The Barbed Wire - March 13, 2020

March 13, 2020
Update on Governor's Proposal to Address Homelessness
Bill of the Week: Assembly Bill 2166 (Kiley) – Personal Income Tax: Fire Insurance Premiums
Long-Awaited California Department of Food and Agriculture Rulemaking Underway to Allocate Revenues to County Fairs
Governor’s Office of Emergency Services Community Power Resiliency Budget Change Proposal
California Public Utilities Commission Releases Proposal on Communication Service Provider Resiliency and Disaster Response Requirements
Vehicle Miles Traveled Fee
Rural Digital Divide
Rural Broadband
BULLETIN BOARD
KEEPING UP
LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY UPDATE

Update on Governor's Proposal to Address Homelessness

Following RCRC's letter to the Governor in February expressing the organization’s willingness to partner with the Administration to address the homelessness crisis, RCRC recently released a proposal requesting revisions to the Governor's proposed Budget item that creates a new $750 million homelessness grant fund.   

Specifically, RCRC’s proposal includes: 25 percent of the total fund to be set aside for small counties; a minimum funding amount of $1.5 million for jurisdictions with a population of less than 600,000; and, that eligible uses, and commensurate accountability measures, take into consideration the unique challenges of addressing homelessness in rural counties. 

In January, the Governor’s proposed Budget for 2020-21 included the creation of a new funding program, administered by the California Department of Social Services, to provide flexible funding for local efforts in reducing homelessness.  Under the Governor's proposal, funding would be allocated to "regional administrators" based on the point-in-time count.  The Administration's proposal can be found here.

Bill of the Week: Assembly Bill 2166 (Kiley) – Personal Income Tax: Fire Insurance Premiums

RCRC has lent its support to Assembly Bill 2166, authored by Assembly Member Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin).  AB 2166 would allow a tax credit to reflect the premium increases that principle homeowners have witnessed during/after 2016. 

AB 2166 would provide tax credits in tax years between January 2020 and before January 1, 2026.  RCRC believes that providing tax credits to qualified property owners/taxpayers could alleviate some of the financial burden they experience simply for residing in wildfire-risk areas. 

AB 2166 is set to be heard in the Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee on Monday, March 16th.  RCRC’s support letter can be accessed here.  Staci Heaton, RCRC Regulatory Affairs Advocate, can be reached at (916) 447-4806 or sheaton@rcrcnet.org.

Long-Awaited California Department of Food and Agriculture Rulemaking Underway to Allocate Revenues to County Fairs

After years of inadequate funding, many rural fairs and fairgrounds were on the brink of elimination and in need of a long-term revenue stream. In 2017, RCRC supported Assembly Bill 1499 by Assembly Member Adam Gray to dedicate a portion of the State’s share of sales and use tax collected from transactions at fairgrounds to support the network of (qualifying) fairs.  

To date, over $20 million has been collected under this Act, but has yet to be dispersed. On February 1, 2020 the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) re-opened the 45-day public comment period on the formal rulemaking on how these revenues to qualified fairs and fairgrounds, further delaying the process in getting these much-needed dollars out the door. RCRC submitted comments in January seeking to ensure that CDFA expedite this much needed funding and fulfill the intent of AB 1499 to fund operational needs, including deferred maintenance, at our state- and county owned fairgrounds.

RCRC’s comment letter can be found here.   Counties wishing to comment to CDFA are encouraged to do so by Monday, March 16, 2020.  For more information on this rulemaking, see here.

Governor’s Office of Emergency Services Community Power Resiliency Budget Change Proposal

Last Friday, RCRC sent letters to the Assembly and Senate Budget Subcommittees in support of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) Community Power Resiliency Budget Change Proposal (BCP) (0690-049-BCP-2020-GB).  

Specifically, RCRC supports the BCP of $50 million to “bolster community resiliency…in response to investor-owned utilities expanded use of power shutoff events.”  RCRC believes there are many critical facilities and infrastructure that need assistance to ensure their continued operation during a power outage.  RCRC also believes that additional facilities, like state fairgrounds, county elections offices, and food storage reserves play crucial roles in local resiliency efforts.  

