As expected after the Legislature passed a budget bill on June 14, which was essentially a high-level framework of a spending plan to meet state law, numerous "budget bill juniors" and trailer bills have emerged, providing refinements and reflecting final negotiations on a number of big-ticket items such as homelessness, water, child care, Medi-Cal and behavioral health.
The initial lack of detail in the main budget bill reflected the unprecedented amount of revenue in the state coffers (a nearly $76 billion surplus on top of $27 billion in federal funds). The Governor's budget grew from $227 billion in January 2021 to $267 billion in the May Revise. The Legislature's budget proposal differed in terms of revenue projections (with the Legislature relying on more optimistic revenue projections from the LAO) and treatment of the Gann limit (the state appropriations threshold).
By the end of June, the Legislature had released an eight-bill budget package that included "Golden State" $600 stimulus payments to residents and nearly 300 member requests, totaling $1.2 billion for local district projects. The Governor's July 12 signature on SB 129, a budget bill junior, provided the overall architecture of the $263 billion budget agreement (including a record-high $25 billion in reserves) but did not entirely finalize what has been an almost continuous and, at times, confusing process. The final round of budget bills is now in print; 15 new trailer bills and one new budget expenditure bill were released over the Labor Day weekend. A list of the measures and a summary of the key provisions from the Urban Counties of California consultants is available here. Included in AB 170 is approximately $8.5 billion in natural resources spending that combined with funding in the June budget and in an "early action" package in April provides $16 billion through FY 2023-24 for climate, wildfire, and drought projects.
In July, the Governor, Senate President pro Tem, and Assembly Speaker issued a joint statement regarding the 2021-22 State Budget: “This budget represents the largest recovery plan in the nation – a plan that will not only sustain California's recovery, but accelerate it by providing immediate relief to those that need it most and tackling some of California’s most persistent and stubborn challenges. From providing stimulus checks to middle class Californians and immediate relief for small businesses, to transforming our public schools, addressing the homelessness crisis head-on, and making major investments in nation-leading climate change actions, this budget represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine what California’s future can look like.
“This historic budget also increases support for child care and transitional kindergarten; provides massive increases for higher education, including multiple efforts to increase affordability and opportunity; boosts health care access and affordability; increases services for Californians with developmental disabilities; provides major service expansions to help CalWORKs families back on their feet; extends supports for aging Californians; invests in the state’s wildfire preparedness and resiliency, and so much more.
“With these smart investments and the highest level of reserves in state history, this is a budget that reflects California’s shared values and priorities – and it does so in a sound and fiscally-sustainable manner.”
CSAC's July Budget Update provides the details on several budget policy areas of importance to counties. Several highlights are below:
Housing and Homelessness Package: On July 19, the Governor signed the package, which invests $12 billion over the next two years to expand and develop new homelessness programs and services.
Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program
Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Grant Program is expanded for rounds 3 and 4, allocating $2 billion in funding for FY 2021-22 and 2022-23 ($1 billion each year). Allocations for both rounds will use the same formula as prior HHAP allocations which relies on a county’s proportionate share of the total homeless population of the region serviced by the continuum of care (CoC) within which the county is located. Population will be based on the 2019 homeless point-in-time count for round 3 and the most recent homeless point-in-time count for round 4.
Project Homekey and Roomkey
The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) will administer an additional $2.75 billion in funding for additional rounds of Project Homekey projects over the next two years. In addition to the Homekey funding, $150 million will be issued to stabilize and transition individuals from Roomkey locations to permanent housing.
Encampment Resolution Program
The Encampment Resolution Funding program established through the AB 140 trailer bill will make over $50.6 million available for competitive grants for cities, counties and CoCs. The funding is to support encampment resolution and the transition of individuals into housing.
The Family Homeless Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program
The budget and trailer bill allocated $40 million to establishes the Family Homeless Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program. The program is created to fund city, county and CoC efforts to accelerate, expand and develop solutions that target ending family homelessness. HCFC will administer the program and will finalize and release an application and program guidelines no later than March 1, 2022.
Health and Human Services Agency
The departments within the California Health and Human Services Agency will play a significant role in tackling homelessness, particularly with the commitment by the Administration to end family homelessness and prioritize individuals living with behavioral health conditions. The California Department of Social Services administer the programs below, which have received additional funding this fiscal year.
- CalWORKs Housing Support Program (HSP) – $190 million in 2021-22 and $190 million in 2022-23. The funding will expand investments for the CalWORKs HSP. The funding can be used for rental assistance, moving costs, and landlord recruitment activities needed to rapidly rehouse families receiving CalWORKs.
