The significant proposed amendments to the 2017 State Platform that are recommended by staff for the 2018 Draft State Platform include the following:
COUNTY-SPONSORED LEGISLATION
For 2018, the following bill will be pursued:
West Contra Costa Healthcare District (SB 522)
Given the District’s limited funding and change in operations, legislation that would allow the Board of Supervisors to appoint the District’s governing body is necessary and appropriate. It would eliminate the cost of elections and foster collaboration between the District and the County as these two public agencies work together to meet the medical needs of District residents. On August 1, 2017, the Board of Supervisors authorized the County Administrator to seek legislation to change the District’s Board of Directors from an elected board to one appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The District’s governing body also supports this change. A bill has been introduced to accomplish this, SB 522, and will be considered in January 2018.
LEGISLATIVE/REGULATORY ADVOCACY PRIORITIES
Staff is not recommending any changes to the nature or order of legislative priorities for 2018. However, a text change is recommended to Priority 1: State Budget to recognize the anticpated impact of the State-imposed changes to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program.
STATE PLATFORM POLICY POSITIONS
Climate Change
Add: Policy #20: SUPPORT efforts to expand eligible expenditures of the Greenhouse Gas Revenue Fund to investments in accessible transit/transportation systems (serving seniors, disabled, veterans) which result in more efficient (shared trips, increased coordination) service and corresponding reductions in greenhouse gas production. This policy is in support of the accessible transit/transportation initiatives discussed during the Measure X and 2017 Countywide Transportation Plan approval, and is consistent with the "Accessible
Transportation" report provided to the Board of Supervisors in September 2017 which documented the need for substantial investment to make improvements in this field. The September 2017 report established that the County is not unique in this situation; these issues are widespread which justifies a statewide/nationwide legislative approach.
Add: Policy #24: As California and the East Bay region experiences more frequent and prolonged periods of extreme heat, extreme heat will impact human health, demand on health services, potable water, agriculture, vectors, wild fires, and demand on electricity. SUPPORT funding and infrastructure to help protect vulnerable communities and populations as the mean temperature of the region steadily increases due to global climate change.
Health Care
In addition to numerous text changes, staff proposes the addition of the following policies:
85. SUPPORT legislation and administrative actions that further align a statewide regulatory framework for the commercial cannabis industry and that continue to authorize local jurisdictions to adopt more restrictive measures to protect the health, safety and welfare of
their residents.
109. SUPPORT legislation that extends the restrictions and prohibitions against the smoking of, and exposure to, marijuana products in various places, including, but not limited to, places of employment, school campuses, public buildings, day care facilities, multi-family
housing, health facilities, alcohol and other drug treatment facilities, and homeless shelters; further prohibit marijuana edibles to prevent youth/children access to harmful products; restrictions on advertising of marijuana products targeting youth and near places frequented
by youth or alcohol and other drug treatment facilities.
110. SUPPORT funding, legislation, policy, and programs that would accomplish the following: a. create an effective crisis response system of services for persons experiencing homelessness, particularly families and transition-age youth; b. increases permanent housing with services for persons experiencing or at-risk of homelessness with a chronic disability; and c. protects and expands the availability of affordable housing, particularly for the Very Low and Extremely Low Income population.
111. OPPOSE new block-granting proposals, harsh cuts, or proposals that will significantly and/or permanently shift the structure of health and human service funding and programming that would lead to the restriction or elimination of safety-net programs. Reductions in federal human services funding and programming severely limits critical support for our community and state. Block grants often lead to decreases in funding that forces states to limit benefits for families, cap enrollment, and establish waitlists. These restrictions result in families who need these supports and services, not being able to access them, possibly leading them into deeper poverty and distress.
112. OPPOSE efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act or to replace it with any proposals that represent significant, permanent structural alterations to current subsidized segments of the health care system. This would include proposals that would convert Medicaid enrollee
categories to a per-capita cap model, thereby establishing hard federal funding caps for state Medicaid programs. These proposals could force the state to make cuts of its own to offset the loss of federal funding. Contra Costa’s entire Medi-Cal (Medicaid) population
of approximately 250,000 people, including 90,000 children, could be affected as a result.
113. OPPOSE legislation and administrative actions to repeal DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) as well as legislation and administrative efforts that target individuals due to their color, religious affiliation or national origin.
Human Services
Human Services was reorganized into the following categories: Administrative Support Services, Aging and Adult Services, Safety Net Programs, Early Care and Education, Child Welfare, and Violence Prevention. New policy proposals include the following:
114. OPPOSE the establishment of specific or stricter standards for the use of personal services contracts by counties, that would make contracting with community-based organizations more difficult for counties.
127. SUPPORTS efforts to allow counties to use alternative reassessment approaches, including but not limited to telephonic reassessments, that would be applied to customers rated low on the Functional Index Rating Scale.
128. SUPPORT efforts that focus on dependent adult and elder abuse prevention including, but not limited to, providing respite for caregivers.
