Barbed Wire - October 3, 2014

RCRC Board of Directors Takes Positions on Statewide Ballot Measures

Last week, the RCRC Board of Directors took a support position on Proposition 1, the Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, and an oppose position on Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. 

Prop 1 (Water Bond) would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $7.120 billion, and the reallocation of $425 million of unissued bonds.  State funding for the public benefits of storage is vital to storage project feasibility and rural counties.  If approved by voters, Prop 1 would be the first water bond passed by voters since 1996 with allocated funding for water storage, set at $2.7 billion.  Given the allocation for water storage, and funding for numerous other vital water-related programs, the RCRC Board of Directors voted unanimously to take a support position.

Given that Proposition 47 represents another significant change in the county corrections process so quickly following the enactment of Assembly Bill 109 (the criminal justice realignment law), the RCRC Board of Directors voted to take an oppose position.  Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, would reduce penalties for a variety of specified offenses, and dedicate the 'savings' from prosecuting and housing these offenders to programs that support K-12 schools, victim services, mental health, and drug treatment.  While some aspects of this measure appear beneficial, there are other impacts to counties' criminal justice system that give rural counties much concern.

In addition to Props 1 and 47, the RCRC Board of Directors previously took positions on two other ballot measures this year, including a support position on Prop 2, commonly known as California’s Rainy Day fund, and an oppose position on Prop 46, the trial lawyer sponsored measure to alter the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA).

Federal Judge Rules CalPERS Pensions Can be Cut in Bankruptcy

On Wednesday, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that CalPERS pensions can be cut in bankruptcy like other debt.  U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein rejected the argument that CalPERS is an “arm of the state” with pensions protected by federal law and two state laws on contracts and liens.  For the latest on this ruling, and its potential impacts, click here.

Draft Guidelines for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program Released

This week, the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) posted preliminary draft guidelines for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program.  Written comments will be accepted on this draft until Friday, October 31, 2014.  The SGC has acknowledged several outstanding issues to be resolved prior to its planned adoption of the Final Guidelines in December. 

A sampling of these issues include:

• Coordination and partnership between Metropolitan Planning Organizations/regional agencies and the State to ensure effective implementation of the goals of this Program;

• Geographic distribution of funds throughout the state;

• ARB Guidance on GHG reductions quantification ; and,

• Specific point values for scoring criteria.

RCRC is concerned that it will be difficult for rural counties to compete for these funds, especially if they adopt the CalEnviroScreen as the sole tool for selecting “disadvantaged communities.”  RCRC is soliciting comments from our member counties.  For additional information please contact RCRC Regulatory Affairs Advocate Mary Pitto at mpitto@rcrcnet.org.  

The draft guidelines can be accessed here.  Four public workshops on the guidelines will be held later this month in Merced, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento.  The Sacramento workshop will be a live webcast, and a recording of this workshop will be posted to its website shortly after the meeting.  Advance registration is required to attend workshops.  The specific dates, times, and location of the workshops can be accessed here.

Draft Guidelines for Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program Released

The Strategic Growth Council (SGC) has posted preliminary draft guidelines for the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program (SALCP).  These Guidelines serve as the Request for Grant Applications and application forms for the SALCP.  Written comments will be accepted until Friday, October 31, 2014. 

The primary purpose of the SALCP is to support the State’s climate adaptation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals by making strategic investments that prevent the conversion of critical agricultural lands to urban or rural residential development.  There are three major elements to the long term investments proposed for the SALCP, the third of which will be addressed in future years.  The elements are:

• Sustainable Agricultural Land Strategy Plans – grants to cities, counties, and partners to inventory and evaluate which agricultural lands are most highly productive and critically threatened;
• Agricultural Conservation Easements – funding to leverage the permanent protection of strategically located agricultural conservation easements on highly productive and critically threatened agricultural land; and,
• Land Management Incentives – leverage USDA and other funding sources to incentivize management practices designed to reduce GHGs or sequester carbon on working agricultural operations.

RCRC is concerned that it will be difficult for rural counties to compete for these funds, especially if they adopt the CalEnviroScreen as the sole tool for selecting “disadvantaged communities.”  RCRC is soliciting comments from our member counties.  For additional information please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at kmannion@rcrcnet.org.

The draft guidelines can be accessed here.

Workshops on the guidelines will be held later this month in Merced, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Sacramento.  The Sacramento workshop will be a live webcast, and a recording of this workshop will be posted to its website shortly after the meeting.  Advance registration is required to attend workshops.  The specific dates, times, and location of the workshops can be accessed here.

