The Rural Counties’ Environmental Services Joint Powers Authority honored outgoing Chair, Siskiyou County Supervisor Michael Kobseff. Supervisor Kobseff has served as ESJPA’s Chair since 2013 and has guided the organization through several new mandates and initiatives, including SB 1383 organics recycling mandates and SB 54 single-use plastic regulations. Supervisor Kobseff is stepping down from the Chair position in anticipation of his retirement from the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors at the end of 2026. ESJPA elected long-time Vice Chair Supervisor Lori Parlin, El Dorado County, as the new Chair for 2025 and Supervisor Rhonda Duggan, Mono County, as Vice Chair.
California Representative Huffman Named Ranking Member of House Natural Resources Committee
On December 17th, Representative Jared Huffman (D-Del Norte) was announced as Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee for the 119th Congress…
Government Funding Package Defeated in U.S. House of Representatives Thursday Night
On Tuesday afternoon, December 17th, House Republicans released H.R. 10445, a continuing resolution aimed at averting a government shutdown, but the plan quickly unraveled due to opposition from Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump. The saga continued into the late hours of Thursday night…
RCRC Presents President’s Award to Tedd Ward of the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority
On December 12, 2024, RCRC honored Tedd Ward, Director of the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority, with the RCRC President’s Award. RCRC’s President & CEO Patrick Blacklock presented Mr. Ward with the award…
Feedback Requested to Inform Toolkit for Local Renewable Energy Permitting
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) is seeking input from community members, developers, and local permitting agencies on the challenges associated with permitting large-scale renewable energy projects. Take the survey today.
Adam Schiff Sworn in as California’s Newest U.S. Senator
Senator Butler did not seek to retain her seat in the November 2024 election. Instead, once the election was certified, Senator Butler stepped down, allowing California’s Senator-elect Adam Schiff to assume the office and complete the term…
State Finalizes New Property Insurance Ratemaking Regulations
On December 13th, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced that the State had approved the final version of his proposed regulations on catastrophe modeling for insurance ratemaking, which are now in effect.
RCRC Discusses Challenges of Household Hazardous Waste Management at National Product Manufacturers’ Convention
On December 9th, RCRC’s John Kennedy was invited to discuss the costs and challenges of managing household hazardous waste (HHW) at the Household and Commercial Product Association’s annual meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida…
DOI Local Government Wildfire Vehicle Conversion Grants Now Available
On December 4th, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced $20 million in available grant funds for local governments to strengthen their response to wildfire by converting vehicles to wildland fire engines. The funding can be used by local governments that...
U.S. House Approves Water Resources Development Act
On December 10, 2024, the House approved, by a vote of 399-18, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) (S. 4367), which would improve the nation’s ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation, flood and storm protection, and other aspects of the nation’s water resources infrastructure…
California Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Q&A
Frequently asked questions about California Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT)
SGMA Implementation
Groundwater management law in California previously authorized certain local agencies to adopt and implement a groundwater management plan. Local agencies seeking state funds from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for groundwater projects and groundwater quality projects were required to prepare and implement a groundwater management plan that included basin management objectives.
Secure Rural Schools
Adopted in 1906, federal law requires the U.S. Forest Service to provide counties and schools with 25 percent of the revenues generated on federal forest lands from a variety of activities including timber harvesting, mining, and recreational activities. In 2000, Congress enacted the Secure Rural Schools & Community Self-Determination Act (SRS) to provide funding for rural counties and school districts to replace revenue from dwindling forest receipts due to a national decline in timber harvesting.
Endangered Species Act (ESA)
The Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA) was passed by Congress in 1973 to protect and recover at risk species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. In 1984, California followed when the Legislature passed the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), the provisions of which were designed to mirror the FESA.
Both Federal and State ESAs offer special protections to wildlife and plants deemed in danger of extinction by both the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW). At times, those protections can prevent the development of rural economies through restrictions on critical habitat that slow or halt recreational use and development. The USFWS has proposed several amendments to the FESA to reform the way species listings account for economic impacts and other important criteria.
