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Continued from March 26, 2013; Receive an update from staff and the County's State Legislative Advocate on the status of legislation that is of interest to the County; and Consider taking positions on bills included within this agenda item which were reviewed by the County's Legislative Committee on March 18, 2013
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Published Notice Required? Yes _______ No ___X__
Public Hearing Required? Yes _______ No ___X__
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors Receive an update from staff and the County's State Legislative Advocate on State and Federal legislation of interest to the County and Consider taking positions on bills included within this agenda item which were reviewed by the County's Legislative Committee on March 18, 2013
SUMMARY:
Staff will provide an overview of legislation considered by the Board's Legislative Committee on March 18, 2013. The County's Legislative Advocate, Paul Yoder of Shaw/Yoder/Antwih, Inc., will provide a verbal update on developments at the Capitol and key legislation of interest to the County including healthcare reform. The informational items before the Board were reviewed by the County's Legislative Committee and are discussed individually in the discussion section below.
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:
The County's Legislative Committee Members, Supervisor Linda Seifert and Supervisor Erin Hannigan met on March 18, 2013 to discuss both Federal and State issues. Paul Yoder of Shaw/Yoder/Antwih Inc., the County's State legislative advocate and Joe Krahn, Tom Joseph, and Hasan Sasour of Waterman and Associates, the County's Federal legislative advocate team participated in the meeting as well.
The County's March 18, 2013 Legislative Committee agenda (Attachment A) included a Federal update from Waterman and Associates, eleven legislative bills for consideration, and a State legislative update from Paul Yoder that included a twelfth bill to be considered by the full Board. Each State legislative bill considered by the Legislative Committee is discussed individually below followed by the Federal legislative update.
Summary of State Legislation considered by the Legislative Committee
TREASURER
Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school district or community college district to order an election and submit to the electors of the district the question whether the bonds of the district should be issued and sold to raise money for specified purposes. Existing law requires the bonds to bear a rate of interest that does not exceed 8% per annum and requires the number of years the whole or any part of the bonds are to run to not exceed 25 years. This bill would require the ratio of total debt service to principal for each bond series to not exceed 4 to one. The bill would require each capital appreciation bond maturing more than 10 years after its date of issuance to be subject to mandatory tender for purchase or redemption before its fixed maturity date, as specified, beginning no later than the 10th anniversary of the date the capital appreciation bond was issued. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: SUPPORT.
HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES
2. Suspension of Benefits for County Jail Inmates - Support to Co-sponsor with City and County of San Francisco
Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Once a person is incarcerated, under existing law, that person loses their CalWORKs benefits requiring them to reapply once they are released. This bill, commencing the later of January 1, 2015, or the date that any necessary federal approvals are obtained, would require that a person who is an inmate of a public institution be suspended as a member of the CalWORKs assistance unit for the duration of his or her incarceration, but would return the person to the assistance unit without reapplying, if he or she is still eligible for CalWORKs benefits upon release.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: SUPPORT (Solano to cosponsor the bill).
Existing law establishes the Maddy Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund, and authorizes each county to establish an emergency medical services fund for reimbursement of costs related to emergency medical services. Existing law, until January 1, 2014, authorizes county boards of supervisors to elect to levy an additional penalty, for deposit into the EMS Fund, in the amount of $2 for every $10 upon fines, penalties, and forfeitures collected for criminal offenses. Existing law, until January 1, 2014, requires 15% of the funds collected pursuant to that provision be used to provide funding for pediatric trauma centers. This bill would extend the operative date of these provisions indefinitely.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: SUPPORT.
Existing law requires each county to provide cash assistance and other social services to needy families through the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program using federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Under existing law, an individual is ineligible for aid if the individual has been convicted in state or federal court after December 31, 1997, of any offense classified as a felony and that has as an element the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance. This bill would authorize CalWORKs benefits to be paid to an individual who is convicted in state or federal court after December 31, 1997, of any offense classified as a felony that has as an element the possession, use, or distribution of a controlled substance. If the person is on supervised release, he or she would be ineligible for CalWORKs benefits during any period of revocation of that supervised release.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: SUPPORT.
