Feb 21, 2025

Advocacy   |   County Operations Bill of the Week: Assembly Bill 632 (Hart) – Local Ordinances: Administrative Fines or Penalties

RCRC is sponsoring Assembly Bill 632, authored by Assembly Member Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara). This measure would enhance local enforcement mechanisms for unlicensed cannabis activities, state housing law violations, and fire hazards by codifying existing caselaw regarding collection of administrative penalties through (ordinary priority) property liens and providing enhanced tools for collection of penalties associated with certain serious code violations. 

Counties and cities are currently authorized…

Dec 10, 2024

Advocacy   |   County Operations State Regulatory Structure on Hemp

In December 2018, Congress enacted the 2018 Farm Bill, which included provisions that federally legalize hemp in any state that has a regulatory plan meeting a number of conditions (or accedes to a federal plan to be developed...

Dec 10, 2024

Advocacy   |   County Operations Employee Relations and Pensions

County Boards of Supervisors and their human resource managers are responsible for the wages and benefits of their employees and other county personnel.  In cases of non-management employees, wages, benefits, and terms of employment are...

Dec 10, 2024

Advocacy   |   County Operations Elections

In all but a handful of jurisdictions, counties are responsible for conducting elections, including those involving candidates and ballot measures for cities and other special districts.  These elections must be conducted under state and federal...

Dec 10, 2024

Advocacy   |   County Operations County Finance

Counties are required under state and federal law to provide a variety of services to their residents.  To fund the diverse and complex cadre of programs and services, financial resources must be accessible.  The following...

Dec 10, 2024

Advocacy   |   County Operations Cannabis

In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215 – the Compassionate Use Act – which exempted qualified patients who possess or cultivate marijuana for medical treatment as recommended by a physician and their primary caregivers from...

Sep 06, 2024

Advocacy   |   County Operations Proposed Emergency Regulations Ban Intoxicating Consumable Hemp Products

On Friday, September 6th, Governor Newsom issued proposed emergency regulations from the California Department of Public Health that would require hemp food, beverage and dietary products to have no detectable intoxicating cannabinoids or THC per...

Aug 09, 2024

Advocacy   |   County Operations Retail Theft Legislation Resurrected

One of this legislative year’s distractions — involving negotiations that for quite some time had gone nowhere — included a package of retail-theft proposals. That all changed on Thursday, August 8th, when it was announced...

Jun 28, 2024

Advocacy   |   County Operations Bill of the Week: Senate Bill 1064 (Laird) – Cannabis: Operator and Separate Premises License Types

RCRC, along with the California Cannabis Industry Association, is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 1064 authored by Senator John Laird. This measure aims to modernize the state licensing structure for cannabis. This measure represents a crucial step...