Barbed Wire - July 3, 2014

2014 RCRC Annual Meeting

RCRC’s 2014 Annual Meeting will be held September 24-26 at the Resort at Squaw Creek in Placer County.  RCRC is excited about the developing program, where you will hear experts discuss a wide range of topics of interest to rural counties, including panels on the Endangered Species Act, Marijuana in Colorado (One-Year Later), Ethics in Politics, Gambling in California, and Rural Economic Development.

To register for the 2014 Annual Meeting, or review the current program, click here. 

Water Bond Discussions to Continue During Summer Break

Senate and Assembly leadership were unable to conclude negotiations on a water bond to replace the existing $11.1 billion water bond currently on the November 2014 ballot prior to adjournment for summer recess.  The day after Senate Bill 848 (Wolk) failed to pass the Senate Floor, the Governor weighed in with his own $6 billion proposal. 

The Administration’s proposed Water Action Plan Financing Act of 2014 includes:

• $1.5 billion for water quality and water supply reliability projects;
• $1.5 billion for watershed protection, watershed ecosystem restoration, and State settlement obligations;
• $2 billion for the public benefits of storage;
• $500 million for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; and,
• $500 million for statewide flood management. 

The Administration is proposing that the bond be Bay Delta Conservation Plan neutral.  Language protecting existing water rights and reaffirmation of area of origin protections is also included.

The release of the Administration’s proposal resulted in the authors and supporters of SB 848 and AB 2686 (Perea) going back to the drawing board to re-work the two bills.  Senator Wolk was reportedly working to reduce SB 848 from $10.5 billion to $6 billion, and on the Assembly side AB 2686 was reportedly being pared back to around $8 billion.  A planned unveiling of the reworked AB 2686 had been planned for July 1, 2014, but discussions stalled the evening before, and the planned announcement was cancelled. 

While the Legislature is on summer recess until August 4, 2014, discussions on the water bond will continue.  While this is not the first time that a water bond has had the deadlines extended into August, it does make things logistically more difficult.  

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at (916) 447-4806 or kmannion@rcrcnet.org.

Senate and Assembly leadership were unable to conclude negotiations on a water bond to replace the existing $11.1 billion water bond currently on the November 2014 ballot prior to adjournment for summer recess.  The day after Senate Bill 848 (Wolk) failed to pass the Senate Floor, the Governor weighed in with his own $6 billion proposal. 

The Administration’s proposed Water Action Plan Financing Act of 2014 includes:

• $1.5 billion for water quality and water supply reliability projects;
• $1.5 billion for watershed protection, watershed ecosystem restoration, and State settlement obligations;
• $2 billion for the public benefits of storage;
• $500 million for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; and,
• $500 million for statewide flood management. 

The Administration is proposing that the bond be Bay Delta Conservation Plan neutral.  Language protecting existing water rights and reaffirmation of area of origin protections is also included.

The release of the Administration’s proposal resulted in the authors and supporters of SB 848 and AB 2686 (Perea) going back to the drawing board to re-work the two bills.  Senator Wolk was reportedly working to reduce SB 848 from $10.5 billion to $6 billion, and on the Assembly side AB 2686 was reportedly being pared back to around $8 billion.  A planned unveiling of the reworked AB 2686 had been planned for July 1, 2014, but discussions stalled the evening before, and the planned announcement was cancelled. 

While the Legislature is on summer recess until August 4, 2014, discussions on the water bond will continue.  While this is not the first time that a water bond has had the deadlines extended into August, it does make things logistically more difficult.  

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at (916) 447-4806 or kmannion@rcrcnet.org.

First Groundwater Management Forum Held – RCRC Seeks County Input

The development of groundwater management legislation will be the focus of discussions during the legislative summer recess.  The first meeting of interested stakeholders was held July 2, 2014.  Opening comments were made by Senator Fran Pavley, author of SB 1168, and Assembly Member Roger Dickinson, author of AB 1739.  The two legislators intend to meld their two bills into one comprehensive bill for consideration when the Legislature returns in August.  Also in attendance were representatives of the authors’ staff, representatives of the Administration,  and a variety of interested stakeholders. 