Existing federal law provides for the allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states, with California's version of this program known as the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program. Under the CalWORKs program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals who meet specified eligibility criteria. Existing law imposes limits on the amount of income and personal and real property an individual or family may possess in order to be eligible for public aid, including under the CalWORKs program, including specifying the allowable value of a licensed vehicle retained by an applicant for, or recipient of, that aid. This bill would delete existing requirements for assessing the value of a motor vehicle for purposes of eligibility for public aid, including the CalWORKs program. The bill would exclude the value of a licensed motor vehicle from consideration when determining or redetermining eligibility for aid.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: SUPPORT IN CONCEPT. Legislation Committee .
VETERAN SERVICES
Existing law requires funds to be disbursed each fiscal year on a pro rata basis to counties that have established and maintained a county veterans service officer in accordance with the staffing level and workload of each county veterans service officer, under a specified formula. This bill would appropriate the sum of $5,000,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the disbursement to counties to fund the activities of county veterans' service officers.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: SUPPORT.
Under existing law, when the Department of Motor Vehicles determines that an applicant is lawfully entitled to a driver's license, the department is required to issue that license to the applicant. Existing law specifies the contents of a driver's license and requires the application for a driver's license or identification card to contain a space for an applicant to indicate whether he or she has served in the Armed Forces of the United States and to give his or her consent to be contacted regarding eligibility to receive state or federal veterans benefits. This bill would require the application for a driver's license or identification card to also allow a person to present to the department, in a manner determined by the department, a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, as specified, and to request the driver's license or identification card be printed with the word "VETERAN." The bill would require the department to allow an applicant to present a verification from the county veterans service officer that the person has received that form. The department would be required to print the word "VETERAN" on the face of a driver's license or identification card issued to a person who makes that request and presents that form to the department.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: SUPPORT.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Existing law authorizes each county to establish a Community Corrections Performance Incentives Fund to receive state moneys to implement a community corrections program consisting of a system of felony probation supervision services to, among other things, manage and reduce offender risk while under felony probation supervision and upon reentry from jail into the community. Existing law requires a community corrections program to be implemented by probation and advised by a local Community Corrections Partnership, consisting of specified members, including, but not limited to, the sheriff and a chief of police. Existing law requires a Community Corrections Partnership to recommend a local plan to the county board of supervisors for the implementation of public safety realignment. This bill would add a rank-and-file deputy sheriff or a rank-and-file police officer, and a rank-and-file probation officer or a deputy probation officer, each to be appointed by a local labor organization, to the membership of a Community Corrections Partnership. The bill would require the vote of the rank-and-file deputy sheriff or rank-and-file police officer, and the rank-and-file probation officer or a deputy probation officer, on the local plan.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: OPPOSE.
Existing law prohibits a private employer from requiring or requesting an employee or applicant for employment to disclose a username or password for the purpose of accessing personal social media, to access personal social media in the presence of the employer, or to divulge any personal social media. Existing law prohibits a private employer from discharging, disciplining, threatening to discharge or discipline, or otherwise retaliating against an employee or applicant for not complying with a request or demand that violates these provisions. This bill would apply the provisions described above to public employers. The bill would state that its provisions address a matter of statewide interest and apply to public employers generally, including charter cities and counties.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: CONCERNS.
Existing law prohibits both public and private employers from asking an applicant for employment to disclose, either in writing or verbally, any information concerning an arrest or detention that did not result in a conviction. This bill would prohibit a state or local agency from asking an applicant to disclose information regarding a criminal conviction, except as specified, until after the applicant's qualifications for the position have been determined to meet the requirements for the position. This bill would include specified findings and declarations of the Legislature in support of this policy.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: OPPOSE.
