The Barbed Wire - October 20, 2017

October 20, 2017
RCRC Presents Checks to Tehama County Charities
Telecom Power Grab Vetoed by Governor
California County Associations Join Forces at Bureau of Cannabis Control Public Licensing Workshop
Fairs Funding Legislation Signed into Law
RCRC and Member Counties Staff to Attend CalPERS Invite-Only Meeting
Bipartisan Forestry Reform Bill Introduced in the U.S. Senate
BULLETIN BOARD
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
REGULATORY UPDATE

RCRC Presents Checks to Tehama County Charities

This week, RCRC President & CEO Greg Norton joined RCRC Chair Bob Williams (Tehama) in presenting checks to the Tehama County Friends of the Library, the Tehama County Senior Nutrition Program, Providing Essentials for Tehama Shelters (PETS), Corning Senior Center, and Corning Christian Assistance.  Each charitable organization received a check for $10,474 as a result of this year’s RCRC Basket Raffle and Auction held during the RCRC Annual Meeting.

Pictures from the check presentation events can be accessed here.  The press release with detailed information on the Basket Raffle and Auction can be accessed here.

Telecom Power Grab Vetoed by Governor

Four minutes before the statutory deadline for the Governor to take actions on bills passed this Legislative Session, Governor Brown vetoed Senate Bill 649 (Hueso) and returned it to the Legislature.  SB 649 was strongly opposed by a coalition of local government associations, including RCRC, the California State Association of Counties, Urban Counties of California, the League of California Cities, and the American Planning Association.

SB 649 would have required counties to allow small cell wireless facilities on public property both in and outside the public right-of-way for a lease rate far below market rate.  This bill would not have required any installation of new 5G technology, nor require the wireless industry to build their networks in our underserved communities.

The joint press release can be accessed here.  Governor Brown’s veto message can be accessed here.

California County Associations Join Forces at Bureau of Cannabis Control Public Licensing Workshop

On Tuesday, RCRC Vice President of Governmental Affairs Paul A. Smith and RCRC Governmental Affairs Counsel Arthur Wylene joined California State Association of Counties colleagues at the Bureau of Cannabis Control’s (Bureau) Public Licensing Workshop in Sacramento.  The workshop focused on what licensing information is needed, and what resources are available for people planning to apply for state commercial cannabis licenses.

“California’s unique licensing scheme depends on county and city involvement,” said Paul A. Smith.  “Having license applicants understand the municipal role is vital to ensuring a healthy regulatory structure is in-place after January 1, 2018.  We were happy to provide that understanding to those that attended the workshop.

In addition to the Bureau, other state and local agencies participated in the workshop, including the California Department of Public Health, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

Details on the workshop can be accessed here.

Fairs Funding Legislation Signed into Law

Last Saturday, Governor Brown signed RCRC-supported Assembly Bill 1499 (Gray) into law.  AB 1499 dedicates the State portion of the Sales and Use Tax collected from transactions at fairgrounds to support the operations and maintenance of fairs.  AB 1499 is expected to generate approximately $15 million annually, and makes a significant step in assuring the long-term viability of the networks of fairs and the fairgrounds. 

Local fairs and fairgrounds are utilized throughout the year for community events and livestock activities.  These fairgrounds are also utilized by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and others as an evacuation center and public safety command center during catastrophic emergencies.  RCRC has long advocated that additional financial resources are needed to preserve the many benefits of having these community assets.

RCRC’s letter urging the Governor’s signature of AB 1499 can be accessed here.

RCRC and Member Counties Staff to Attend CalPERS Invite-Only Meeting

On Sunday, Leroy Anderson, Tehama County Auditor-Controller, Debi Bautista, Tuolumne County Auditor-Controller, and Chester Robertson, Modoc County Administrative Officer will join Lisa McCargar, RCRC Chief Financial Officer, at an invite-only meeting hosted by senior managers of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS).  The purpose of the meeting is to provide CalPERS and stakeholders the opportunity to share information on critical issues surrounding pension funding, costs, and sustainability. 

The meeting will be attended by approximately 35 participants, with representatives from schools, public agency employer associations, employer executives, CalPERS executives, and CalPERS Board Members. 

