Feb 06, 2026
Barbed Wire Partial Government Shutdown EndsThis week, the partial government shutdown ended after President Trump signed a $1.2 trillion spending package that separated the Homeland Security appropriations bill from the five other bills included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
Feb 06, 2026
Barbed Wire | federal issues Padilla Introduces Two Bills to Bolster California’s Water Supply and Drought ResilienceOn February 4, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a pair of bills to help address growing water supply challenges in California and the American West as severe droughts, warming temperatures, limitations on groundwater pumping, and outdated infrastructure compound California’s water scarcity issues.
Feb 06, 2026
Barbed Wire | grants Interior Announces $20M Available to Strengthen Local Wildfire ResponseOn February 2, the Department of the Interior announced that up to $20 million is available to strengthen local governments’ wildfire response capacity in another round of funding for the Slip-on Tanker Pilot Program.
Feb 06, 2026
Barbed Wire | grants CDFW Invasive Species Program News - Grant AnnouncementCalifornia State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) QZ Grant Program announces that the application period for the 2025 cycle will open on March 9, 2026, and will close on April 17, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.
Feb 06, 2026
Barbed Wire | Keeping Up Keeping Up - The Barbed Wire - February 6, 2026Announcements regarding key staffing changes of importance to California’s rural counties.
Feb 06, 2026
Barbed Wire | Weekly News Clips Weekly News Clips - The Barbed Wire - February 6, 2026RCRC press releases and related news clips about RCRC and our member counties. Please note that a subscription may be required to read some external publications.
Jan 30, 2026
Barbed Wire | federal issues Appropriations UpdateThe U.S. Senate reached a late-day agreement on Thursday, to avert a broad shutdown of the federal government, by splitting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding measure away from the remaining five full-year appropriations bills. If the Senate successfully advances the measure, attention would turn to the House of Representatives
Jan 30, 2026
Barbed Wire | Bill of the Week Bill of the Week: Senate Bill 899 (Grove) – Wildfire Smoke Health AssessmentRCRC is a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 899, authored by Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield). This measure seeks to require the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force to create a wildfire smoke health assessment, intended to provide important data that would better align public health and wildfire resilience efforts
Jan 30, 2026
Barbed Wire Several RCRC Supported Legislative Proposals Advance at DeadlineThursday, January 29, was a key deadline by which bills introduced in 2025 must advance out of their house of origin in order to continue through the legislative process. Several RCRC sponsored and supported legislative proposals have moved forward
Jan 30, 2026
Barbed Wire CARB Seeks Feedback on Dairy and Livestock Methane EmissionsThe California Air Resources Board (CARB) is soliciting feedback on dairy and livestock sector methane emissions to inform their work toward reaching short-lived climate pollutant reduction targets