While RCRC fully supports establishing a $50 million community resiliency grant program, effectiveness of the BCP will be highly dependent on whether the program is structured correctly.  For outlined details, RCRC’s letter can be accessed here

California Public Utilities Commission Releases Proposal on Communication Service Provider Resiliency and Disaster Response Requirements

On March 6th, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) released a proposal in the Emergency Disaster Relief Program Rulemaking Proceeding for maintaining resilient and dependable communications networks to help first responders and the public alike in being able to reliably communicate during de-energization events (also known as public safety power shutoffs or PSPS) or during emergencies such as wildfires. 

RCRC is a party to this proceeding and will be providing feedback by the CPUC’s March 27th deadline. The proposal seeks to analyze sufficient backup power capabilities in order for communication service providers to maintain a minimum level of service. The CPUC intends to establish rules for communication resiliency prior to the upcoming fire season this summer.

The CPUC’s proposal can be found here. Public comments can also be made on this proposal here.

Vehicle Miles Traveled Fee

Last week, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, stated that he has ruled out a vehicle miles traveled fee on trucks as a way of funding the Senate's surface transportation bill. This announcement came after Chairman Grassley “tested the concept among members and did not find support for a vehicle mileage tax."  Trucking groups had threatened to kill any bill that relied on what some were calling a "truck tax."  

Congress continues to have conversations to find the best method to pay for the surface transportation reauthorization that will expire in October.  Recently, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-Missouri) opined that everything is on the table to pay for infrastructure: “Public-private partnerships, fuel taxes, vehicle-miles-traveled fees, even tolling.”  Despite this positive outlook, Senator Mike Braun (R-Indiana) has advised county elected officials to "consider hedging your bets" in terms of getting any surface transportation bill done this year beyond a reauthorization.

Rural Digital Divide

The mounting number of school closures amid the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. have begun to expose major gaps between urban and rural students in terms of access to technology and the internet. Geoffrey Starks, an Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner, emphasized during a Tuesday Senate Appropriations hearing the important role the FCC could play in stemming the coronavirus outbreaks and keeping communities forced to quarantine connected to the outside world. Some examples of things the FCC could do include lending hotspots to schools and libraries, setting up mobile hotspots in low-income neighborhoods and establishing temporary access to FCC's Lifeline Program, which provides low-income families with telephone service. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), sent a letter last week to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai asking him to deploy these emergency resources to allow for temporary connectivity, especially in low-income communities where internet access is harder to come by.

Rural Broadband

On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel were on Capitol Hill to testify on the agency's FY 2021 funding request to Congress.  Both were faced with tough questions regarding the $16 billion in broadband subsidies to be distributed through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and the flawed mapping being used to determine where they are distributed.  

Commissioner Rosenworcel responded to the criticism that radically improved maps could be on the way in "between three and six months” and that afterwards the agency would "be completely done" fixing them. 

The White House suggested that President Trump is ready to sign the Broadband DATA Act (S.1822) which passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Tuesday after agreeing to House amendments. This bill passed the Senate initially in December 2019 and the House last week. It includes initiatives from two bipartisan House efforts to improve broadband mapping and the accuracy of data collected, including:

 

  • H.R. 4229, the “Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act” or the “Broadband DATA Act,” introduced by Energy and Commerce Representative Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Representative Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa): This legislation requires the FCC to issue new rules to require the collection and dissemination of granular broadband availability data and to establish a process to verify the accuracy of such data, and more.
  • H.R. 4227, the “Mapping Accuracy Promotion Services Act” or the “MAPS Act,” introduced by Energy and Commerce Representative Billy Long (R-Missouri) and Representative A. Donald McEachin (D-Virginia), this legislation specifies that it is unlawful for a person to willfully, knowingly, or recklessly submit inaccurate broadband service data.

BULLETIN BOARD

Announcements regarding hearings, grants, and public comment notices of importance to California's rural counties.

