The Barbed Wire - October 8, 2021

RCRC 2021 Annual Meeting Highlights Key Issues for Rural Communities

RCRC wishes to thank the participants of the 2021 Annual Meeting, our generous sponsors, and the expert panelists who, together, made this a memorable event.

This year over 250 participants, including rural government representatives from RCRC’s 37 member counties, attended the Annual Meeting set over three days at the Portola Hotel and Spa at Monterey Bay.  The event featured a variety of experts discussing issues relevant to rural counties and critical matters facing California’s future. Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta served as the keynote speaker providing his observations on the dangers of a growing bipartisan divide as well as the need for rural counties to come together to advocate on important issues like catastrophic wildfire. Attendees were also treated to engaging panel discussions on the implications of California migration, the state and national political landscape, current challenges to California’s military, and the significance of water studies occurring in space and in California.  

“The RCRC Annual Meeting is an important event for local government leaders throughout California to engage in meaningful dialogue for the benefit of rural communities,” said RCRC Board Chair and Mono County Supervisor Stacy Corless. “We are thankful to the many amazing speakers and sponsors that brought such value to this year’s meeting in Monterey County.”

“It has been an honor to host RCRC’s Annual Meeting here in Monterey County,” said RCRC Board Delegate and Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez. “The event highlighted key issues of interest to rural communities, that have real and lasting impacts on the lives of all Californians. It was a privilege to create the space for conversation and debate while showcasing our county to leaders from across the state.”

During the annual favorite Auction Dinner and Basket Drawing, generosity was the currency of the evening as participants raised over $55,000 for select charities in the County of the Chair.

Mark your calendars for the next Annual Meeting scheduled for September 14-16, 2022 in Napa County! We hope to see you there.

California FAIR Plan Completes Latest Step to Provide Farm Insurance Policies

The California FAIR Plan, which provides fire insurance coverage of last resort for residential and commercial properties that cannot obtain traditional coverage from other providers, submitted its farm policy rate filing to the California Department of Insurance earlier this week to move closer to providing coverage for farm properties under the recently passed Senate Bill 11 (Rubio). 

Prior to passage of SB 11, farm properties were precluded from obtaining coverage under the FAIR Plan due to some statutory technicalities in the creation of the program. The RCRC-supported bill, sponsored by the California Farm Bureau Federatoin, cleared up the technicalities, allowing basic property coverage for farms that lose coverage due to high wildfire risk. 

Once CDI approves the rate filing, the FAIR Plan can make coverage available to farm property owners in high fire hazard risk areas across California. For more information, see the official press release here. 

Government Funding Continuing Resolution Includes Funding for Wildfire and Drought

On September 30, 2021, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government at current levels through December 3, 2021. Included in the CR was an emergency supplemental provision that delegated $28.6 billion to disaster relief efforts, including for “wildfire prevention and response and the consequences of drought.” For California, the bill provides $200 million to help western states experiencing severe drought as well as invests $238 million toward improving California’s water infrastructure. This includes $205 million for storage projects, $21 million for nine water recycling projects in California and $12 million for four desalination projects.  

CPUC Establishes an Enforcement Program For Frontier Communications

On Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) established a formal Enforcement Program to ensure Frontier Communications complies with the terms and requirements reached last year in order to exit bankruptcy. Namely, the obligations Frontier are largely tied to include timely restoring service outages, upgrading broadband service speeds, expanding network infrastructure, and increasing engagement with communities it serves. The Enforcement Program will provide CPUC staff with the tools to immediately intervene to address and correct any instances of non-compliance, such as conferring with settling parties of the bankruptcy proceeding to influence the appropriate remedy for violating terms of the Settlement Agreements, issuing formal investigations, pursuing civil or criminal action, or suspending, altering, revoking Frontier’s license/certification. Additionally, at the expense of Frontier, an independent compliance monitor will be selected by the CPUC to assist with reviewing Frontier’s compliance with its Settlement obligations. Ultimately, Frontier could face monetary penalties up to $14 million per month for each obligation they fail to meet. For more details on this Enforcement Program, see here. To stay up to date on Frontier’s fulfillment of their bankruptcy obligations, CPUC will post information here. 

