H.R. 1 will have significant fiscal impacts on counties and the California communities we serve. Counties will incur new costs to provide indigent health care to individuals who lose Medi-Cal coverage, and additional workforce costs to implement the eligibility...
RCRC, along with the National Stewardship Action Council and Orange County, is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 936, authored by Senators Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) and Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana). This measure bans the sale of nitrous oxide as commonly used for illicit...
On January 30, by a vote of 71-29, the Senate passed a $1.2 trillion spending package that separated the Homeland Security appropriations bill from the five other bills included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The five appropriations bills (Defense;...
On February 4, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a pair of bills to help address growing water supply challenges in California and the American West. As severe droughts, warming temperatures, limitations on groundwater pumping, and outdated infrastructure...
On February 2, the Department of the Interior announced that up to $20 million is available to strengthen local governments’ wildfire response capacity. The Slip-on Tanker Pilot Program (established under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) equips small, remote...
California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) QZ Grant Program has the following announcement: The application period for the 2025 cycle will open on March 9, 2026, and will close on April 17, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Up to $2M is expected to be awarded,...
Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California’s rural counties. Ryan Birss, of Siskiyou County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge at the Shasta County Superior Court. Birss has been the Owner of Ryan H. Birss, Attorney at Law...
RCRC press releases and related news clips about RCRC and our member counties. Please note that a subscription may be required to read some external publications. California’s long-awaited water plan sparks new battle over delta – San Francisco Chronicle...
The U.S. Senate reached a late-day agreement on Thursday, which would avert a broad shutdown of the federal government, by splitting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding measure away from the remaining five full-year appropriations bills. Under the deal,...
RCRC is a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 899, authored by Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield). This measure seeks to require the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force to create a wildfire smoke health assessment, intended to provide important data that...
Thursday, January 29, was a key deadline by which bills introduced in 2025 must advance out of their house of origin in order to continue through the legislative process. Several RCRC sponsored and supported legislative proposals have moved forward. Among them...
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is soliciting feedback on dairy and livestock sector methane emissions to inform their work toward reaching short-lived climate pollutant reduction targets set by Senate Bill 1383 in 2016. SB 1383 established reduction targets...
​On Friday January 23, the federal government approved the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Sites Reservoir Project in Colusa and Glenn Counties, unlocking a funding source that could cover up to a quarter of the estimated $6.2 to $6.8 billion total cost of the...
On January 27, California Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, along with Nevada Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen introduced the Santini-Burton Modernization Act, which would deliver more funding to protect the Lake Tahoe Basin with no new costs to...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service finalized revisions to its regulation governing federal oil and gas resources on National Forest System lands. The revision modernizes and streamlines the process for managing energy development across millions of...
A monthly update regarding the important work of RCRC’s affiliate entities, providing innovative services for the benefit of rural communities. Rural Advancement Institute Launches 2026 Planning The Rural Advancement Institute (RAI) moves into 2026, continuing...
Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California’s rural counties. Brian Travis, of Fairfield, has been appointed to the Private Security Disciplinary Review Committee (North). Travis has been the Chief of Police – Director of Public...
RCRC press releases and related news clips about RCRC and our member counties. Please note that a subscription may be required to read some external publications. ​Coordinated response needed to stop golden mussel spread – Sacramento Bee In this piece, Calaveras...
RCRC gathered at its annual reception on Wednesday, January 21, to celebrate the RCRC 2026 Officers and to honor the recipients of the 2025 Rural Leadership Awards. The Rural Leadership Awards are presented to two public officials who have demonstrated an...
On January 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its four remaining appropriations bills: H.R. 7148, which packages together Defense, Labor–HHS–Education, and Transportation–HUD spending bills, and H.R. 7147, which funds Homeland Security programs. These...
Earlier this month, the House passed a measure by a vote of 230-196 that would have restored the expired ACA subsidies for three years; 17 House Republicans crossed party lines to vote in favor of the measure. It was reported that a group of Senators, led by Maine...
RCRC aims to continuously provide our member counties with engaging and informative content. For that purpose, RCRC is currently evaluating our communications methods and asking all of our member county Board Supervisors and County Administrative Officers to provide...
Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California’s rural counties. Jennifer Gonzales, of Napa, has been reappointed to the State 9-1-1 Advisory Board, where she has served since 2023. Gonzales held several roles at the City of Napa Police...
RCRC press releases and related news clips about RCRC and our member counties. Please note that a subscription may be required to read some external publications. Shasta medical school idea takes next step with supervisors’ support – Record Searchlight Parts of...
The Rural Recap is prepared for the RCRC Board of Directors to highlight significant actions taken on issues impacting California’s rural counties. It outlines key advocacy efforts engaged in by RCRC staff on behalf of California’s rural communities and serves...
On January 6, RCRC honored Jaime Green, former Superintendent of the Trinity Alps Unified School District, with the 2025 RCRC President’s Award for his dedicated advocacy on behalf of California’s rural counties. The annual award recognizes individuals who exceed...
RCRC supports Assembly Bill 35, authored by Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-San Diego). This measure seeks to exempt Proposition 4 (Climate Bond) funding from the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), enabling funds to be deployed more quickly and efficiently and...
​RCRC, along with CSAC, Cal Cities, and Stop Waste, will host a webinar on Wednesday, January 28th at 9:30 a.m., to help local governments better understand SB 54 (Allen, 2022): California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. ...
On January 9, CalRecycle announced that they have withdrawn the SB 54 Single Use Packaging Regulations from the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to incorporate additional amendments. SB 54 (Allen) of 2022 requires manufacturers of single use packaging and...
This week, several RCRC-supported measures passed out of policy committees and now head to their respective Appropriations Committees and Floors for action before the January 31 deadline for two-year bills to pass the house of origin. RCRC-sponsored SB...
Sarah Dukett
Senior Policy Advocate
Leigh Kammerich
Senior Policy Advocate
John Kennedy
Senior Policy Advocate
Staci Heaton
Senior Policy Advocate
Tracy Rhine
Senior Policy Advocate
Eric Will
Policy Advocate
Mary-Ann Warmerdam
Senior Vice President Governmental Affairs