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