The 90 minute facilitated discussion focused on three specific questions relating to:

• A definition vs policy statement on sustainable groundwater management;

• A single comprehensive groundwater management plan with multiple implementers; and,

• The required elements of a groundwater management plan as well as related issues.

The discussion document can be accessed here.  Please send responses to the questions posed to RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at kmannion@rcrcnet.org for use in county advocacy efforts.

State Water Board Adopts Emergency Regulations for Water Curtailments

Following more than nine hours of testimony from numerous stakeholders expressing concern regarding uncertainty and due process among other issues, the State Water Resources Control Board unanimously approved an amended emergency regulation on Wednesday to assure compliance with curtailment orders issued to protect senior water rights holders throughout the state.  The emergency regulation will go into effect immediately. 

The proposed regulations and approved changes can be accessed here.  A fact sheet on the curtailment process can be accessed here.  Additional information regarding curtailment notification can be accessed here.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Kathy Mannion at (916) 447-4806 or kmannion@rcrcnet.org.

Assembly Republicans Select Kristin Olsen as Next Leader

On Tuesday, Assembly Republicans selected Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto) as the next leader of the Assembly Republican Caucus.  Assemblywoman Olsen will take the reins from Assemblywoman Connie Conway (R-Tulare) following the November elections.

PPIC Releases Statewide Report on California Prison Realignment

This week, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) released the first in a series of reports on statewide recidivism reduction efforts from California's prison population realignment scheme enacted in 2011.  

The PPIC report finds that while the overall statewide prison population has reduced and the arrest rates of offenders have slightly decreased, the proportion of those arrested multiples times has made a sharp increase.  Additionally, the report finds that the proportion of released inmates returning to state prison has made a considerable downward trend, providing a hint that county realignment implementation has contributed to the state’s success.  It is important to note that the PPIC report did not include county-level recidivism reduction data or trends.  RCRC anticipates additional reports from county realignment implementation perspectives will be released in the future as more county-level data becomes available.

The PPIC report can be accessed here.

Federal Transportation Agency Alerts State Agencies to Transportation Funding Shortfall

This week, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx sent letters to State Transportation Agencies warning them of the impending Highway Trust Fund (HTF) insolvency, and the steps the agency would take starting on August 1, 2014.  Secretary Foxx’s letter reaffirmed the DOT’s commitment to fully reimburse states as funding allows, although this was tempered by the reality that the HTF is quickly reaching a critical point that will force the agency to implement cash management procedures to limit the amount and distribution of payments over a longer duration of time. 

States will receive payments based on the proportion of each state’s federal formula apportionment, which will fluctuate over time based on tax receipts flowing to the HTF.  In response to Secretary Foxx’s letter, Malcolm Dougherty, Director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), issued a letter to all transportation stakeholders providing additional information on the DOT’s process for issuing state payments during this period of funding uncertainty.  Congress continues to evaluate various proposals to provide both short-term and long-term funding to restore HTF solvency.  In related news, the Congressional Budget Office reports that the highway account of the HTF will need an insurgence of $6.6 billion through the calendar year to avoid eliminating state transportation payments.

DOT Secretary Foxx’s letter to State Transportation Agencies can be accessed here.  Caltrans Director Dougherty’s letter to state transportation stakeholders can be accessed here.

Addressing the potential insolvency of the HTF as well as reauthorizing MAP 21 – the federal transportation funding program which is due to expire in September – remains a top priority of RCRC.  RCRC’s federal advocates remain engaged with Congressional leaders and their staff on efforts to provide funding to vital rural transportation programs.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Analyst Randall Echevarria at (916) 447-4806 or rechevarria@rcrcnet.org.  

Wildfire Funding Added to Homeland Security Appropriations Bill

The federal Appropriations process is a negotiated process that often includes the placement of language into Appropriations bills that is the subject of other ongoing legislation.  Funding for wildfire prevention is often consumed by fire-fighting costs.  Separating these pots of money is critical to ensuring sufficient resources for good forest management.  This is the topic of the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act as outlined by S 1875 and HR 3992.  These two measures would treat wildfire assistance funding the same way other disaster assistance funding is treated, thereby protecting any fire prevention and forest management money from being used on suppression. 

