of a groundwater extraction facility in order to prevent that facility from contributing to or creating an undesirable result.  Status: Passed out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee.  RCRC Position: Oppose

SB 1396 (Wolk): Inner Coast Range Conservancy.  Senate Bill 1396 would establish the Inner Coast Range Conservancy.  The Inner Coast Range region as defined in the legislation includes all or part of the following counties: Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Tehama, Trinity and Yolo.  Status: Passed out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee.  RCRC Position: Pending

REGULATORY UPDATE

Resource Management Planning: Amends existing regulations that establish the procedures used to prepare, revise, or amend land use plans pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.  Agency: U.S. Bureau of Land Management Status: Draft released for public review, comment deadline extended to May 24, 2016.  Proposed regulatory language and related documents can be accessed hereRCRC Comments: RCRC’s letter requesting an extension of the comment deadline can be accessed here.  RCRC Advocate: Staci Heaton sheaton@rcrcnet.org

Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy: Mandated by Senate Bill 605 (Lara), establishes strategies to reduce emissions from short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon and methane.  Agency: California Air Resources Board Status: Second draft published for public comment, comment period ends May 26, 2016.  Workshop scheduled in Sacramento on April 26, 2016, Board hearing on May 19, 2016.  The Draft Strategy and related documents can be accessed here.  RCRC Comments: RCRC staff is seeking member county input.  RCRC Advocate: Staci Heaton sheaton@rcrcnet.org