RCRC continues to monitor and participate on issues related to employee relations and pensions noting that costs to most rural counties who participate in CalPERS have dramatically escalated in recent years.  RCRC will provide an update from the October 22, 2017 meeting in next week’s Barbed Wire.  RCRC’s employee relations and pensions write-up can be accessed here.

Bipartisan Forestry Reform Bill Introduced in the U.S. Senate

This week, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced a bipartisan proposal to reform forest management and wildfire funding.  The Wildland Fires Act of 2017 is co-sponsored by Senator James Risch (R-Idaho), Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Senator Patricia Murray (D-Washington).  The bill provides up to $100 million in funding for at-risk communities, establishes a pilot program that instructs the U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) and Department of the Interior to treat high risk forest lands, provides stability for long term restoration projects on federal lands, and authorizes agencies to use surplus wildfire suppression money to fund forest thinning and additional management projects that reduce risk to wildfire.  The proposal was immediately endorsed by several environmental and forestry groups who praised the bill as non-controversial, science-based, and impactful. 

This bipartisan coalition of western senators is simultaneously pressing Senate leaders to include the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act (S. 1842) in the disaster supplemental package passed by the House of Representatives last week.  A letter signed by Senators Cantwell, Risch, Wyden, Crapo, and Murray, along with Senator Kamala Harris (D-California), Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California), Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), and Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana) was submitted to leadership requesting that a fix to “fire-borrowing” be included in the disaster relief bill.  The bill currently includes $576.6 million in relief provisions for victims of wildfires, but as the west continues to burn from a historic fire season, Senators are seeking a permanent fix for the funding shortages that have plagued the Forest Service in recent years.  Despite the effort put forth by this bipartisan coalition, the rest of the chamber is primed to move forward with the disaster supplemental in its current form.  Congress is under pressure to pass the funding package before the National Flood Insurance Program reaches its $30.4 billion statutory debt ceiling, and a vote on the Senate Floor is expected early next week.  Given this short time frame, it is unlikely that leadership will consider inserting the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act into the disaster supplemental; however, President Trump indicates there will be a third relief package which will provide western Senators with another opportunity.

Lawmakers hoped to pass disaster relief legislation this week, but the vote was pushed back when the final steps of the budget-writing process took longer than anticipated.  The Senate’s work week was off to a slow start when the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi), experienced health-related challenges and was unable to return to Washington, D.C., delaying markups for key spending bills.  Despite some significant differences surrounding the politics of moving the budget process forward, it is expected that the majority party will successfully pass a budget resolution that will pave the way for $1.5 trillion in tax cuts.  Proponents of the Farm Bill are relieved that the majority party in the U.S. Senate are voting on a budget resolution without a major reduction to Farm Bill spending.  This was a victory for rural and agriculture communities who watched the House introduce a budget resolution earlier this year with $10 billion in required cuts for farm bill programs.

BULLETIN BOARD

Funding Announcement: Hazard Mitigation Grant Program

Click here

Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff. 

2017-18 Sponsored Legislation and Legislative/Regulatory Priorties

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Assembly Bill 524 (Bigelow): Public Utilities: Fines and Settlements. Assembly Bill 524 Appropriates moneys resulting from specified citations relating to the 2015 Butte Fire to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to be expended for the Department's program known as the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and Tree Mortality Grant Program. Status:  AB 524 has been vetoed by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

Assembly Bill 653 (Ridley-Thomas): Property Taxation: Exemption: Indian Tribes.  Assembly Bill 653 would exempt from taxation property owned in fee by a federally-recognized Native American tribe that is pursuing a fee-to-trust application.  Status: AB 653 is now a “two-year” bill and awaits consideration in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.  RCRC Position: Oppose

Assembly Bill 924 (Bonta): Indian Tribes: Commercial Cannabis Activity.  Assembly Bill 924 would authorize the Governor to enter into agreements concerning cannabis activities on lands of federally-recognized sovereign Indian tribes. Status: AB 924 awaits consideration in the Senate Business, Professions & Economic Development Committee.  RCRC Position: Oppose

Assembly Bill 1069 (Low): Local Government: Taxicab Transportation Services.  Assembly Bill 1069 would make changes to the local licensing of taxicabs.  Status: AB has been signed into law by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Removed Opposition – Neutral