RCRC actively engages in the rulemaking processes which list specific species as endangered when they impact RCRC member counties. RCRC also regularly works to ensure that proposed changes to critical habitat regulations will have minimal impact on development and tourism in rural communities.
Wildlife Policy Areas Affecting Local Government
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are the two primary agencies responsible for fish and wildlife issues impacting rural counties and their citizens.
Water: Supply and Demand
Nearly 75 percent of California’s available water originates in the northern one-third of the state (north of Sacramento), while more than 70 percent of the demand occurs in the southern two-thirds of the state and coastal areas. Much of the available runoff eventually flows into the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, both of which flow through the Central Valley and meet in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta (Delta). The Delta is the heart of the state’s surface water delivery system. In any given hydrological year, the state’s water supply can be affected by circumstances from extreme drought to flooding. California’s unpredictable climate has led the state to invest in one of the most sophisticated water delivery and flood management systems in the world so this crucial resource can be made available to the communities, industries, habitats, and farms it supports.
About Rural Transportation
California’s State and local transportation infrastructure is a complex system of interstate and intrastate highways, freeways, and city and county-maintained streets and roads. California’s rural transportation system serves to connect rural and remote communities to employment and population centers, health care and social services, and educational opportunities, and provides the general public access to many of California’s recreational opportunities and tourist attractions – two key economic drivers for rural counties.
About Solid Waste Management
Solid waste management is an important function for municipal governments. For many counties, the management of landfills is a key component. These management functions fall under the regulatory purview of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), which issues permits for a number of solid waste facilities and activities including landfills, transfer stations, and various diversion programs (i.e. composting). CalRecycle has also imposed a portfolio of new regulatory obligations on local governments with respect to solid and organic waste recycling and reporting. Other state agencies are also extensively involved in the management of solid waste activities, including the State Water Resources Control Board, the Air Resources Board, and the Department of Toxics Substance Control, in addition to regional water quality control boards and local air pollution control districts.
Corrections
County Boards of Supervisors, in conjunction with County Sheriffs, District Attorneys, Public Defenders, and Chief Probation Officers, are responsible for law enforcement, the operation of a variety of county public safety facilities (county jails and juvenile halls), and the overall administration of public safety services and community corrections. The funds to provide these public safety programs and services are primarily met with county general fund monies. However, the 2011 Criminal Justice Realignment scheme that supports the cost burden incurred from housing and supervising low-level felons is funded through a combination of constitutionally protected state sales tax proceeds and monies from state vehicle license fees. In limited instances, county corrections programs can be funded by special grants from a variety of sources.
California’s rural counties have varying degrees of issues with respect to their local correctional facilities. Some counties currently have “excess” jail capacity, and use those beds to contract with either state or federal corrections authorities, while others have facilities that are in dire need of rehabilitation, and/or face judicially-imposed caps on their inmate population. The overwhelming majority of rural counties do not have adequate population or revenue streams to construct county jails without significant state assistance.
RCRC has historically supported various state legislative proposals that support state lease revenue bond financing for the construction, reconstruction, and renovation/rehabilitation of local correctional facilities. RCRC will continue to support state funding streams for county jails to address the recent realignment of criminal justice programs. Additionally, RCRC will work closely with the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) to implement jail construction funding programs, including efforts that provide dedicated funding for small counties, and flexibility to meet state match requirements.
2011 Criminal Justice Realignment
In 2011, the Legislature enacted a comprehensive criminal justice realignment scheme whereby counties became responsible for addressing criminal offenders that had traditionally been the responsibility of the State. Under the provisions of Assembly Bill 109, persons...
Protecting Local Communities
California’s rural counties play a critical role in protecting their local communities. The California State Constitution requires each county to hold elections to elect both a County Sheriff and District Attorney. Both the County Sheriff and the District Attorney are charged with enforcing the State’s criminal justice laws, and upholding local ordinances prohibiting specified activities as approved by the County Board of Supervisors. The Probation Chief has taken on an increasing set of responsibilities in the wake of criminal justice system reforms including the realignment of youthful offenders from the State to local jurisdictions under SB 823 (2020). That position serves both the local Board of Supervisors and the local superior court.
