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...
In coalition with local government and public agency partners, RCRC opposes Assembly Bill 1383, authored by Assembly Member Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood). This measure would make several significant changes to the public employees’ retirement benefits, increasing...
The Wildlife Resources Committee, a subcommittee of the California Fish and Game Commission, is set to consider a proposal that would place coyotes under a bag limit and seasonal hunting restrictions. The proposal, which first surfaced earlier this year, was...
Join RCRC and the State Mining and Geology Board (SMGB) on May 5th at 10:00 AM for an informative webinar on the statewide effort to update local mining ordinances. In light of significant changes to state mining law in 2017, the SMGB is working with lead agencies to...
On April 8, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) introduced the Facilitating Increased Resilience, Environmental Weatherization and Lowered Liability (FIREWALL) Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at promoting community resilience to natural disasters...
On Wednesday, April 9, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to advance two nominees to the full Senate for consideration: Brian Nesvik, nominee for Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Jessica Kramer, nominee for EPA Assistant...
RCRC continues to advocate for passage of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Reauthorization bill, a top priority for rural counties in California and around the nation. The last SRS reauthorization was a 3-year extension in 2021 as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure...
RCRC, in coalition with local government partners, supports Assembly Bill 964, authored by Assembly Member Heather Hadwick (R-Alturas). This measure would take an important first step to reform the current process of reimbursement for and administration of state...
On Friday, April 4th, PG&E filed its comprehensive 2026-2028 Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP) with regulators at the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (Energy Safety). A WMP describes how the utility is constructing, maintaining, and operating its lines and...
Several RCRC-sponsored measures passed their first policy over the last two weeks while two others will be heard after the Legislature returns from Spring Break. AB 993 (Hadwick) expands eligibility for CalEPA’s Rural Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA)...
Before leaving for Spring Recess on Thursday, the State Legislature approved Assembly Bill 100. Commonly referred to as a “Budget Bill, Jr.” this measure amends a prior Budget Act; this has become a routine exercise every spring. This measure makes several program...
The RCRC Barbed Wire will be on hiatus next week, April 18th. The California State Legislature adjourned for Spring Recess on April 10th and will return on April 21st. The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate will also be on recess, as lawmakers work in their...
Over the past week, the Legislature acted on several budget-related bills, including two “budget bills junior” and a handful of budget trailer bills. The measures introduced and acted upon, collectively reflect an agreement between Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate...
On Thursday, June 13 (ahead of the constitutional deadline of June 15th to pass a balanced budget for the next fiscal year) the Legislature passed the Budget Act of 2024 (Assembly Bill 107), as well as two additional budget related bills, Senate Bill 154 (Suspension...
On May 14th, finance letter proposals were submitted by the Administration to the chairpersons of the budget committees in each house. These proposals provided additional insight and detail into Governor Newsom’s 2024 May Revision released on Friday, May 10,...
On Friday, May 10th, Governor Newson released his Administration’s May Revision of the 2024-25 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 2023-2024...
On Wednesday, January 10th, Governor Newson released his Administration’s 2024-25 Proposed Budget. This proposal begins the budget development process between the Governor and Legislature; with the onus on lawmakers who must pass a budget by June 15th for the July...
On April 2, U.S. Representatives David Valadao (R-Kings County) and Salud Carbajal (D-San Luis Obispo County) reintroduced the Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act. This bipartisan legislation would allow the U.S. Forest Service to approve the removal of hazardous trees...
On April 2, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Katherine MacGregor for the role of Deputy Secretary of the Interior. During the hearing, Ms. MacGregor discussed the federal government’s role in using public lands...
This week, Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Tina Smith (D-MN) reintroduced the Rural Housing Service Reform Act of 2025 (one-pager | full text). This measure is designed to modernize Rural Housing Service programs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) by...
Earlier this week, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced increased efforts to manage the state’s gray wolf population, which has become robust and increasingly problematic since the first wolves began migrating from Oregon in 2011. The...
RCRC is sponsoring Senate Bill 496, authored by Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield), This measure creates additional pathways for local agency fleets to receive necessary exemptions under the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Advanced Clean Fleets...
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