Western Interstate Region Conference Coming to California

Join RCRC, Mariposa County, and the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) for the 2020 National Association of Counties’ (NACo) Western Interstate Region (WIR) Conference at Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite!  Mariposa County Supervisor Kevin Cann serves as WIR President, and is looking forward to hosting his colleagues from the 15 western states in Mariposa County.  Read More…

CPUC Seeks Volunteers for Home Internet Study

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in partnership with the Geographical Information Center (GIC) at the California State University, Chico, and the California State University, Monterey Bay, are seeking volunteers to take part in the first statewide effort to collect quality measurements of local broadband speeds utilizing the new CalSPEED Home Measurement Device.

The CPUC will use data gathered to provide critical information to state policymakers interested in broadband issues, such as universal service and the closing the digital divide. This information can also be utilized to provide money saving information to consumers. 

Interested volunteers can sign up by completing a survey, which can be accessed here

Fish and Game Commission Proposes Public Use Changes to Wildlife Areas, Public Lands, and Ecological Reserves

The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) is a Gubernatorially-appointed body with regulatory authority over the state’s public lands and wildlife conservation.  In January, the Commission released a regulatory proposal to make public use changes to California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s lands, including designating recently acquired lands and removing properties the Department no longer possesses or manages.   

The proposal includes designating one property as a wildlife area, seven properties as ecological reserves, and making other site-specific changes that generally impact public access and/or public safety on these managed lands in various RCRC member counties, including Inyo, Mono, San Luis Obispo, Napa and Sonoma counties.

The Commission held one public hearing on this proposal in February, and will hold another at its April 16th hearing at 8am in Sacramento to accept comments orally or in writing.

KEEPING UP

Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California's rural counties.

Joseph Countryman, 76, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, where he has served since 2012. Countryman has been an independent engineering consultant since 2011. He was a civil engineer at MBK Engineers from 1987 to 2010. Countryman was chief of the Civil Design Branch at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1983 to 1987, where he was an engineer from 1966 to 1983. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50,497. Countryman is a Democrat.

Timothy Ramirez, 52, of Albany, has been reappointed to the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, where he has served since 2012. Ramirez has been natural resources and lands management division manager at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission since 2005. He was senior advisor at the California Bay-Delta Authority from 2003 to 2005.  Ramirez was assistant secretary for water policy and science at the California Resources Agency from 1999 to 2003. He is a member of the American Fisheries Society and the American Geophysical Union. Ramirez earned a Master of Science degree in civil engineering, water resources and environmental engineering and a Master of Arts degree in urban planning, environmental analysis and policy from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $50,497. Ramirez is a Democrat.

LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY UPDATE

RCRC members are encouraged to share letters addressed to state and federal representatives and regulatory bodies with RCRC’s Government Affairs staff.  Click “Read More” to access information related to the current status of legislation and regulations impacting California’s rural counties.

 

Assembly Bill 352 (Garcia): Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water.  Assembly Bill 352 enacts the Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation, and Flood Protection Bond Act of 2020, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,920,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a wildlife prevention, safe drinking water, drought preparation, and flood protection program. Status: AB 352 awaits consideration in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. RCRC Status: Watch

Assembly Bill 1080 (Gonzalez)/Senate Bill 54 (Allen): Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction. Assembly Bill 1080/SB 54 requires the state to reduce the waste associated with single use packaging and products 75 percent by 2030, requires the state to set standards for what is considered recyclable and compostable, and promotes the development of in-state manufacturing that uses recycled materials. Status: AB 1080 and SB 54 awaits consideration in the Senate and Assembly; respectively (Inactive File). RCRC Status: Support

Assembly Bill 1509 (Mullin): Solid Waste: Lithium Ion Batteries: Assembly Bill 1509 establishes the Lithium Ion Battery Recycling Program in the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. It requires a covered entity to provide a list of covered products that it sells or offers for sale in the state to the department and the total number of each covered product it sold in the state during the prior year, and to update those lists annually. Status: AB 1509 awaits consideration in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. RCRC Status: Support in Concept

