May 23, 2025
Advocacy Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees Act on Nearly 1,100 BillsIn 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 outcomes
May 23, 2025
Advocacy | Transportation California Congressmembers Reintroduce Farm-to-Market Road Improvement Act to Improve Central Valley RoadsOn 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
May 23, 2025
Advocacy | Water and Wildlife EPA Reinforces Alignment of Clean Water Act Section 401 with “Powering the Great American Comeback” InitiativeOn 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 position that States and Tribes must utilize Section 401 only for its statutory purpose – to protect water quality
May 23, 2025
Advocacy | Air Quality U.S. Senate Votes to Rescind Three California Clean Air Act Waivers, Governor Newsom RespondsOn 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
May 16, 2025
Advocacy | County Operations Visit California Releases 2024 Economic Impact Report and 2025 ForecastEach 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
May 16, 2025
Advocacy | Health Care and Social Services DHCS Announces First Round of Prop 1 BHCIP FundingOn 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
May 16, 2025
Advocacy | Forest and Public Lands Stewardship U.S. House Passes Fire Safe Electrical Corridors ActOn 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
May 16, 2025
Advocacy | Forest and Public Lands Stewardship House Agriculture Committee Advances SRS Reauthorization by way of Reconciliation BillOn 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) program. Until now, SRS reauthorization has been stalled in the House of Representatives, despite significant bipartisan support in the Senate
May 16, 2025
Advocacy | CEQA/NEPA Governor Newsom Seeks to Include RCRC-Sponsored CEQA Measure in Budget PackageOn 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) reform in AB 609 (Wicks) and SB 607 (Wiener)
May 16, 2025
Advocacy RCRC's Rural Rundown of the Governor's May Revision of the 2025-26 State BudgetOn 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 fiscal year. RCRC’s Rural Rundown captures highlights of the latest proposal as it relates to RCRC member counties