Long-Term Water Transfers Comment Period Opens

The Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority (SLDMWA) have released for comment a draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (DEIR/EIS) relating to long-term water transfers from willing sellers upstream of the Delta, to water users south of the Delta and in the San Francisco Bay Area during times of Central Valley Project (CVP) shortages to meet existing demands.  

The DEIR/EIS includes a list of potential buyers and potential sellers of water.  Water would be made available for transfer through groundwater substitution, cropland idling, crop shifting, reservoir release, and conservation.  The DEIR/EIS evaluates potential impacts of water transfers over a ten year period, 2015-2024.

Comments on the DEIR/EIS are due on December 1, 2014.  The DEIR/EIS and related information can be accessed here.

Governor Signs Bill Removing Williamson Act Contract Revision Sunset Date

Governor Brown signed RCRC-supported Senate Bill 1353 by Senator Jim Nielsen, which removes the 2016 sunset date of the 2011 law that authorizes counties to revise the term for Williamson Act contracts from 10 years to nine years, or from 20 years to 18 years, a 10 percent reduction in contract length, and a reduction of 10 percent of the property tax relief provided by counties to landowners pursuant to the Williamson Act. 

RCRC supported SB 1353 as some member counties had indicated a reluctance to implement the program given the cost to implement combined with the potential for the program to sunset.  To date the following counties have opted for the shortened term contract option: Butte, Kings, Lassen, Madera, Mendocino, Merced Shasta, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tulare and Yolo.  Imperial County exited the Williamson Act program altogether.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) Advisory Statement on AB 1265 (Nielsen), the 2011 law which created the program, can be accessed here.  The Advisory Statement also includes a link to the text of AB 1265.

Governor Signs Landmark Community College Bachelor Degree Bill

This week, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 850 by Senator Marty Block, which will allow Community Colleges, for the first time ever, to offer Baccalaureate Degrees (BA) at a fraction of what it costs at public and private schools. 

SB 850 creates a pilot program that will allow 15 campuses from 15 different Community College districts to offer one BA degree program at one campus within the district, starting January 1, 2015.  The bill specifies that the BA degrees offered must be in disciplines that differ from those currently being offered by UC or CSU campuses, and in subject areas with unmet workforce needs.  The participating districts and campuses will be selected by the state Community College Chancellor in consultation with the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) systems. 

RCRC will continue to monitor this issue and the selection of districts for the pilot project.

Governor Signs Bill Clarifying Use of New Health Care Computer System

This week, Governor Brown signed RCRC-supported Senate Bill 1341 by Senator Holly Mitchell, which requires the Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS) to be the system of record for Medi-Cal, and contain all Medi-Cal eligibility rules and case management functionality.  The measure outlines the agreement between counties, the Administration, and Covered California regarding the roles of each entity regarding eligibility activities. 

For years, counties have worked on behalf of the State to make eligibility and enrollment determinations for Medi-Cal, CalFresh and the CalWORKs programs – serving millions of Californians daily.  This integrated system allows county administrators and caseworkers to work more efficiently, saving both time, and money for the state, and providing customers with the best possible delivery of service.

In his signing message the Governor acknowledges that the shift to a new system, the California Health Eligibility Enrollment and Retention System (CalHEERS), and finding the right balance between the usage of SAWS and CalHEERS has been a bit uneven.  “Much functionality is still in development, and the timeframe of January 1, 2016, for executing more system changes may be overly ambitious…our success depends on collaboration and cooperation, harnessing the indispensable knowledge and experience of county workers with improved systems capabilities.”

Governor Signs Second Bill Expanding THP Exemptions

This week, Governor Brown signed RCRC-supported Assembly Bill 1867 by Assembly Member Jim Patterson, which will allow landowners to sell timber harvested during defensible space clearing projects without filing a Timber Harvesting Plan (THP).  Current law already allows for clearing up to 150 feet around a permitted structure, and this measure extends the 150 foot defensible space exemption to 300 feet around a permitted habitable structure, and allows for some of the costs of that work to be mitigated by allowing that timber to be sold without a THP.  The approval of AB 1867 marks a further easing of the THP rules as it follows on the heels of AB 2142 by Assembly Member Wesley Chesbro, which the Governor signed two weeks ago.  AB 2142 broadens the exemption of the extant Forest Fire Protection Act.