TRANSPORTATION / TRANSIT
Existing law establishes the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority with specified powers and duties, including, but not limited to, the authority to coordinate the emergency activities of all water transportation and related facilities within the bay area region, as defined. This bill would expand the number of members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly to 2 members each. The bill would also require that the 3 members appointed by the Governor be a resident of the County of Contra Costa selected from a list of 3 nominees provided by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority , a resident of the County of San Mateo selected from a list of 3 nominees provided by the San Mateo County Transportation Authority , and a resident of the County of Solano selected from a list of 3 nominees provided by the Solano Transportation Authority. The bill would require the Governor to appoint a resident of the county of one of these transportation authorities that fails to submit a list of 3 nominees to the Governor within 45 days of a vacancy.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: SUPPORT AND SEEK AMENDMENTS. Amendments to include only counties with existing ferry services funded the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority.
State Legislative Update by Paul Yoder
Fiscal Overview
According to the California State Controller, total receipts for the period starting July 1, 2012, through February 28, 2013, were $4.5 billion above expectations, while outlays were $0.5 billion less than anticipated. The result was that the deficit was $5.0 billion less than projected however, the lingering effects of the multi-year deficits are still being felt. Specifically, the negative balance carried over from prior fiscal years means that there is still an outstanding loan balance of $16.2 billion on the books. That balance is financed through $10 billion of external borrowing from banks and investors and $6.2 billion of borrowing from other state funds. These numbers do not take into account the so-called "Wall of Debt" that the Governor is attempting to address, nor do the numbers account for the State's unfunded pension liabilities. However, in terms of California's 2013-14 State Budget, and the May Revise, the Governor may propose a slightly rosier scenario than was forecasted with the release of his original proposal in January.
Health Care
On January 28, 2013 the Governor issued a proclamation convening an extraordinary session of the California State Legislature to continue the work of implementing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Two key legislative bills, ABx1 1 (Perez) and SBx1 1 (Hernandez) are nearly if not completely identical and contain changes in order to implement the mandatory expansion of Medicaid and deal mostly with eligibility and enrollment. Both bills have passed out of their houses of origin. Legislation on these issues could go to the Governor very soon. The issue of whether 1991 Realignment monies will come into play continues to be the subject of much discussion between the Brown Administration and California State Association of Counties (CSAC). The special session health bills assume that the expansion of healthcare in California under the Affordable Care Act will occur at the state and not the county level.
Water
Discussions continue over whether and to what extent the 2014 Water Bond might be reconstituted. Included in these discussions is the question of re-sizing the bond, possibly to as low as $5 billion (from $11 billion). Any rewriting of the water bond may allow for opportunities to restructure local match requirements as well as money for the Delta-related projects.
Legislation not on the agenda
Over 2000 new pieces of legislation have been introduced in 2013 legislative session. Of particular interest to the County is AB 741 <http://ct3k1.capitoltrack.com/Bills/13Bills/asm/ab_0701-0750/ab_741_bill_20130221_introduced.pdf> (Brown) - Local government finance: tax equity allocation formula: qualifying cities. Existing property tax law requires the auditor of each county with qualifying cities, to make certain property tax revenue allocations to those cities in accordance with a specified Tax Equity Allocation (TEA) formula established in a specified statute and to make corresponding reductions in the amount of property tax revenue that is allocated to the county. This bill would, commencing with the 2012-13 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter for qualifying cities, increase the allocation of property tax revenues under a new TEA formula ranging from 9 percent in the first fiscal year and escalating to 15 percent by the third fiscal year following its implementation. At first glance, six of the seven cities in Solano County will receive some redirected property tax revenues from the County's property tax revenues under this proposal.
Legislative Committee Recommendation: Due to this bill not included on the March 18, 2013 Legislative Committee's agenda, at the request of CSAC, the Legislative Committee recommended this bill be forwarded to the full Board for an OPPOSE position to be taken.
Summary of Federal Legislative Report
Fiscal Year 2013 Budget
Solano County's Washington representatives, Waterman & Associates, provided the Legislative Committee with a status report on the fiscal year 2013 budget. The current year budget is operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR), which is set to expire on March 27. The impending deadline - along with the fact that Members of Congress are slated to begin a two-week spring recess the week of March 25 - has provided mounting pressure on lawmakers to renew the CR.