Assembly Bill 1250 (Jones-Sawyer): Counties and Cities: Personal Contract Services.  Assembly Bill 1250 would establish specific standards for the use of personal services contracts by counties.  Status: AB 1250 awaits consideration in the Senate Rules Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose

Assembly Bill 1410 (Wood): Emergency Services and Children’s Health Care Coverage.  Assembly Bill 583 would amend existing law to rename the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act Fund as the Emergency Medical Air Transportation and Children’s Coverage Fund. Authorizes the department to use money to fund children’s health care coverage relating to emergency medical air transportation. Status: AB 1410 has been signed into law by the Governor. RCRC Position: Support

Assembly Bill 1414 (Friedman): Solar Energy System Permits. Assembly Bill 1414 would set a hard cap on permitting fees for solar installations. Status:  AB 1414 has been signed into law by the Governor. RCRC Position: Oppose

Assembly Bill 1665 (Garcia, Eduardo): Telecommunications: Advanced Services Fund: AB 1665 would revise eligibility requirements for projects and project applicants for grants funded from the California Advanced Services Fund. Status: AB 1665 has been signed into law by the Governor. RCRC Position: Requested Veto

Senate Bill 458 (Wiener): Beverage Container Recycling: Mobile Recycling Program.  Senate Bill 458 would permit the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to establish several mobile recycling pilot projects.  Status: SB 458 has been signed into law by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

Senate Bill 563 (Lara): Residential Wood Smoke.  Senate Bill 563 would establish the Woodsmoke Reduction Program to replace old wood-burning stoves with cleaner and more efficient alternatives. Status: SB 563 has been signed into law by the Governor. RCRC Position: Support

Senate Bill 568 (Lara): Primary Elections: Election Date.  Senate Bill 568 would permanently place the Presidential Primary Election and the Gubernatorial Primary Election in March.  Status: SB 568 has been signed into law by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Oppose

Senate Bill 577 (Dodd): Public Postsecondary Education: Community College.  Senate Bill 577 would allow community college districts to offer a teacher credentialing program. Status: SB 577 is now a “two-year” bill and awaits consideration in the Assembly Higher Education Committee.  RCRC Position: Support

Senate Bill 649 (Hueso): Wireless Telecommunications Facilities.  Senate Bill 649 would amend an existing law which provides that a wireless telecommunications collocation facility is subject to a city or county discretionary permit and is required to comply with specified criteria. Status: SB 649 has been vetoed by the Governor. RCRC Position: Requested Veto

REGULATORY UPDATE

RCRC members are encouraged to submit comments on regulatory matters to state and federal regulatory bodies, and to provide a copy to RCRC’s Government Affairs staff. 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Pertaining to Financial Assurance Mechanisms (FAMs) - Surety Bond Forms.  The proposed amended regulatory language is intended to implement the updates to Public Resources Code Section 2774 based upon the statutory changes made by Assembly Bill 1142 (Grey, 2016) pertaining to Financial Assurance Mechanisms (FAMs).  AB 1142 requires the SMGB to formally adopt FAM forms by July 1, 2018.  Assurance mechanisms include, but are not limited to, surety bond forms, irrevocable letters of credit, and certificate of deposit establishment and encashment instructions.  Agency: Department of Conservation State Mining and Geology Board Status: The notice was released September 15, 2017, with comments due October 30, 2017.  The notice and draft forms can be accessed here.  RCRC Comments:  Staff is seeking input from member counties.  RCRC Advocate: Mary Pitto mpitto@rcrcnet.org

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Pertaining to SMARA Fees Schedule.  The proposed regulatory language is intended to enact the revisions to Public Resources Code Section 2207 based upon the statutory changes made by Senate Bill 209 (Pavley, 2016) to address the fees calculation formula, and to maintain a more equitable fee schedule for relatively smaller operations.  Agency: Department of Conservation State Mining and Geology Board Status: The draft was published September 29, 2017, with comments due by November13, 2017, and final consideration for adoption anticipated in January 2018.  The notice and draft update can be accessed here.  RCRC Comments: Staff is seeking input from member counties.  RCRC Advocate: Mary Pitto mpitto@rcrcnet.org