Most counties maintain local jail detention facilities, administer and offer recidivism reduction programs and anti-gang services, supervise individuals in the community following their release from jail or prison, administer mental health and rehabilitative treatment programs, as well as prosecute crimes and provide defense services to the indigent associated with violations of various state statutes and local ordinances. While the Sheriff and District Attorney are both independently elected, funding for these two county departments must, in general, be approved by County Boards of Supervisors. In addition to the more commonly known county performed public safety services, many counties also provide fire protection services and other disaster management activities.
Veterans Affairs
California is home to nearly 1.8 million veterans, with that population expected to increase significantly over the next five years. RCRC supports policies that ensure veterans receive the resources and services they have earned through their military service. Access to healthcare, education, housing, and employment assistance are all critical to a veteran’s successful transition into civilian life.
Specialized military training, including firefighting and law enforcement, often are not recognized when veterans are attempting to transition into the civilian workforce. RCRC supports changes to law that would allow specialized training completed during military service to qualify as training for non-military employment to speed up re-integration of veterans into communities without having to bear the cost of duplicative state-mandated training.
RCRC is dedicated to the ideal that each county should have the right to support their military and veteran families in the way that best suits the needs of their communities, including reducing or waiving permit fees, incentivizing veteran-owned businesses, or through other means devised by the individual counties without restriction from the State. Additionally, RCRC supports continuous state funding for County Veterans Service Officer programs which provide important services to military veterans and their families.California is home to nearly 1.8 million veterans, with that population expected to increase significantly over the next five years. RCRC supports policies that ensure veterans receive the resources and services they have earned through their military service. Access to healthcare, education, housing, and employment assistance are all critical to a veteran’s successful transition into civilian life.
Specialized military training, including firefighting and law enforcement, often are not recognized when veterans are attempting to transition into the civilian workforce. RCRC supports changes to law that would allow specialized training completed during military service to qualify as training for non-military employment to speed up re-integration of veterans into communities without having to bear the cost of duplicative state-mandated training.
RCRC is dedicated to the ideal that each county should have the right to support their military and veteran families in the way that best suits the needs of their communities, including reducing or waiving permit fees, incentivizing veteran-owned businesses, or through other means devised by the individual counties without restriction from the State. Additionally, RCRC supports continuous state funding for County Veterans Service Officer programs which provide important services to military veterans and their families.
Telehealth
Access to healthcare in the most rural and remote parts of California have always been a concern. RCRC supports increasing the availability of telehealth in rural areas as an alternative way for rural citizens to access healthcare, particularly specialty care. ...
Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA)
The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) was signed into law in 1975, in an effort to limit non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. RCRC has long supported the protection of the MICRA cap. The cap on non-economic protects practitioners from...
Health Access
RCRC seeks to ensure adequate and appropriate health care access for its member counties’ residents and the large population of visitors and tourists who recreate and vacation in our rural areas. RCRC supports the expansion of telemedicine and teledentistry,...
About State Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT)
California’s Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILT) program was established in 1949 to offset adverse impacts to county property tax revenues that result when the state acquires private property for wildlife management areas. Fish & Game Code Section 1504...
Forestry Reform
RCRC advocates strongly for increasing the pace and scale of forest management on California’s federal public lands. Most of these areas suffer from extreme overstocking of timber, creating an unhealthy forest that is susceptible to disease, insect infestation, and...
Fish and Wildlife
RCRC member counties have land use and public trust responsibilities over resource-related issues, including fish and wildlife. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are the two primary agencies responsible for fish and wildlife issues impacting rural counties and their citizens.
Visit the Barbed Wire for the Latest Advocacy News
Check back for the latest news. In the meantime, visit the Barbed Wire Newsletter for the latest updates.
RCRC Open CPUC Proceedings
RCRC is a formal participant in seventeen active regulatory proceedings at the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC” or “Commission”).
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


