Print Back to Calendar Return
    6.    
LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: 11/21/2022  
Subject:    Draft 2023-24 State Legislative Platform
Submitted For: LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Department: County Administrator  
Referral No.: 2022-16  
Referral Name: Draft 2023-24 State Legislative Platform
Presenter: L. DeLaney Contact: L. DeLaney, (925) 655-2057

Information
Referral History:
The Legislation Committee annually reviews and considers the draft State and Federal Legislative Platforms prior to their proposal to the Board of Supervisors for adoption. The adopted Legislative Platforms of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors are available here: https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/2859/Legislation
Referral Update:
In 2020, the County shifted its State and Federal Legislative Platforms from one to two-year documents running concurrently with the legislative and congressional sessions. With the start of new sessions anticipated in January 2023, the County Administrator's Office, which is responsible for coordinating the development of the Platforms, launched the Platform development process for 2023-24 in the fall of 2022.

To date, the Legislative Platform development process has included the following steps:

1. Board members, County Department Heads, and/or senior staff were invited to meetings with the County's federal and state lobbyists to discuss the department’s legislative and regulatory priorities, sponsored bill proposals, and policy interests.

2. Department Heads and their senior staff were requested to solicit input from any Board-established advisory bodies for which they provide staff support. They were also requested to provide the legislative priorities and principles of the professional associations to which they belong.

3. Policy positions, when included in the Platform, were requested to be refashioned to “principles.” This is intended to streamline the documents, moving away from program, project, or legislation-specific policy statements and toward more general principles. (Principles are more basic than policy and objectives and are meant to govern both.)

4. Draft Platforms are presented to the Legislation Committee for consideration in November and/or December, prior to recommendation of adoption to the Board in January 2023.

SUMMARY OF
DRAFT 2023-24 STATE LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM CHANGES

Introduction: Demographic data was updated to reflect 2022 data from the State Department of Finance for population estimates. District IV Supervisor updated to presumptive winner, Ken Carlson.

Sponsored Bill Proposals: Two sponsored bill proposals were included.

1. Requested by the Department of Conservation and Development: "Legislation to direct the California Air Resources Board to develop greenhouse gas inventories for California cities, counties, and special districts. The Legislature should allocate up to $2.5 million for this purpose."

Currently, there is no standard protocol that is used across GHG inventories. Having an inventory prepared by the State would ensure that each jurisdiction is looking at comparable data. In other topic areas, the State regularly provides data for cities and counties. For example, CalTrans prepares reports on vehicle miles travelled, and CalRecycle provides inventories on solid waste. In October 2021, the Board of Supervisors signed on to a letter from over 100 local governments and stakeholder groups requesting that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) conduct greenhouse gas inventories for all cities, counties, and special districts in California. To date there has been no formal request from CARB. In informal meetings between County staff and CARB staff, CARB has indicated that it does not anticipate taking on this responsibility absent direction and funding from the Legislature.

2. Requested by Supervisor John Gioia: "Legislation to establish statewide permitting for hauling solid waste." Permits are required for unincorporated areas of the County, but no similar requirement exists for cities which impedes enforcement of illegal dumping.

Advocacy Priorities: Three amendments were incorporated into the draft.
  • Owing to the Governor's announcement in October regarding the end of the COVID-19 State of Emergency on February 28, 2023, the advocacy priority related to "COVID-19 Response" was deleted.
  • Goals of the Measure X Community Advisory Board were added for "Mental Well-Being, Equity in Action, Healthy Communities, Intergenerational Thriving, and a Welcoming & Safe Community."
  • "Justice Reform" was also deleted as no significant justice reform proposals by the Legislature or Governor are anticipated.

Principles and Policy Statements Text Changes:

Substantive changes were proposed by staff to Climate Change, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Finance and Administration, Human Services, Library, and Transportation.The changes can be found in Attachment A, which displays the "redline" amendments.

A clean-copy version of the Draft 2023-24 State Legislative Platform is Attachment B.

Attachment C is a letter from the Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Commission, providing recommended changes to hazardous materials-related policies in the State Legislative Platform. The County's Sustainability Coordinator and waste management staff in the Department of Conservation and Development reviewed the recommended changes.

Attachment D includes the Draft Policy Priorities for 2023 for the California State Association of Counties and the Draft Advocacy Priorities for the Urban Counties of California.
Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):
REVIEW and provide input on the Draft 2023-24 State Legisaltive Platform. PROVIDE direction to staff on the development of the 2023-24 Proposed State Legislative Platform and recommend its adoption by the Board of Supervisors at its meeting on January 17, 2023.
Attachments
Attachment A: Draft 2023-24 State Legislative Platform--redline
Attachment B: Draft 2023-24 State Legislative Platform--clean copy
Attachment C: Hazardous Materials Commission letter
Attachment D: CSAC and UCC Draft 2023 Priorities

AgendaQuick©2005 - 2024 Destiny Software Inc., All Rights Reserved