RCRC

This week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved, by a close party-line vote of 29-24, a five year, $260 billion bill to fund the nations’ surface transportation programs (of which California’s share would be approximately $18.3 billion). Specifically, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act (H.R. 7) would reauthorize and fund federal highway, transit, and rail programs through 2016.

On Thursday, the US Department of Agriculture’s US Forest Service (USFS) released the final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for land management planning on National Forest System lands. The PEIS, which is the prelude to the final National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule, lists the USFS "preferred alternative" for the final Planning Rule language, as well as several alternatives for the final rule.

This week the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC) installed its newly elected officers for leadership positions of one-year terms during its annual installation meeting and reception in Sacramento before an audience of approximately 100 attendees from various local and state agencies, as well as legislators and congressional field representatives.

This week, an Assembly committee heard and subsequently defeated a measure that would eliminate the ability of future county supervisors (and other non "full-time" elected officeholders) from participating in a public retirement system.

Last week, the California State Supreme Court ruled on the status of redevelopment agencies (rda’s). Specifically, the Court upheld the Legislature’s ability to abolish them under the perimeters of AB 26X; however, the Court also ruled that AB 27X, which reconstitutes the agencies and redirects money from rda’s to the State, is unconstitutional and violates Proposition 22.

This week Governor Brown unexpectedly released his 2012-13 proposed state Budget. Although originally planned for release on January 10, the Budget had inadvertently been posted on the internet forcing an early release. California’s budget picture remains precarious. While employment numbers have improved, the overall California economy (and the state revenues that ensue) reflects modest growth.

After learning that the new low income health program, Path2Health, was just approved by the federal government, the County Medical Services Program (CMSP) Governing Board announced it will expand health care coverage to an additional 30,000 low income adults living in 34 mostly rural counties beginning January 1, 2012 under Path2Health. This coverage expansion increases the number of low income adults served by CMSP programs to nearly 90,000 by the end of 2013.

This week, Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), introduced the “County Payments Reauthorization Act of 2011”, H.R.3599, to reauthorize both the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act and the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program. The bill is a companion to S. 1692, the bipartisan Senate package unveiled in October.