129. SUPPORT efforts that identify, eliminate and prevent in-home neglect of the elderly and dependent adults; and scams and fraud (internet and otherwise) targeted at the elderly and dependent adults.
130. SUPPORT efforts that would require the California Department of Social Services to translate all state-provided materials used by In-Home Support Services providers into the statewide threshold languages: English, Spanish, Armenian, and Chinese.
131. SUPPORT efforts that would help to stabilize and provide short-term housing supports for at-risk Adult Protective Services clients.
132. SUPPORT legislative efforts that would enhance confidentiality of DMV records for Adult Protective Services social workers (a practice already in place for Child Protective Services social workers).
148. SUPPORT efforts for a more flexible framework that allows the state to supplement CalFresh benefits if federal assistance is insufficient or unavailable. Recent natural disasters have underscored the need for a more permanent framework for the state to
respond.
149. SUPPORT continuous investment in the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC) and efforts to increase access to California Earned Income Tax Credit, including increase in tax credit.
150. SUPPORT the expansion of benefits and services for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
151. SUPPORT providing funding for graduation bonuses for non-pregnant/parenting CalWORKs students who obtain a high school diploma/equivalent.
152. SUPPORT shared housing efforts to secure permanent housing assistance for CalWORKs participants.
166. SUPPORT efforts to that would establish/allow the enrollment of 2.9 year olds in the California State Preschool Program.
167. SUPPORT alignment of family eligibility for subsidized child care with cost of living adjustments and higher minimum wage rates.
168. SUPPORT the restoration of State Quality Child Care Funds which funds the Local Child Care Planning Council.
169. SUPPORT the increase in flexibility of child care contracts with the California Department of Education that would allow voluntary transfer of funds to occur outside of November and May months.
170. SUPPORT efforts to raise wages for the early care and education workforce (such as child care workers, preschool/infant-toddler teachers).
171. SUPPORT efforts that encourage access to early education home visiting programming - supporting families in providing an environment that promotes healthy growth and development of their young children.
176. SUPPORT legislative efforts that would amend the definition of “relative” as applied to state funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payments (Kin-Gap) to be consistent with the federally funded Kin-Gap. This will allow all Kinship guardianship cases to be treated
uniformly and allow more families to experience independence, normalcy and other benefits of permanence as legal guardians.
178. SUPPORT efforts to expand California Earned Income Tax Credit (Cal-EITC) eligibility to former foster youth under age 25 years.
179. SUPPORT efforts that would create state Homeless Youth Housing Program grants fund to establish or expand programs that provide specified housing assistance and supportive services to homeless youth.
184. SUPPORT efforts to increase training on human trafficking (with a specific focus on labor trafficking) for law enforcement and others involved in criminal investigations.
185. SUPPORT efforts that seek to specialize and build expertise for designated staff and systems (such as developing a commercially sexually exploited youth court or creating human trafficking units) to better support survivors of human trafficking.
186. SUPPORT efforts that differentiate risk and provide differential response for both victims of domestic violence and sex crimes and offenders of domestic violence and sex crimes.
187. SUPPORT efforts to increase language access and cultural responsive services for survivors of interpersonal violence.
188. SUPPORT efforts that foster collaboration across protective and criminal systems which allow for facilitation of cross-reporting of interpersonal violence.
189. SUPPORT efforts to increase cross-agency and cross-system collaboration on human trafficking and domestic violence cases including the sharing of confidential or protected information in multidisciplinary team settings in order to increase support for survivors.
190. SUPPORT efforts that promote training, capacity building and deeper understanding for students, educators and social service staff on trauma informed care, adverse childhood experiences, healthy workplaces and schools.
191. SUPPORT efforts that ensure survivors of interpersonal violence feel safe to access services.
Land Use/Community Development
The following policy proposal was submitted by the Hazardous Materials Commission:
213. SUPPORT legislation that funds programs to remediate brownfield sites in the County and modifies existing programs to make implementation easier or apply more broadly. Specifically:
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Consider modification to the Cleanup Loans and Environmental Assistance to Neighborhoods (CLEAN) program that would simply the approval process for applications;
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Broaden the criteria for sites that are eligible for California Land Reuse and Revitalization Act (CLRRA) to include all sites that are listed by the State or Federal Government as contaminated; and
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Fully fund the California Recycle Underutilized Sites (CALReUse) program.
Transportation
In addition to text changes, staff proposes the following additional policies:
249. OPPOSE efforts to condition or link the distribution of transportation funds to a jurisdiction’s production of housing relative to RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation).
250. SUPPORT administrative or legislative mechanisms that facilitate coordination between transportation agencies and utilities relative to expediting construction projects. Without willing and proactive coordination, transportation projects are subject to delays and
substantially increased costs. These costs are borne by the taxpayers.
Workforce Development
Staff proposes the addition of the following policy:
265. SUPPORT efforts to include marginally attached workers, including discouraged workers, and involuntary part-time workers more formally in the California Workforce Investment Act.
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