On Monday, August 5th, the Legislature returned from summer recess to finish out the 2023-2024 session. As the session heads into the final weeks, there are still several items on the move. RCRC continues to engage on several key legislative measures. Those of greatest interest where we request assistance from member counties are the following:
- AB 2557 (Ortega) - places new contracting reporting and posting requirements for local agencies that are overly burdensome, exceptionally costly, and inappropriately inflexible, likely resulting in worse outcomes for vulnerable communities and diminished local services for residents. With the proposed requirements of AB 2557 for local agencies with represented workforces and for their contractors, we anticipate (1) fewer non-profit providers, community-based organizations, and other private service providers willing to engage with local agencies, (2) exacerbated already-demanding caseloads and workloads for our existing staff, and (3) increased costs for local agencies. AB 2557 represents a sweeping change to the fundamental work of local governments, but we remain unaware of a specific, current problem that this measure would resolve or prevent.
AB 2557 is in Senate appropriation awaiting the suspense hearing on August 15. RCRC’s letter of opposition is available here. RCRC encourages counties to oppose this measure and contact their legislative delegation.
For questions, contact RCRC Policy Advocate Sarah Dukett.
- AB 2561 (McKinnor) - requires local agencies with vacancy rates exceeding 15% for permanent full-time positions for more than 180 days (approximately 6 months) within a bargaining unit to, at the request of the bargaining unit, meet with the bargaining unit within 21 days and hold a public hearing within 90 days to discuss, among other specified items, the public agency’s strategy to fill the vacancies. If the true intent of AB 2561 is to provide a path for public agencies to reduce staff vacancies, diverting staff away from core service delivery and mandating they spend time preparing for additional meet and confer requirements and public hearings will not achieve that goal. The measure does not address the root causes of low labor force participation rates in California across all sectors. Instead, the measure will create additional layers of bureaucracy that detract from meaningful efforts to recruit and retain the public sector workforce.
AB 2561 is in Senate appropriation awaiting the suspense hearing on August 15. RCRC’s letter of opposition is available here. RCRC encourages counties to oppose this measure and contact their legislative delegation.
For questions, contact RCRC Policy Advocate Sarah Dukett.
- AB 2882 (McCarty) - seeks reprioritization of an existing Proposition 30-protected community corrections revenue stream to address the behavioral health treatment needs of those in county jail settings. The measure expands local requirements – by amending Penal Code section 1230.1 – the elements of the local community corrections plan by requiring new comprehensive and in-depth analyses and recommendations about how criminal justice funds might be used as matching funds for other sources; quantifiable goals for improving the community corrections systems; and specific targets for each goal. These new duties represent a higher level of service in the context of a realigned program and is duplicative of reporting mandates recently enacted by proposition 1.
AB 2882 is in Senate appropriation awaiting the suspense hearing on August 15. RCRC’s letter of opposition is available here. RCRC encourages counties to oppose this measure and contact their legislative delegation.
For questions, contact RCRC Policy Advocate Sarah Dukett.
- SB 610 (McGuire) - revises the current state fire responsibility process and obligations, including many provisions related to housing, land use and building permitting, shifting these from the Board of Forestry (BOF) to the Office of the State Fire Marshall (OSFM). This bill was introduced as a gut and amend on June 11, 2024. RCRC, along with our local government partners, CSAC and Cal Cities, have been working with the author and the sponsor (the Newsom administration) on language to address local government concerns.
SB 610 is in Assembly Appropriations awaiting the suspense hearing on August 15. RCRC’s letter of concern is available here. RCRC encourages counties to contact their legislative delegation and express concern about this measure.
For questions, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate Tracy Rhine.
- SB 1057 (Menjivar) - would dramatically recast the composition of multiagency juvenile justice coordinating councils (JJCC), designed to develop and implement a continuum of county-based responses to juvenile crime. For a JJCC to be eligible to receive Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) funding, the newly revised council composition must consist of 50% community representation and must be co-chaired by a community representative. Unfortunately, SB 1057 does not take into consideration the real and challenging concerns in counties across the state that will be unable to establish a full council due to a lack of community volunteers, especially in rural regions. Further, while on its surface the changes to the composition of the JJCC and their meeting frequency may seem reasonable, from the county perspective, they are reflective of the objective to minimize local authority and redirect JJCPA funding that is guaranteed to counties under 2011 Realignment and protected pursuant to Proposition 30 (2012) with maximum flexibility and control over the design.
SB 1057 is in Assembly Appropriations awaiting the suspense hearing on August 15. RCRC’s letter of opposition is available here. RCRC encourages counties to oppose this measure and contact their legislative delegation.
For questions, contact RCRC Policy Advocate Sarah Dukett.