Assembly Bill 1840 (Ting): Recycling: Reports: Assembly Bill 1840 requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to make recommendations to the Legislature on how to improve the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act to increase recycling of beverage container materials within the state and increase consumer redemption convenience. Status: AB 1840 awaits consideration from the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Assembly Bill 1841 (Salas): District Agricultural Associations: Fiscal Audits. Assembly Bill 1841 would require district agricultural associations to annually report the salary information of their employees and requires the chief executive officer and each director of a district agricultural association to attend ethics and conflict-of-interest training classes each year. Status: AB 1841 awaits consideration from the Assembly Agriculture Committee. RCRC Position: Watch

Assembly Bill 1847 (Levine): Electrical Corporations: Public Administrator: Assembly Bill 1847 authorizes the Public Utilities Commission, if the commission adopts a decision that includes findings that an electrical corporation is not complying with state law or rules, regulations, or other directives from the commission, to appoint a public administrator to the electrical corporation up to 180 days. Vests the public administrator with oversight authority over the electrical corporation's activities that impact public safety. Status: AB 1847 awaits consideration from the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Watch

Assembly Bill 1907 (Santiago): California Environmental Quality Act: Shelters: Assembly Bill 1907 Exempts from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act certain activities approved by or carried out by a public agency in furtherance of providing emergency shelters, supportive housing, or affordable housing. Status: AB 1907 awaits consideration from the Assembly Natural Resources and Housing and Community Committee. RCRC Status: Support

Assembly Bill 1915 (Chu): Electrical Corporations: Deenergization Events: Assembly Bill 1915 requires the PUC to establish rules under which PSPS events can be undertaken and to do a post-event review of the duration and geographic range of an event.  If the utility failed to comply with the rules and customers incurred losses, the PUC shall order the utility to pay claims for losses. Status: AB 1915 awaits consideration by the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Support

Assembly Bill 1916 (Chu): Deenergization Events: Notification: Languages:  Assembly Bill 1916 requires utilities to provide PSPS notifications in various languages, to survey customers to determine language preference and determine medical needs that require accommodation during a PSPS event, and to mitigate PSPS impacts for customers who rely on medical equipment or who have a medical condition that puts them at greater risk during a PSPS event. Status: AB 1916 awaits consideration by the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Support

Assembly Bill 1924 (Grayson): Housing Development: Fees: Assembly Bill 1924 Requires that a fee levied or imposed on a housing development project by a local agency be proportionate to the square footage of the proposed unit or units. Status: AB 1924 awaits consideration in the Assembly Local Government, Housing and Community Development Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Assembly Bill 1936 (Rodriguez): Price Gouging: Public Safety Power Shutoffs: Assembly Bill 1936 clarifies that the state’s anti-price gouging laws apply upon the announcement of a public safety power shutoff. Status: AB 1936 awaits consideration from the Assembly Appropriations Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Assembly Bill 1958 (Cooper): State Plan of Flood Control: Facilities: Assembly Bill 1958 would protect critical flood protection infrastructure by bolstering the maintenance of levees throughout California. Status: AB 1958 awaits consideration from the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. RCRC Status: Support

Assembly Bill 2033 (Wood): Deenergization: Spoilage Claims: Assembly Bill 2033 requires an electrical corporation that engages in a public safety power shutoff to compensate a customer for any qualified claim for spoilage of food or medication if the customer experienced an interruption in electrical service for greater than 8 hours and received less than 24 hours’ notice of the interruption. Status: AB 2033 awaits consideration in the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Support

Assembly Bill 2163 (Rivas): Rural Broadband and Emergency Infrastructure Grant Act: Assembly Bill 2163 establishes the Rural Broadband and Emergency Infrastructure Grant Act to ensure that all state fairgrounds are equipped with adequate broadband and telecommunications infrastructure to support local, regional, and state emergency and disaster response personnel and systems. Status: AB 2163 awaits consideration in the Assembly Communications, Conveyance and Agriculture Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Assembly Bill 2168 (McCarty, Chiu, Reyes): Planning and Zoning: Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Permit Application Approval: Assembly Bill 2168 would require an application to install an electric vehicle (EV) charging station to be deemed complete within 5 business days if the municipality has not determined the application to be incomplete. Deems an EV charging application approved within 15 business days if the local building official has not made findings that the proposed installation could have adverse impacts. This is an urgency measure and would take effect immediately. Status: AB 2168 awaits consideration in the Assembly Local Government Committee. RCRC Status: Oppose

