Several RCRC sponsored bills will be heard in committee in early June. Below is an update on those measures. RCRC encourages counties to submit letters of support.
Assembly Bill 817 (Pacheco) was referred to Senate Local Government committee on May 1 and is awaiting a hearing. RCRC is co-sponsoring this measure with the League of California Cities, Urban Counties of California, California State Association of Counties and the California Association of Recreation and Parks Districts. This measure would provide a narrow exemption under the Ralph M. Brown Act for non-decision-making legislative bodies currently governed by Act, such as advisory bodies and commissions, to participate in two-way virtual teleconferencing without posting physical location of members. In addition, AB 817 would remove barriers to entry for appointed and elected office by allowing non-decision-making legislative bodies to participate virtually as long as they do not have the ability to take final action on legislation, regulations, contracts, licenses, permits, or other entitlements. RCRC requests that counties send letters of support to Senate Local Government Committee by May 30. A template is available here.
Assembly Bill 491 (Wallis) was referred to Senate Local Government on May 8 and is awaiting a hearing. This measure is the code enforcement streaming component from RCRC’s AB 1448 from 2023. AB 491 provides effectual tools for addressing illicit land use activities, including unlicensed cannabis operations by (1) streamlined judicial review for minor administrative penalties (under $25,000) imposed for unpermitted cannabis activities; (2) efficient collection of final penalty order (i.e. after administrative/judicial review is complete), in the same manner presently used for pesticide enforcement fines; (3) clarifying the priority of real property liens used to collect administrative penalties for these violations, by providing that such liens have the same priority as a judgement lien. RCRC requests that counties send letters of support to Senate Local Government Committee by May 30. A template is available here.
Senate Bill 820 (Alvarado-Gil) was double referred to Assembly Business and Professions and Public Safety on April 29. The bill will be heard in Assembly Business and Professions on June 4. SB 820 would adapt the same civil seizure of property provisions currently applicable to unlicensed manufacturing of alcoholic beverages (i.e., moonshining), to cover unlicensed commercial cannabis activities. RCRC requests that counties send letters of support to Assembly Business and Professions Committee by May 28. A template is available here.
For more information on these measures, please contact RCRC Policy Advocate, Sarah Dukett.