Reconciliation Update

Last week, President Biden capped a hectic week of negotiations when he told House Democrats to hold off on a vote for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act until they reach agreement on a scaled-back reconciliation package. Notably, President Biden indicated that he would like to see the package’s spending total kept to no more than $2 trillion. The $2 trillion range is far less than what progressives have called for, but it is closer to the $1.5 trillion topline figure floated by Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia). Additionally, Democratic leaders briefly debated trying to adopt a rule that would have officially linked passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to the Reconciliation bill, but quickly decided against it, citing a lack of votes in favor of such a move. Nevertheless, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) sent a letter to House Democrats openly drawing such a connection last Friday. “Clearly, the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill will pass once we have agreement on the reconciliation bill,” she said.  Due to the delay in passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act — which contained a full 5-year reauthorization of federal highway and transit funding— Congress passed a short-term reauthorization of those programs through the end of October. 

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment Nominated

On September 24, 2021, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved by voice vote the nomination of Homer L. Wilkes to become Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment, a role that would have him overseeing the U.S. Forest Service. During his hearing in August, Wilkes pledged to work with U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore in “improving wildfire management and prevention, creating more markets for wood products, creating a safe inclusive work environment and building alliances that result in better management of public and private forest lands.”

Director of the Bureau of Land Management Confirmed

On September 30, 2021, the Senate confirmed Tracy Stone-Manning to be the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in a party-line vote (50-45), despite intense opposition from Republicans over “her connection to a decades-old tree spiking incident.” Stone-Manning is the first Senate-confirmed Director of BLM in five years and previously served as the head of Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality as well as worked as an aide for Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana) and former Governor of Montana Steve Bullock. BLM oversees grazing, logging and drilling on 245 million acres of public land predominantly in the West, including 15 million aces in California. 

Bill to Federally Legalize Marijuana Approved by Key House Committee

On September 30, 2021, the House Judiciary Committee passed the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act by a vote of 26-15, with all Democrats supporting the measure and all but two Republicans voting against it. The legislation would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, allow people with cannabis convictions to have their records expunged, and create a federal tax on marijuana with the revenue going to support community reinvestment and other programs. Notably, this bill brings to light various points of contention over which form of cannabis reform should be the priority for Congress -- this bill or the cannabis banking legislation which was introduced earlier as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Many legalization advocates want to see cannabis banking legislation become enacted, but some social activists argue that advancing the “incremental reform” first would benefit large marijuana businesses without addressing the harms of cannabis criminalization. Separately, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) are also leading the charge on a separate legalization bill in the Senate.  But weeks after a public comment period on a draft version of the proposal closed, finalized text has yet to be formally filed—and it is far from certain that Senator Schumer will be able to find enough votes to advance the comprehensive reform through.

Opportunity for Input on CalPERS Investment Portfolio in Upcoming Webinar

CalPERS is in the midst of reviewing the discount rate - the target rate of return for investment portfolios - and the factors that go into this momentous decision. RCRC and CSAC hosted a webinar on September 23, 2021, presenting counties with an update and opportunity to engage in discussion with the CalPERS Deputy Chief Actuary on the discount rate. The PowerPoint slides shared on that webinar are available here for informational purposes and the webinar video will be shared on the RCRC website in the near future. 

The CalPERS Board has narrowed down the potential discount rates to 6.5, 6.8 and 7.0%, and is evaluating various options for investment portfolios that can produce those expected returns, with the aim of making a final decision at their November meeting. Prior to this decision, CalPERS is hosting a webinar opportunity to inform stakeholders of the Asset Liability Management progress on their course to selecting the discount rate. This webinar will help inform stakeholders regarding CalPERS’ approach and what it means for members and employers of the System.

At stake are the costs that county employers pay to fund retirement benefits, direct employee contribution increases from paychecks, and the long-term stability of the retirement system itself.  This is an important and consequential time for CalPERS and for our counties. Join in the FREE webinar on October 13, 2021 at 1:00 PM to learn and engage in the discussion. You must register in advance to attend this webinar. Register today!

BULLETIN BOARD

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

GO-Biz Announces Cannabis Equity Grants Available for Eligible Local Jurisdictions

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) has announced $35 million is available in FY 2021-22 for eligible cities and counties to promote equity and eliminate barriers to populations and communities that were disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition. Local jurisdictions can be awarded up to $75,000 for assistance on cannabis equity program development, or up to $7 million for cannabis equity program applicants and licensees to gain entry to the state’s regulated cannabis marketplace. Grant applications must be received by December 13, 2021 and will be awarded no later than March 15, 2022. For more information on this grant and how to apply, see here. 
 

Career Opportunity - Tehama County Seeks Chief Administrator

Tehama County is seeking a Chief Administrator who will proactively and energetically serve as a leader in carrying out Board policies, and who will be creative in bringing forth options to solve problems. The position closes November 30, 2021 at 5 p.m. View the recruitment flyer, and for more information click here.