Assembly Bill 2173 (Dahle): Fairgrounds: National or State Emergency: Assembly Bill 2173 Declares the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation related to fairgrounds during a national emergency or state of emergency. Status: AB 2173 has been recently introduced and awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Watch

Assembly Bill 2178 (Levine): Emergency Services: Assembly Bill 2178 adds deenergization events to the list of events for which a state or local emergency can be declared under the Emergency Services Act. Status: AB 2178 awaits consideration in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Assembly Bill 2323 (Friedman): California Environmental Quality Act: Exemption: Assembly Bill 2323 repeals a CEQA exemption for a residential development project that is undertaken to implement and is consistent with a specific plan for which an EIR has been certified. Status: AB 2323 awaits consideration in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Status: Oppose

Assembly Bill 2355 (Bonta): Employment Discrimination: Medical Cannabis: Assembly Bill 2355 makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer or other entity to refuse to hire or employ a person, to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against an employee, because of the employee's status as a qualified patient, or as a person with an identification card, for purposes of medical cannabis, subject to certain exceptions. Status: AB 2355 awaits consideration in the Assembly Labor, Employment and Judiciary Committee. RCRC Status: Oppose

Assembly 2452 (Garcia): State Auditor: Audits: High Risk Local Government: Assembly Bill 2452 allows the State Auditor to conduct audits of association of local agencies (i.e. RCRC or the League of California Cities) if the State Auditor identifies one of these municipal associations as being at high risk for the potential of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement or that has major challenges associated with its economy, efficiency, or effectiveness.  Status: AB 2452 awaits consideration in the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee. RCRC Status: Oppose

Assembly Bill 2456 (Ting): Cannabis: Model Local Ordinance: Assembly Bill 2456 requires the Bureau of Cannabis Control to develop a model local ordinance, and to make the model local ordinance publicly available on its internet website. Status: AB 2456 has been recently introduced and awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Watch

Assembly Bill 2459 (Bigelow): Alcoholic Beverage Licenses: County of Mariposa: Assembly Bill 2459 would authorize the Alcoholic Beverage Control to issue up to 10 additional new original on‑sale alcoholic beverage licenses to bona fide public eating places in Mariposa County that have a seating capacity for 50 or more persons.  Status: AB 2459 awaits consideration in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee.  RCRC Status: Support

Assembly Bill 2539 (Bigelow): Electrical Corporations: Deenergization Events: Assembly Bill 2539 requires electrical corporations to work with local elections officials and mitigate the impact pf Public Safety Power Shutoff events on elections. Status: AB 2539 awaits consideration in the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee. RCRC Status: Support/Sponsor

Assembly Bill 2612 (Maienschein): Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Recycling: Appropriation Assembly Bill 2612 annually appropriates $200 million to fund in-state solid and organic waste recycling programs to reach the state’s environmental goals. Status: AB 2612 awaits consideration in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Status: Support/Sponsor

Assembly Bill 2642 (Salas): Multi-benefit Land Conversion Incentive Program: Assembly Bill 2642 requires the Department of Conservation to establish and administer a program named the Multi-benefit Land Conversion Incentive Program for purposes of providing grants to groundwater sustainability agencies, or other specified entities designated by groundwater sustainability agencies, for the development or implementation of local programs supporting or facilitating multi-benefit land conversion at the basin scale. Status: AB 2642 has been recently introduced and awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status: Pending

Assembly Bill 2904 (Frazier): Central Valley Flood Protection Board: Reports: Assembly Bill 2904 requires the Department of Water Resources to provide written notice to each landowner whose property is determined to be entirely or partially within a levee flood protection zone on or before September 5 of each subsequent year. Status: AB 2904 awaits consideration in the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committees. RCRC Status: Pending

