title
Receive an end-of-session legislative update from staff and the County’s State Legislative Advocate on the status of legislation that is of interest to the County; Authorize the incorporation of Legislative Platform Principles related to immigration; and Consider a resolution for maintaining trust and safety for immigrants in Solano County
body
Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No __X__
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No __X__
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors receive an end-of-session legislative update from staff and the County’s State Legislative Advocate on the status of legislation that is of interest to the County; Authorize the incorporation of Legislative Platform Principles related to immigration; and Consider a resolution for maintaining trust and safety for immigrants in Solano County.
SUMMARY:
The California Legislature adjourned for the first of a two-year session, after a flurry of votes into the early hours of Saturday morning, September 16, 2017, sending more than a few bills to the Governor on various topics of interest to the County. Among these were an extensive Affordable Housing, Funding and Regulatory Reform package, Cap and Trade appropriations, Immigration, and various State Budget Trailer bills related to health and human services, taxation, transportation and cannabis regulations.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The legislative program is designed to result in additional funding and cost avoidance relative to Solano County. The cost of preparing this report and compiling the information is a General Fund cost covered in the County Administrator’s administration budget.
DISCUSSION:
Staff and the County’s legislative advocate, Karen Lange of Shaw/Yoder/Antwih, Inc., will provide an end-of-session legislative update on the 2017 Legislation Session. A detailed State legislative update and Federal Legislative Update are contained in Attachments A and B respectively.
Immigration Related Legislation
Attachment C is a matrix of immigration related bills (Attachment C) passed by the Legislature during the 2017 legislative session and presented to the Governor for signature. Among the bills is Senate Bill 54 authored by Senate Pro tempore Kevin de León which will limit the involvement of local public agencies in federal immigration issues and make California a “sanctuary state”. Specifically SB 54 limits state and local law enforcement communication with federal immigration authorities, and prevents law enforcement officers from questioning and holding people on immigration violations. The language for SB 54 is contained in Attachment D.
After much debate in both the State Senate and the State Assembly, the State of California Legislature approved SB 54 with a 27-11 vote along party lines. But the bill sent to Governor Brown was drastically scaled back from the version first introduced, the result of tough negotiations between Governor Brown and Senate Pro tem de León in the final week of the legislative session. Although the Governor’s concerns were mainly related to public safety, the California State Sheriffs’ Association remained opposed to the version approved by the Legislature on the last day of legislative session. When signed by the Governor, SB 54 will be the new official legal guidelines.
In response to the City of Vallejo’s request for Solano County to pass a resolution designating the County as a sanctuary jurisdiction, the Legislative Committee met on August 21, 2017 to discuss the matter. The discussion included considering legislative actions taken by other local agencies relative to immigration and reviewing the status of immigration legislation pending in the State Legislature. A copy of the August 21, 2017 Legislative Committee agenda can be located by clicking on the link below.
<http://www.solanocounty.com/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=27221>
After a lengthy discussion of other local agencies actions relative to immigration policies, the Legislative Committee recommended incorporating “Legislative Platform Principles” as part of the development of the 2018 Legislative Platform which was set to begin mid-September with anticipated Board approval by mid-November or early December. A copy of the proposed Legislative Platform Principles is contained in Attachment E.
During public comment at the Solano County Board of Supervisors meeting on September 12, 2017 several community members spoke in favor of the County adopting a resolution proposed by District 2 Supervisor, Monica Brown (Attachment F). Supervisor Skip Thomson requested the Board consider the item and encouraged it be agendized and discussed at a future Board meeting. Supervisor Brown requested the resolution be included on the September 26, 2017 agenda.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board may wish to not receive a report at this time.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Staff consulted with the County’s state and federal legislative advocates and County Department Heads in the development of this report.