Last week, U.S. House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) released a schedule to markup all 12 Fiscal Year 2026 (FY ’26) spending bills over the next 10 weeks of June and July, with the goal of completing all markups before the August recess. Chairman Cole has...
AI agents are showing up in rural California counties, and Agentic AI—AI that can act on its own within set boundaries—is finding its way into county operations. In this special feature to the Barbed Wire, Steve Monaghan, retired Director of Nevada County’s...
A monthly update regarding the important work of RCRC’s affiliate entities, providing innovative services for the benefit of rural communities. RAI Leads “Beyond the Lettuce Curtain” Immersive Learning Experience in Monterey County In early May, the...
Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California’s rural counties. Ramank Bharti, of Napa, has been appointed Director of Risk Management and Project Controls at the California High Speed Rail Authority. Bharti held multiple positions at...
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. CEQA nearly killed childcare facility in our community. Enough already. – San Francisco Chronicle...
In simultaneous hearings Friday, the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees took action on nearly 1,100 bills on their respective suspense files. Measures with cost impacts over the committee-designated Suspense File threshold faced one of three possible...
On May 21, California Congressmembers David Valadao (R-Hanford), Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield), and Jim Costa (D-Fresno), along with Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), reintroduced the Farm to Market Road Improvement Act. The bipartisan legislation aims to...
On May 22, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a memorandum clarifying the specific and limited role of States and Tribes in the federal licensing and permitting processes under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The EPA reiterates its...
On May 22, the U.S. Senate passed three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to revoke waivers that allow California to adopt tougher vehicle emission standards than the national standard. House Joint Resolution 87 overturns a waiver that allows California to...
Welcome to the next installment of the RCRC Board Member Spotlight, a recurring feature of the Barbed Wire! The Board Member Spotlight is intended to familiarize subscribers with RCRC Board members, providing insights from their background in public service to their...
Each year, Visit California publishes an in-depth analysis of the tourism industry’s statewide and county-level economic contributions. The 2024 report reflects the sector’s continued resilience and growth – with travel spending reaching a record high $157.3 billion....
On May 12th, the Department of Health Care Services announced $3.3 billion in grants from the first round of Proposition 1 Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Bond funding. These grants were awarded to counties, non-profits, for-profits, and...
On May 13, the House passed the bipartisan Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act (H.R. 2492) by voice vote. This bill would allow the U.S. Forest Service to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on federal forest lands without requiring a timber sale....
On May 14, the House Agriculture Committee voted 29-25 along party lines to advance its reconciliation bill. While the measure contains many impactful provisions, perhaps the most notable is the inclusion of reauthorization language for the Secure Rural Schools (SRS)...
On May 14, Governor Newsom unveiled the May Revisions to his proposed budget. As part of that presentation, he acknowledged and thanked Assembly Member Wicks and Senator Wiener for their efforts to undertake significant California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)...
On Wednesday, May 14th, Governor Newson released his Administration’s May Revision of the 2025-26 State Budget. This revision is the next step in the State’s budget negotiations with lawmakers, who must pass a budget by June 15 for the July 1 start of the 2025-2026...
This week, an RCRC delegation returned to Washington DC to meet with the Administration about issues of importance to our rural communities. This was a follow up to the visit earlier this year, which occurred in late February, while many transitions were still...
On May 7, USDA Secretary Rollins announced plans to expedite the distribution of $21 billion in Congressionally-appropriated disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers impacted by recent natural disasters. The rollout includes payments under the Emergency Livestock...
On May 6, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $23 million in grants through the Forest Service’s Hazardous Fuels Transportation Program to support the transport of low-value wood and dead trees from national forests to processing facilities. The program...
On May 6, Acting Associate Chief of the Forest Service, Christopher French, testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee during its legislative hearing on the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act, which aims to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk and improve forest...
RCRC, in coalition with our county association partners, supports Assembly Bill 1288. This measure, authored by Assembly Members Dawn Addis (D-Moro Bay) and Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim), would extend the time in which local health/environmental health departments may...
On Thursday April 30, Senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Angus King (I-ME) unveiled bipartisan legislation, the America the Beautiful Act, which would reauthorize and expand the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund. This measure would increase the...
This week, the House passed four Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions addressing environmental waivers and rules issued during the Biden administration, each tied to California-specific standards or policy decisions. All four joint resolutions now await Senate...
On April 28, the Assembly Natural Resources Committee heard and passed two bills that provide California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) relief for wildfire prevention projects. AB 1227 (Ellis, R-Bakersfield and Gallagher, R-East Nicolaus) creates a narrow CEQA...
Last week, three RCRC-sponsored measures advanced through policy committees. Senate Bill 607 (Wiener, D-San Francisco) advanced through the Senate Local Government Committee 5-1 (over the Chair’s opposition) on April 30, after passing the Senate Environmental Quality...
RCRC, in coalition with our county government partners UCC and CSAC, supports Assembly Bill 418, authored by Assembly Member Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City). This measure preserves the ability of California counties to utilize Chapter 8 sales of tax-defaulted properties....
On April 22, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced $340.6 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture disaster assistance to deliver relief to farmers, ranchers and rural communities impacted by natural disasters that have caused devastation across the...
Last week, Representatives Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and Seth Moulton (D-MA) led a letter with 26 other representatives opposing FEMA’s decision to terminate funding under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and urging the agency to...
In response to President Trump’s declaration of a National Energy Emergency, the U.S. Department of the Interior will implement emergency permitting procedures to accelerate the development of domestic energy resources and critical minerals. These measures are...
This week, the Senate announced a legislative package intended to increase affordability related to energy, housing, and workforce. Amendments to the energy bill, Senate Bill 254 (Becker, D-Menlo Park), make a number of changes to address permitting challenges and...
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