RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff.
AB 52 (Gatto): CEQA: AB 52 would establish procedures and requirements under CEQA for the purpose of avoiding or minimizing impacts to tribal cultural resources. AB 52 would complicate the CEQA process by adding a new, broadly defined class of potentially significant environmental impacts thus creating uncertainty and increased potential for litigation for lead agencies. Status: Placed on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File. RCRC Position: Oppose
AB 1174 (Bocanegra): Dental Professionals: AB 1174 would establish the Virtual Dental Home (VDH) system statewide, and extend the scope of practice for registered dental assistants and dental hygienists such that they are able to perform early intervention procedures on patients who traditionally are not able to go to a dental office for treatment. Status: Failed passage in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
AB 1451 (Holden): Concurrent Enrollment: AB 1451 would help provide rural high school students with access to higher education opportunities. Status: Failed passage in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
AB 1867 (Patterson): Forestry: AB 1867 would allow landowners to sell timber removed during the course of defensible space vegetation management work up to 150 feet on each side of a legally permitted structure. Status: Passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
AB 2142 (Chesbro): Timber Harvesting Plans: AB 2142 would extend the Forest Fire Prevention Exemption pilot project, as created by AB 744 of 2013, to include additional areas of the state that have significant fire hazard risks. Status: Passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
AB 2311 (Bradford): General Assistance: Employable Veterans: Current law allows a county to prohibit an employable individual from receiving these benefits for more than 3 months in a 12 month period, provided they have been offered a job training opportunity. AB 2311 would exclude employable veterans who were honorably discharged from the armed forces from this prohibition, and impose a statewide mandate for a specific population. Status: Failed passage in the Senate Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Oppose
AB 2363 (Dahle): Electricity Procurement: AB 2363 would require the development of integration adders so that the Public Utilities Commission may accurately consider the full costs and benefits of the various technologies in its renewable portfolio standard decision-making by October 1, 2015. Status: Placed on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File. RCRC Position: Support
SB 1137 (Torres): School Transportation Apportionments: SB 1137 would reimburse school districts for 50 percent of approved transportation costs. Status: Failed passage in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support
SB 1341 (Mitchell): Medi-Cal: Statewide Automated Welfare System: SB 1341 would require 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. Status: Failed passage in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Position: Support