During Senate Appropriations negotiations and discussions regarding the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, a provision was added to give the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the flexibility to spend disaster funding on prevention activities.  This action was intended to protect wildfire prevention activities even when suppression funding is fully spent.  However, unlike the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, this is a one-year exemption to allow FEMA to spend on fire prevention.  This provision does not affect the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the law that governs disaster relief spending.  It is also important to note that while the Senate Appropriations Committee adopted this amendment, the House version of the Homeland Security Appropriation does not contain the provision.

This bill will need to be passed by the full Senate Appropriations Committee sometime after the July 4, 2014 recess, and then sent to the Floor for further action.  However, Senate floor action for appropriations measures has stalled after controversial amendments were threatened on the floor during the discussion of other Appropriations issues. 

RCRC continues to support the two bills representing the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act in each house, or any other action that would allow wildfire disasters to be treated like other types of federally-assisted disasters, thereby allowing disaster prevention and active disaster management to be funded separately.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Legislative Advocate Cyndi Hillery at (916) 447-4806 or chillery@rcrcnet.org.

New EPA Climate Adaptation Policy Focuses on Financial Assistance, Local Partnerships

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a new Policy Statement on Climate Adaptation, which is an update from the agency’s 2011 version.  The Statement lists the modernization of financial assistance programs as its top priority, with a focus on grants, loans, technical support, cooperative agreements, and other programs to help support state, tribal, and local government actions that mitigate the impacts of climate change.  The Statement also stresses the importance of implementing the 2013 Climate Change Adaptation Plan and measuring performance of climate adaptation programs undertaken as a result.  

The Statement can be accessed here.

For additional information, please contact RCRC Regulatory Affairs Advocate Staci Heaton at (916) 447-4806 or sheaton@rcrcnet.org.

Department of Conservation Releases Farmland Conversion Report

The Department of Conservation recently released their 2008-2010 California Farmland Conversion Report.  While irrigated farmland in California decreased by more than 168,000 acres, land idling and reversion to dry farming were the largest factors contributing to the irrigated land decreases, with Prime Farmland accounting for 61 percent of the loss.  Additionally, urban development totaled 44,504 acres, the lowest recorded in the Farmland Monitoring and Mapping Programs history.  The California Farmland Conversion Report can be accessed here.

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Thursday, July 3, 2014 marks the last working day for the California State Assembly and Senate before their summer recess.  The state legislature will reconvene on Monday, August 4, 2014 for the last push of work before the Interim Recess, which runs September 1, 2014 until the first week of January 2015.  Despite the fact that there will be no Committees or Floor Sessions, staff and certain members will continue to engage in negotiations over the water bond issue and other key issues needing to reach compromise prior to the end of session.  While state legislators are on break, the United States Congress resumes work next week throughout the month of July, and does not adjourn for its summer break until August. 

For more information regarding state or federal legislative calendars, please contact the RCRC Governmental Affairs staff at (916) 447-4806.

AB 2241 (Eggman): Local Government: Agricultural Land.  AB 2241 would change the rescission fee charged by a county when land under Williamson Act contract or land designated as a farmland security zone enters into a solar-use easement to 10 percent of the fair market value of the property, and allows for counties that choose to utilize this approach to retain half of the rescission fee until January 1, 2020.  Status: Placed on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File.  RCRC Position: Support

SB 1292 (Hueso): Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.  SB 1292 would increase the maximum amount of a construction grant award from $3 million to $5 million for a water system serving severely disadvantaged communities.  Status: Placed on the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense File.  RCRC Position: Support

SB 1353 (Nielsen): Local Government: Williamson Act.  SB 1353 would eliminate the sunset date on the alternative Williamson Act funding program giving counties that opted into the program the ability to continue this alternative funding mechanism for the Williamson Act.  The program works by shortening the length of Williamson Act contracts by 10 percent in exchange for the forfeit by landowners of no more than 10 percent of their tax benefit.  Status: Passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.  RCRC Position: Support

SB 1399 (Galgiani): Agricultural Seed: County Seed Enforcement Subventions.  SB 1399 would extend the sunset date of the seed enforcement subvention program through July 1, 2019.  The subvention program, funded by the seed industry, provides counties with a source of revenue to cover a portion of their costs for enforcing the California Seed Law.  Status: Passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.  RCRC Position: Support