California Mitigation Summit - Save the Date

On November 3, 2021, the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) Hazard Mitigation Policy Summit will bring together state, federal, and local emergency managers, and policy makers to discuss the current status of hazard mitigation policy and action in California, and the critical next steps we need to take together in ensuring a safer future for all of California. Featured speakers include Ryan Buras, Cal OES Deputy Director for Recovery; and Jennifer Hogan, State Hazard Mitigation Officer.

This Summit will be held virtually via Zoom. Registration information is not yet available. For updated agenda and registration information, please continue to visit the Cal OES, Mitigation Planning website.

California Air Resources Board Offers Webinars on Regulatory Compliance Training

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is offering a variety of training webinars for regulatory compliance on issues affecting public fleets such as Off-Road Regulations, Truck and Bus Rules, and Diesel Truck Rules. 

The In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleets Regulation (Off-Road Regulation) requires fleet owners to report to CARB, label their off-road vehicles, and reduce emissions from older equipment.  This course provides detailed information to help fleet owners understand and comply with the Off-Road Regulation: 

Date:        October 14, 2021
Time:        1:00 p.m.
Webinar:   Register

Date:        December 9, 2021
Time:        1:00 p.m.
Webinar:   Register

The Compliance Overview: Truck & Bus Rule, Off-Road Regulation, and Portable Equipment course include the following topics:

Truck and Bus Regulation:

• Regulation Applicability
• Engine Model Year Schedule
• Exemptions & Extensions
• How to Report for Regulation Flexibilities
• Broker and Dispatcher Requirements
• DMV Registration

Periodic Smoke Inspection Program (PSIP):

• Regulation Applicability
• Program Updates

Advanced Clean Truck (ACT)

• Manufacturers ZEV Sales Requirements
• One-Time Reporting
• Future ZEV Rules

In-Use Off-Road Diesel Vehicle Regulation:

• Regulation Applicability
• Requirements Currently in Effect
• Future Compliance Deadlines

Portable Equipment Registration Program (PERP) & Airborne Toxic Control Measure (ATCM):

• PERP Eligibility
• Program Requirements
• ATCM Program & Updates
• Enforcement & Inspections

Date:        December 16, 2021
Time:        1:00 p.m.
Webinar:   Register

CARB is also offering a new course to provide an overview of several new programs and they associated regulations that will help the state reach carbon neutrality:

Date:        October 12, 2021
Time:        1:00 p.m.
Webinar:   Register

Date:        October 26, 2021
Time:        1:00 p.m.
Webinar:   Register

Date:        November 11, 2021
Time:        1:00 p.m.
Webinar:   Register

FEMA Announces Application Period for 2021 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will begin accepting applications on September 30, 2021 for $1.16 billion in FY 2021 Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants, providing localities the opportunity to receive Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) pre-disaster mitigation grants. These grants recognize the growing hazards of extreme weather events and the need for risk mitigation activities to promote climate adaptation and resilience. The financial assistance through the BRIC program may fund state and local government pre-disaster capability and capacity building activities, mitigation projects, and cover management costs.

FEMA informational webinars can be accessed here, and more information can be viewed here or at www.grants.gov. The FEMA application period closes on January 28, 2022. 

Access the State Grants Portal for a Multitude of Funding Opportunities

Billions of dollars are up for grabs to public agencies and other entities, including tribes and businesses. Grant seekers can access a centralized portal of grant and loan opportunities here, or sign up to receive new grant opportunities delivered straight to your inbox. 

KEEPING UP

Kimberly McCoy Wade, of Davis, has been appointed Senior Advisor on Aging, Disability and Alzheimer’s for the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. McCoy Wade has been Director of the California Department of Aging since 2019. She was CalFresh and Nutrition Branch Chief at the California Department of Social Services from 2015 to 2019, a Public Policy and Philanthropy Consultant from 2009 to 2015 and Campaign Manager for Together for California’s Future in 2008. She was Executive Director of the California Association of Food Banks from 2006 to 2008, where she was Co-Director from 2004 to 2006. McCoy Wade was Director of Education and Advocacy for Food Banks of Northern California from 2001 to 2003, Campaign Manager for the Alliance for Justice in 2000 and Senior Domestic Policy Analyst for Bread for the World from 1998 to 1999. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from the New York University School of Law. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $180,000. McCoy Wade is a Democrat.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Information related to the current status of legislation impacting California’s rural counties.