The Barbed Wire - September 14, 2018

See You in Napa!!!

RCRC’s 2018 Annual Meeting will be held next week at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa in Napa County.  This year’s program will feature experts discussing a wide range of topics of interest to rural counties, including school safety, the changing face of media, the current political landscape, and more.  Read More…

Governor Brown Signs Renewable Energy, Climate Change Bills

On Thursday, Governor Edmund G. Brown signed eight climate change bills as part of the wrap up of his Global Climate Summit in San Francisco.  The package of bills included measures to encourage purchase of electric vehicles, school bus electrification, and a permanent extension of the vanpools that carry farm workers to their fields. 

The bill signing followed the signing of Senate Bill 100 (de León) on Monday, the controversial bill that requires all retail electricity to be carbon-free by 2045, and increases California’s renewable energy requirement from 50 percent to 60 percent by 2030. 

Sierra Nevada Conservancy Seeks New Executive Officer

The Sierra Nevada Conservancy, an agency of the state of California within the California Natural Resources Agency, is seeking a new Executive Officer due to the upcoming retirement of current SNC Executive Officer Jim Branham.  Branham, who was named SNC’s first Executive Officer in 2005, is also a former Undersecretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, and Chief Deputy Director at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. 

During Branham’s tenure, SNC has not only achieved its objectives to initiate, encourage, and support efforts that improve the environmental, economic, and social well-being of the Sierra Nevada Region, its communities, and the citizens of California, but has also become successful agent of collaborative restoration of the region’s forested watersheds by bringing together local, State and federal governments on such projects as the Watershed Improvement Program, a competitive grant program supporting forest health projects that result in multiple watershed benefits.

SNC is seeking to fill the position by December, and is taking applications no later than Friday, September 28. The full job posting can be accessed here.

Farm Bill Update

The House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate continued negotiations to finalize the 2018 Farm Bill this week.  Progress stalled over a proposal from Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) to negotiate a budget cap for each individual title of the bill.  This proposal would allow staff to work through the whole bill, title by title.  House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) expressed strong reservations with this approach and insisted the Conference Committee members first agree on which policies to include in the final bill.  

“I’m going to insist that we have certain policy understandings before we come to conclusions on spending,” Representative Conaway said after a 90-minute meeting on Wednesday with Senator Roberts and other leaders of the Republican Conference.  Representative Conaway amended the House version of the Farm Bill with conservative policies in the nutrition, conservation, and forestry titles that face difficulty in the Senate.  Current funding for Farm Bill programs expires on September 30, 2018, unless the Congress approves a short-term extension.  All indications arethat Congress will not finalize the Farm Bill before the end of the month and instead will pass an extension to allow more time for negotiations.

Federal Budget Update

Appropriators announced this week that Congress will attach a temporary spending measure to HR 6157, a “minibus” spending package that will fund a portion of the federal government for Fiscal 2019.  The temporary spending measure, also known as a continuing resolution, will fund certain aspects of the federal government through December 7, 2018, and avoid a government shutdown on September 30, 2018.  This extension buys appropriators more time to negotiate the budget for Fiscal 2019. 

Congress released the final language of HR 6157, with the continuing resolution, on Thursday evening.  HR 6157 includes the perennially controversial budget language for the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Education.  Negotiators have yet to reach a deal on a four-bill spending package that would fund the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and more.  Democrats indicated they could not support the appropriations measure to fund these federal agencies after Republicans refused to withdraw several conservative policy riders contained within the package.

Despite the setback in a funding several aspects fo the federal government, Congress approved several other aspects of the Fiscal 2019 budget on Thursday when the House approved a minibus package of three spending bills.  Subsequently, a $147.5 billion spending package to fund the Department of Energy, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Army Corps of Engineers, and Congress’ administrative costs will now be forwarded to President Trump for his consideration.    This package is significant because it marks the first time in a decade that Congress passed such a large portion of the federal budget before the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2018.  

THE RURAL RUNDOWN PODCAST

The Rural Rundown discusses the legislative and regulatory issues impacting California’s rural counties, featuring commentary and interviews from individuals committed to improving the quality of life in rural California. 

The Rural Rundown can be accessed here. 

BULLETIN BOARD

Announcements regarding hearings, grants, and public comment notices of importance to California's rural counties.

Sierra Nevada Conservancy Seeks Executive Officer

Click here

USDA Partners with California Communities to Support Opioid Treatment, Prevention and Recovery Services

USDA Rural Development announced a $10.7 million investment into the nation’s rural communities to help support projects for opioid prevention, treatment and recovery. California communities received nearly $1.5 million of the total for 19 projects in Butte, Del Norte, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Plumas, Trinity, Tulare and Tuolumne Counties. Investments will help support first responders and other organizations fighting against opioid misuse. Complete details on all the recipients are available at www.rd.usda.gov/ca.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff.