The significant amendments to the 2017 adopted Federal Legislative Platform that are proposed by staff include the following:
FEDERAL FUNDING NEEDS
Two projects have been recommended for deletion from the list due to the identification of other revenue sources.
1. Emergency Operations Center (EOC) - $350,000,000 for state and local efforts to sustain and enhance the effectiveness of their emergency management programs for all hazards preparedness.
3. Safe and Bright Futures for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence and Trauma – $400,000 to implement the federally funded plan to diminish the damaging effects of domestic violence, and exposure to early trauma on children and adolescents and to stop the cycle of intentional injury and abuse.
A policy statement has been recommended for addition: With respect to any proposed federal Infrastructure bill, the County would support legislative language that includes infrastructure projects for all elements of stormwater: regional scale flood protection infrastructure (usually operated by flood control districts), local scale storm drain pipes (operated by cities and counties), storm water quality treatment facilities (operated by cities and counties), and groundwater recharge (often operated by special districts, but also cities and counties).
FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION NEEDS
Policy revision to #4 (formerly eBART Extension Next Phase Study/ Environmental and Engineering), now called Brentwood Intermodal Transit Center (BITC). Project to improve access, and advance design and development of a transit center located in Brentwood, and serving Oakley, southeast Antioch, Discovery Bay and Brentwood. The BITC is proposed for Highway 4 between Lone Tree Way and Sand Creek Road and would be served initially by Tri Delta Transit. Access would be provided via an extension of Heidorn Ranch Road, and the multimodal Mokelumne Trail. A possible future extension of eBART from the Antioch Station would be considered later.
Additional text changes are incorporated in the Draft Platform for the most up-to-date project cost and description information, including to the Surface Transportation Program/Highway Bridge Funding, as follows:
In addition to the funding levels, the County also supports regulation changes that permit direct funding to local jurisdictions, bypassing the Federal Highway Administration and Caltrans Local Assistance. The goals of these changes are to:
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Get federal transportation funding into the community as soon as possible to create and preserve jobs, both in the private sector and the public sector, in America;
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Maximize purchasing power by eliminating the burdensome additional administrative process and cost associated with multiple layers of government between funding and construction of shovel ready improvement and maintenance projects; and
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Fund the critical first and last part of each journey of goods, people, and services ? local roads of America ? providing certainty for businesses and laying the foundation for lasting economic growth.
POLICY POSITIONS
Staff recommends the following policy additions to the 2018 Federal Platform:
Aging and Adult Services – Contra Costa County administers grants through the Area Agency on Aging (AAA). Through public and nonprofit agency contracts, the AAA provides many services annually for elderly county residents, including group (congregate) meals, rides to congregate meal sites, nutrition education sessions, home delivered meals, legal assistance, long term care ombudsman services, in home and respite registry services, home visiting and adult day care, family caregiver support, assessments for fall prevention and fall prevention exercise classes. The Older Californians Act provides Title III grants for community services and nutrition.
The County will advocate for the following federal actions: a. OPPOSE the elimination or reduction of funding for the Older Americans Act and Programming. b. OPPOSE the elimination or cuts to the Elder Justice Act. The Elder Justice Act, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, provides federal resources to “prevent, detect, treat, understand, intervene in and, where appropriate, prosecute elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.” c. OPPOSE elimination and funding cuts to the Senior Community Service Employment Program, which is the nation’s oldest program that helps low-income, unemployed individuals aged 55+ years find work.
Child Care:
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OPPOSE block granting Head Start and Early Head Start programs.
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SUPPORT new comprehensive proposals that would enhance funding and development of early care and education infrastructure, including increasing supports, services, and increased compensation for the early education workforce.
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SUPPORT efforts that increase access to home visiting programs that are designed and implemented to support families in providing an environment that promotes healthy growth and development of young children.
Child Welfare and Well-being
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Modify the Federal Title IV-E Foster Care eligibility income standard from the current 1996 AFDC Federal Poverty Level (100% FPL) to be in line with (and follow) the Medicaid 138% FPL standard.
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OPPOSE the elimination or cuts to the Social Services Block Grant and the Adoption Assistance Program.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – 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.
Health
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.
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.