Assembly Bill 3141 (Friedman): Retail Plastics Recycling Program: Plastic Bags: Assembly Bill 3141 requires online retailers to offer one of several types of opportunities for consumers to recycle plastic packaging and plastic shipping envelopes. Status: AB 3141 awaits consideration in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. RCRC Status: Watch

Senate Bill 45 (Allen): Wildfire, Drought, and Flood Protection Bond Act 2020. Senate Bill 45 enacts the Wildfire, Drought, and Flood Protection Bond Act of 2020, which, if approved by voters, authorizes the issuance of bonds to finance projects to restore fire damaged areas, reduce wildfire risk, create healthy forests and watersheds, reduce climate impacts on urban areas and vulnerable populations, protect water supply and water quality, protect rivers, lakes and streams, reduce flood risk, protect fish and wildlife from climate impacts, and protect coastal lands and resources. Status: SB 45 has passed out from the Senate and awaits consideration from the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support

Senate Bill 182 (Beth Jackson): Local Government: Planning and Zoning: Wildfires: SB 182 creates a structure of increased fire risk strategies to be used by local governments to plan and permit for housing development in a VHFRA, defined as state, local and locally designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ). This bill adds reducing development pressure in VHFRA as an objective of the Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) plan through considering allocating a lower portion of housing to a jurisdiction, if appropriate, due to the risk to life and safety to catastrophic wildfire. Status: SB 182 has passed out of the Senate and awaits consideration in the Assembly. RCRC Status:  Support

Senate Bill 378 (Wiener): Electrical Corporations: Deenergization Events: Senate Bill 378 makes a number of changes to increase disclosure of electrical system infrastructure needs and to improve the implementation of PSPS events, evaluate their impacts, and compensate individuals and local governments for associated losses.  The bill also incentivizes well-constructed, surgical PSPS events that are no larger than necessary to avoid wildfire risk. Status: SB 378 has passed out from the Senate and awaits consideration from the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support

Senate Bill 431 (McGuire): Mobile Telephony Service Base Transceiver Station Tower:  Senate Bill 431 requires the commission, in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services, to develop and implement performance reliability standards for all mobile telephony service base transceiver station towers, commonly known as "cell towers," located within a commission-designated Tier 2 or Tier 3 High Fire Threat District. Status: SB 431 awaits consideration in the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Senate Bill 596 (Stern): In-home Supportive Services: Senate Bill 596 requires a county human services agency to inform each applicant for benefits under the IHSS program that the applicant may be eligible to receive that higher energy allowance and any advanced notifications that may be provided by a utility in an emergency. Status: SB 596 has passed out from the Senate and awaits consideration from the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support

Senate Bill 753 (Stern): Public Social Services: Emergency Notification: Senate Bill 753 permits elderly or disabled clients telephone numbers and e-mail addresses to be disclosed to the first responder and would specifically identify a public safety power shut-off as a public safety emergency. Status: SB 753 has passed out from the Senate and awaits consideration from the Assembly. RCRC Status: Support

Senate Bill 794 (Beth-Jackson): Emergency Services: Telecommunications: Senate Bill 794 expands provisions authorizing a city to enter into an agreement to access contact information of resident accountholders through the records of a public utility; expands the types of public utilities that can enter into agreements by defining public utility ton include a local publicly owned electric utility, mobile telephony service, a public water agency and an agency responsible for solid waste or recycling services. Status: SB 794 is set for hearing in the Senate Governmental Organization Committee 03/24/2020. RCRC Status: Pending

Senate Bill 799 (Dodd): Local Agency Services: Contracts: Napa & San Bernardino: Senate Bill 799 extends the sunset date for a pilot program under the Cortese Knox Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act in the Counties of Napa and San Bernardino. Status: SB 799 awaits consideration from the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.  RCRC Status: Watch

