Jun 06, 2025
Advocacy | County Operations Bill of the Week: Assembly Bill 1337 (Ward) - Information Practices Act of 1977RCRC, along with a coalition of other public agency stakeholders, strongly opposes Assembly Bill 1337, authored by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego). This measure would impose significant costs and liability on state and local governments and jeopardize essential service delivery
Jun 06, 2025
Advocacy | Transportation Transportation Secretary Releases Report Finding No Viable Path Forward for California High-Speed Rail ProjectOne June 4, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy released the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Compliance Review Report, which found that the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA)’s high speed rail project is in default of the terms of its federal grant awards. The detailed report
May 30, 2025
Advocacy | Air Quality RCRC Recommends Larger GGRF Investments to Address Significant Challenges Faced by Rural CommunitiesOn May 29th, RCRC submitted comments to the Senate Budget Committee regarding proposed allocations in the reauthorization of the Cap-and-Trade program. The funding provided by the program thus far has been vital to rural communities, while at the same time
May 30, 2025
Advocacy | Agriculture Bill of the Week: AB 1156 (Wicks) Williamson Act: Solar-Use EasementsAssembly Bill 1156, authored by Assembly Member Buffy Wicks (D, Oakland), seeks to update a law allowing solar use easements on Williamson Act lands, thereby putting unproductive farmland to use for renewable energy generation. RCRC has removed its opposition to the bill and now supports the measure
May 30, 2025
Advocacy | Health Care and Social Services $800 Million Available in New Prop 1 GrantsOn May 30th, the Department of Health Care Services announced the opening of the application for grants for the second round of Proposition 1 Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Bond funding. The Unmet Needs Request for Applications (RFA) represents the final round
May 30, 2025
Advocacy Congressional Recess and What Lies AheadBefore leaving Washington D.C. for Memorial Day recess, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget reconciliation package by a vote of 215-214. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it will face additional scrutiny when Congress returns next week
May 30, 2025
Advocacy Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations UpdateLast 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
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