OPPOSE federal legislation and administrative efforts to eliminate or reduce funding for essential public health services, inclusive of funding for immunization, HIV/Ryan White, Communicable Disease and Tuberculosis Control, Hansen’s Disease, Teen Pregnancy, Public Health Preparedness and Maternal Child Health Funding.
SUPPORT reauthorization of funding for HIV/Ryan White Care, Maternal Child Health Funding including Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV), and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program).
Interpersonal Violence – Interpersonal violence, often referred to as intimate partner violence, domestic violence or battering, is a pattern of behavior used to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, often including the threat or use of violence. The abuse can take several forms: physical, emotional, sexual, and economic as well as threats, stalking/surveillance, isolation and intimidation. Although women are more likely to be targeted, anyone can be a victim of interpersonal violence including those in the LGBTQ communities, men, disabled persons, seniors, and elders. The County will advocate for the following federal actions:
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OPPOSE any and all funding cuts, including but not limited to elimination of grant programs for violence prevention, human/labor trafficking, victim services, and/or issues related to interpersonal violence. In addition to OPPOSING any threats to cut or eliminate Department of Justice federal grants related to the Violence Against Women Act.
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SUPPORT efforts that increase access to cultural responsiveness and language support for victims of crime.
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SUPPORT efforts that promote collaboration and coordination across systems; including the sharing of confidential or protected information in multidisciplinary team settings in order to increase support for survivors.
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SUPPORT the sustainment and implementation/practice of the Hostile Environment Harassment and Liability for Discriminatory Housing Practices under the Fair Housing Act that protects housing access for victims of harassment and survivors of domestic violence.
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SUPPORT efforts to protect employment rights for survivors of interpersonal violence.
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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.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) - LIHEAP helps low-income families pay their heating bills. LIHEAP is a grant that offers assistance in the form of a cash grant, sent directly to the utility company, or a crisis grant for households in immediate danger of being without heat. Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) enables low-income families to reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient. Funds are used to improve the energy performance of dwellings families in need, using the most advanced technologies and testing procedures available in the housing industry. The County will advocate for the following federal actions:
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OPPOSE elimination and reduction in funding for the LIHEAP and WAP programs.
Preservation of the federal deduction on State and Local Taxes (SALT)--The County opposes repeal of the federal income tax deduction on State and Local Taxes (SALT). Since 1913, the SALT deduction has been a deduction available to taxpayers in recognition that the portion of income deducted was spent on state and local public services such as public safety and transportation. In modern history, the SALT deduction has had a strong correlation to the mortgage interest deduction. This is because most homeowners pay property taxes on real property owned in their State, which are subsequently deducted using the SALT deduction on federal income taxes. For this reason, the SALT deduction can be viewed as a valuable financial benefit of homeownership. Repeal of the SALT deduction and the corresponding reduction in financial benefit of homeownership, could lead to a change in market prices of homes to “price in” the loss of the SALT deduction to homeowners. In California, ad valorem property taxes, which provide general purpose revenue to local governments, including cities and counties, is based on the assessed value of, among other things, residential homes. Should a repeal of the SALT deduction lead to a corresponding reduction in home values, local governments in California would be negatively impacted by reduced home values.
Public Housing Programs -- Preserve the availability of tax-exempt Private Activity Bonds which are the most common form of financing of affordable multi-family housing projects.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- SUPPORT efforts that would allow people to apply for CalFresh while incarcerated.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families –
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SUPPORT policies that do not penalize work and movement towards financial stability. Families who are working and receiving modest cash assistance grants to supplement low earnings should not be subject to the federal time limit on assistance. Running the time limit clock while a parent is working and receiving such supplements means both that a family could lose assistance when it has exhausted its time-limited benefits and not be able to receive additional assistance if the parent loses his/her job. TANF should send a strong message to recipients that “work pays” – running the clock while a family is working undermines this message.
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Allow temporary exemptions from time limits and work requirements for families confronting severe employment barriers - including living in an area of high unemployment or are victims of abuse.
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Reauthorize and increase the TANF Block Grant. The allocation of the block grant has not increased since 1997. Support funding TANF annually by an amount commensurate with the rate of inflation to ensure that the program’s actual value does not decrease each year.
Workforce Development – The County will OPPOSE cuts to WIOA funding and programming.
Additional text changes are proposed to the Draft 2018 Federal Platform that are included in Attachment A. |