- Bringing Families Home (BFH) program – $92.5 million in 2021-22 and $92.5 million in 2022-23. This funding will include a waiver of the county match requirement for the entire three-year period and funding flexibility to serve families at risk of homelessness. It provides critical housing-related supports to child-welfare involved families and those at risk of homelessness in support of family reunification and family maintenance efforts.
- Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP) – $150 million in 2021-22 and $150 million in 2022-23. This funding will include a waiver of the county match requirement for the entire three-year period and allowing the use of funds for prevention. This program assists disabled individuals who are experiencing homelessness.
- Adult Protective Services (APS) Home Safe Program – $92.5 million General Fund in 2021-22 and $92.5 million General Fund in 2022-23, allowing for use of both appropriations until June 30, 2024. This funding will include a waiver of the county match requirement for the entire three-year period and funding flexibility in homelessness prevention approaches, including the ability to serve APS clients at risk of homelessness.
- Community Care Expansion (CCE) program –$805 million in 2021-22 on a one-time basis. Of the total amount, $55 million is appropriated for a capitalized operating subsidies reserve (COSR) program to benefit Adult Residential Facilities and Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly that serve SSI/SSP recipients, with trailer bill language for these purposes. The funding will be used to investment, for the construction, acquisition, or rehabilitation of Adult Residential Facilities and Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly.
Fighting Poverty and Hunger
- Medi-Cal Age 50+ for All. All income-eligible California residents 50-plus years of age will now receive Medi-Cal regardless of immigration status.
- Seniors, Disabled. The budget increases monthly payments to those living on SSI/SSP and will now also give better pay to disability service providers.
- Lunch for all public school students: a $54 million increase in state reimbursements for the 2021-22 fiscal year, then $650 million a year starting in the 2022-23 fiscal year to cover the costs of offering breakfast and lunch for all public school students.
- CalWORKs. California's lowest-income families, mostly single mothers with children, who depend on CalWORKs will receive higher monthly stipends and more assistance during pregnancy.
- Foster Care Support. Foster youth 18 to 21 now have access to housing stipends and more financial support for college. Payment to families with foster children is also increased, and California will no longer send our foster children to out-of-state placements.
- Food/Diapers/Menstrual Products. CalFresh food benefits are expanded to more Californians regardless of immigration status; the budget increased funding to food banks and permanently eliminated sales tax on diapers and menstrual products.
- Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot Program. The state budget launched the first-ever statewide guaranteed basic income program starting with support to aging out foster youth and those who are pregnant.
Other
- Wildfire, Drought and Climate Resiliency. Over $7 billion over a few years to address wildfires and the drought and to support climate resiliency projects.
- Broadband. To address our statewide digital divide, the budget invests $6 billion over a three years to expand and build out broadband infrastructure and improve broadband access.
- Gun Violence Reduction. California's CalVIP program will receive over $200 million to support gun violence reduction and prevention efforts across the state.
- Largest statewide renter assistance program in the country: Under the Governor’s Plan, California is offering the strongest renter assistance package of any state in America. The Plan provides a total of $5.2 billion to help low-income renters and landlords, covering 100 percent of back-rent and all prospective rent for several months into the future. The Plan also includes $2 billion for past-due water and utility bills and more money than ever for tenant legal assistance.
- Small Business/Nonprofits, Micro-Businesses, Arts and Cultural Venues Grants. More funds for the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program, bringing the total this year to $4 billion, and a special grant program for micro-businesses, as well as arts, music, and other venues.
- Cleaning California’s streets: In addition to the investments addressing homelessness, the Budget includes $1.1 billion to clean up the streets of California by partnering with local governments to pick up trash and beautify downtowns, freeways and neighborhoods across California.
- Behavioral Health Infrastructure Continuum Program: SB 129 included $443,499,000 for the Governor’s Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program until June 30, 2026. Of that amount, $150 million is earmarked to support mobile crisis infrastructure, $100 million for justice-involved initiatives through 2024, $30 million for a Population Health Management service only if legislation is enacted that clarifies its implementation, and $4.6 million for interoperability or data exchange purposes.
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State Legislation of Interest to Contra Costa County
With the state legislature in its final week before fall recess on September 10, there are approximately 475 bills pending across both houses. The Governor has until October 10 to sign or veto the bills that reach his desk. Bills that are not signed or vetoed by the Governor become law.