Senate Bill 801 (Glazer): Electrical Corporations: Wildfire Mitigation Plans: Senate Bill 801 Requires an electrical corporation to deploy backup electrical resources or provide financial assistance for backup electrical resources to a customer receiving a medical baseline allowance, if the customer meets specified conditions. Status: SB 801 awaits consideration from the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Senate Bill 807 (Nielson): Reclamation District No. 108: Hydroelectric Power: Senate Bill 807 Authorizes Reclamation District No. 108 to continue to exercise hydroelectric power authority until after January 1, 2021. Status: SB 807 awaits consideration from the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. RCRC Status: Support

Senate Bill 862 (Dodd): Planned Power Outage: Public Safety: Senate Bill 862 clarifies that public safety power shutoffs are included in the California Emergency Services Act and expands the universe of medically sensitive individuals for whom electrical corporations must mitigate public safety power shutoff event impacts and establishes minimum requirements for the locations, hours of operation and services provided by a Community Resource Center. Status: SB 862 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications. RCRC Status: Support

Senate Bill 917 (Wiener): Consumer Energy and Conservation Financing Authority: Senate Bill 917 renames the California Consumer Power and Conservation Financing Authority the California Consumer Energy and Conservation Financing Authority it to acquire, by eminent domain, the assets or ownership of PG&E and to break up the service territory if others want to take over the provisions of electricity in their over areas. Status: SB 917 awaits consideration in the Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications, Governance and Finance and Judiciary Committees. RCRC Status: Pending 

Senate Bill 955 (Portantino): Recreational and Organizational Camps: Senate Bill 955 defines recreational camp and requires each camp to camp to obtain a license from the local agency of the jurisdiction where the camp is located before operating a camp. Status: SB 955 is set for hearing on 03/25/2020 in the Senate Health Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Senate Bill 971 (Hertzberg): Small Water Supplier and Countywide Water Shortages: Senate Bill 971 requires a small water supplier to prepare and adopt a small water supplier water shortage contingency plan that consists of specified elements. Requires a small water supplier with a specified number of service connections to take specified actions related to water shortage planning and response. Requires small water suppliers to provide to the public and to report, the plan and specified water shortage planning information. Status: SB 971 awaits consideration in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Senate Bill 974 (Hurtado): California Environmental Quality Act: Water Systems: Senate Bill 974 exempts from CEQA certain projects that benefit a small community water system that primarily serves one or more disadvantaged communities or that benefit a non-transient noncommunity water system that serves a school that serves one or more disadvantaged communities, by improving the small community water system's or non-transient noncommunity water system's water quality, water supply, or water supply reliability, or by encouraging water conservation. Status: SB 974 awaits consideration in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Senate Bill 1099 (Dodd): Emergency Backup Generators: Critical Facilities: Senate Bill 1099 requires air districts to adopt a rule, or revise its existing rules, to allow critical facilities with a permitted emergency backup generator to use that emergency backup generator during a deenergization event or other loss of power, and to test and maintain that emergency backup generator without having that usage, testing, or maintenance count toward that emergency backup generator's time limitation on actual usage and routine testing and maintenance. Status: SB 1099 has been recently introduced and awaits consideration in the Senate. RCRC Status: Support

Senate Bill 1191 (Dahle): Organic Waste: Reduction Goals: Local Jurisdictions: Senate Bill 1191 provides local governments with flexibility in complying with recently adopted organic waste laws. Status: SB 1191 awaits consideration in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. RCRC Status: Support/Sponsor

Senate Bill 1280 (Monning):State Water Resources Control Board: Senate Bill 1280 authorizes the State Water Resources Control Board to order consolidation between a receiving water system and an at-risk water system upon receipts of a petition that substantially conforms to the above-referenced policy adopted by the state board and that is either approved by the water system's governing body or signed by at least 30% of the households served by the water system. Status: SB 1280 awaits consideration in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. RCRC Status: Pending

Senate Bill 1363 (Allen): Comprehensive Strategy: Senate Bill 1363 requires the state to set GHG and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) targets for regional transportation plans. Status: SB 1280 has been recently introduced and awaits consideration in the Senate. RCRC Status: Watch