Small Business Administration Calls for Water Rule to be Withdrawn, While Science Advisory Board Calls for More Stringent Rule

Two separate federal government offices made opposing recommendations this week to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its proposed rule to define Waters of the U.S.  The Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration (SBA) asked EPA to withdraw the proposed rule.  The Office of Advocacy is an independent office within SBA that advocates the interests of small business.  The letter requesting the withdrawal asserts that EPA did not adequately assess the potential economic impacts of the rule, and outlines the concerns of many small business interests across the country.  The letter concludes that the rule should be withdrawn and that EPA should convene a Small Business Advocacy Review panel to determine whether more feasible alternatives exist to the proposed rule. 

Meanwhile, the Science Advisory Board (SAB) convened by EPA to review scientific literature regarding the scientific underpinnings of the proposed rule advised EPA and the Corps to regulate more bodies of water than proposed in the rule.  While the final recommendations of the 52-member SAB are not expected until later this month, a letter this week called upon EPA to eliminate many of the few exemptions in the rule for ditches and ephemeral streams.  The public comment period for the proposed rule remains open until October 20, 2014. 

EVENTS/NOTICES

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Organics Loan Program – Notice of Funding Availability

Click here.

Department of Water Resources Releases “Guidance on General Plan Amendments for Addressing Flood Risk

Click here.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff.  Click “Read More” to access information related to the current status of legislation impacting California’s rural counties. 

AB 896 (Eggman) Wildlife Management Areas: Mosquito Abatement.  Assembly Bill 896 will help protect the public’s health from vector borne diseases such as the West Nile Virus through a multipronged approach that requires collaboration among state agencies and the local vector control districts to control mosquito and vector breeding populations in wildlife management areas.  Status: Signed by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

AB 1867 (Patterson) Forestry.  AB 1867 will allow landowners to sell timber removed during the course of defensible space vegetation management work up to 300 feet on each side of a legally permitted habitable structure.  Status: Signed by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

AB 2188 (Muratsuchi) Solar Energy: Permits.  Assembly Bill 2188 will require each city and county to create an expedited permitting process for small, residential solar energy systems, among other provisions.  Status: Signed by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Oppose

AB 2241 (Eggman) Local Government: Agricultural Land.  AB 2241 would change the rescission fee charged by a county when land under Williamson Act contract or land designated as a farmland security zone enters into a solar-use easement to 10 percent of the fair market value of the property and allows for counties that choose to utilize this approach to retain half of the rescission fee until January 1, 2020.  Status: Signed by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

AB 2363 (Dahle) Electricity Procurement.  Assembly Bill 2363 would require the development of integration adders so that the Commission may accurately consider the full costs and benefits of the various technologies in its renewable portfolio standard decision-making.  Status: Signed by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

AB 2413 (Perez) Office of Farm to Fork.  AB 2413 creates the Office of Farm to Fork under the direction of the Department of Food and Agriculture, and will require the office to identify communities in both rural and urban areas that lack access to healthy food.  Status: Signed by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

SB 1292 (Hueso) Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.  Senate Bill 1292 would have increased the maximum amount of a construction grant award from $3 million to $5 million for a water system serving severely disadvantaged communities.  Status: Vetoed by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

SB 1341 (Mitchell) Medi-Cal/Statewide Automated Welfare System.  SB 1341 requires SAWS to be the system of record for Medi-Cal, and contain all Medi-Cal eligibility rules and case management functionality.  Status: Signed by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

SB 1399 (Galgiani) Agricultural Seed: County Seed Enforcement Subventions.  Senate Bill 1399 will extend the sunset date of the seed enforcement subvention program through July 1, 2019.  The subvention program, funded by the seed industry, provides counties with a source of revenue to cover a portion of their costs for enforcing the California Seed Law.  Status: Signed by the Governor.  RCRC Position: Support

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.  Click “Read More” to access information related to the current status of regulations impacting California’s rural counties. 

Preliminary Discussion Draft of Updates to the CEQA Guidelines: The preliminary discussion draft of updates to the CEQA Guidelines implement SB 743 (Steinberg, 2013) and address the evaluation of transportation impacts under CEQA.  Agency: The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) Status: Draft language released August 6, 2014 with comments extended to November 21, 2014.  Comments should be submitted to CEQA.Guidelines@ceres.ca.gov.  RCRC comments: Staff is seeking input from member counties.  A copy of the preliminary discussion draft can be accessed here.  RCRC Advocate:  Mary Pitto mpitto@rcrcnet.org