The County's sponsored bills, AB 389 (Grayson) and AB 988 (Bauer-Kahan), made substantial progress through the session. As of Sept. 8, AB 389, which would allow the County to contract for emergency ambulance services with a fire agency through a written subcontract with a private ambulance service, is on Third Reading in the Senate, and with opposition being removed by a key stakeholder, the prognosis for its passage is quite good. The intent of AB 988 is to enact legislation to implement the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 (NSHD), in compliance with rules adopted by the Federal Communication Commission, by July 16, 2022, designating "988" as a three-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. Although AB 988 encountered some significant obstacles in earlier versions of the bill which aimed to create a crisis response system with regard to the bill's proposed fee, a budget request has gained traction with $20 million for year-one implementation. An article about the bill can be found here.
Other legislation of interest: The Assembly gave final approval to AB 37, which would indefinitely extend California's system of mailing a ballot to every eligible, active voter. Counties would still need to maintain some in-person voting options.
Another bill being watched closely is SB 2, which would allow state decertification of police officers; it passed the Senate on a 28-9 vote.
SB 594 (Glazer), which aligns the elections calendar for the June 7, 2022 primary with the new statewide redistricting deadline has also advanced; the bill has been enrolled and awaits the Governor's signature.
The fate of two bills that would amend the Brown Act remain uncertain. AB 339 (Lee) and AB 361 (Robert Rivas) are both currently pending on the Senate Floor at the time of this writing.
Nearly 70 years ago, the California State Legislature passed the Ralph M. Brown Act, which governs how local agencies must conduct public meetings, including requirements for meeting notifications and agendas. The Brown Act has been amended many times since its passage, but the core objective is to establish and preserve the right of the public to attend and participate when local legislative bodies discuss and decide items of public importance.
AB 361 includes language similar to parts of last year’s COVID-related Executive Orders that ease some Brown Act requirements related to public officials participating remotely, but only when there is a state of emergency that makes it unsafe to meet in person. The bill was most recently amended to include an urgency clause in order for the bill to take effect immediately upon adoption, notable since the Governor’s Executive Order concerning Brown Act flexibility expires at the end of September. CSAC strongly supports AB 361, which provides counties with the opportunity to continue holding public meetings remotely as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact local agencies’ ability to meet safely in person.
AB 339 requires Boards of Supervisors and City Councils in jurisdictions with 250,000 residents or more to offer a two-way telephonic or internet-based service for the public to view and participate in meetings. CSAC joins a coalition of organizations and public agencies opposed to AB 339, which lacks flexibility for local governments to conduct Brown Act compliant meetings in the event of technological failure or public disruption, or to manage comments in a way that allows ensures officials can come to a decision on the matters being considered in a reasonable time.
SB 9 would allow most homeowners across the state to build two houses or a duplex where now only one house is allowed. Authored by Senate Democratic leaders, the bill would also permit eligible homeowners to split their lot and add two more units on the second parcel if it is at least 1200 square feet and outside fire hazard zones or historic districts. Owners would have to stay in their homes for at least three years after splitting the lot. The bill is at the Governor's desk.
SB 10 by Sen. Scott Wiener would let a local government rezone single-family parcels to allow as many as 10 units near public transit hubs and within urban areas. SB 10 also awaits signature by the Governor.
Bills that failed to move forward included proposals to create single-payer health care, legalize psychedelic drugs, and sanction clinics where addicts can use illegal drugs under medical supervision. Other bills of interest to the County will be discussed at the Legislation Committee meeting. Attachment A is the list of bills being actively monitored.
Ballot Measures Underway
The Attorney General has received a number of proposed ballot measures seeking title and summary in preparation for the November 2022 ballot. Of particular interest:
- A measure that would amend the Constitution to ensure local control of land use decisions; this proposal is being championed by a group of Californians, including Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand, Yorba Linda Mayor Peggy Huang, and Brentwood City Councilmember Jovita Mendoza.
- The “Repeal the Death Tax Act” sponsored by Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which would undo provisions in the recently approved Proposition 19 that limits the ability of parents to transfer ownership of their homes to their children without reassessment.
- The “Water Infrastructure Funding Act of 2022,” which would earmark 2 percent of the state’s general fund revenue for water storage projects that provide at minimum an additional 5 million acre feet of additional water supply annually.
- Yet another measure to impose new staffing and reporting requirements on outpatient kidney dialysis clinics.
- A measure sponsored by Tim Draper (of the “Six Californias” initiative fame) that would abolish public employee unions.
These and other measures will receive a title and summary from the Attorney General’s office and a fiscal analysis from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, but many will not be pursued through the signature-gathering process.
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