In the House, lawmakers approved on March 6 legislation (HR 933) that would provide continuing year budget authority for fiscal year 2013. The bill would adhere to the budget caps established by the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) while locking in most of the cuts under sequestration. The measure, which includes individual appropriation bills for defense, military construction, and veterans affairs - along with a CR for the rest of the government - would shift $10.4 billion into the Pentagon's operations and maintenance accounts in order to allow the Department of Defense to fund critical readiness priorities.
Across Capitol Hill, the Senate has been in the process of considering an expanded version of the House-passed spending bill. While both versions reflect the spending cuts under sequestration - dropping regular discretionary spending to about $984 billion from $1.043 trillion - the Senate bill would provide regular appropriations for the Departments of Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Science Foundation, and NASA. Taken together, more than two-thirds of the discretionary funding for 2013 would be subject to relatively detailed appropriations as opposed to a straight continuation of fiscal year 2012 funding levels.
It should be noted that the Senate measure would provide additional funding for certain programs of interest to Solano County, including the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). Under the bill, SCAAP would be funding at $255 million, or a $15 million increase over the fiscal year 2012 level. While several other justice accounts also are in line for spending increases, such as the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, the bill would transfer the proposed increases to certain subaccounts, thus holding funding levels for these programs steady.
In the area of transportation, the Senate measure would honor the highway and transit funding levels called for under last year's Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The House version of the spending bill, however, would not adhere to the inflationary increases that were approved as part of MAP-21. Under the House bill, roughly $600 million in highway funding would be cut from the fiscal year 2013 budget; about $150 million in transit funding would be lost.
As of this writing, it appears as though the House will accept the Senate's version of the fiscal year 2013 spending package. Once the Senate clears the bill and sends the legislation to the lower chamber, the House is expected to approve the bill without any modifications.
Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Resolution
In related developments, the House Budget Committee recently approved Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-WI) fiscal year 2014 budget plan (H Con Res 25). The blueprint seeks to erase the nation's deficit in 10 years by cutting projected spending by roughly $4.6 trillion and by proposing politically contentious changes in federal law, including eliminating the Affordable Care Act and overhauling the tax code. The Budget Committee approved the resolution on a 22-17 party-line vote; the full House began debating the budget resolution the week of March 18.
Under the GOP plan, discretionary spending would essentially be kept flat over the budget's 10-year timeframe, with an average annual growth of less than one percent. In fiscal year 2014, the budget would provide about $414 billion in domestic discretionary spending, or more than $50 billion less than it would be under the BCA and the automatic spending cuts that recently took effect under sequestration.
Department of Defense programs, however, would be allocated $552 billion beginning next fiscal year, essentially canceling the sequester's effect on the Pentagon and transferring those cuts to domestic programs. The budget proposal would effectively create a new set of domestic spending caps, while Medicare and other non-exempt mandatory spending programs, such as unemployment insurance and farm price supports, would continue to be reduced in an across-the-board manner. The $966 billion in combined discretionary spending under the budget would be $92 billion below the $1.058 trillion fiscal 2014 discretionary cap set by the BCA.
Incidentally, there are relatively few policy changes in the House Republican budget document compared to the GOP's 2013 budget blueprint. Like last year, the budget proposes to replace the current fee-for-service Medicare program with a voucher-like system, beginning in 2024. In addition, the budget recommends transforming the Medicaid and food stamp programs into block grants to States. Much of the aforementioned proposals will not be approved by the current Congress.
Across Capitol Hill, the Senate Budget Committee approved March 15 Chairwoman Patty Murray's (D-WA) budget plan. Under the Senate Democratic proposal (S Con Res 8), the 10-year budgetary timeframe would end with a $566 billion deficit. Murray's plan would reduce the deficit, however, by roughly $1.85 trillion through a mix of spending cuts and tax increases. Unlike Ryan's budget, the Democratic plan includes replacement of the sequester in its $1.85 trillion deficit reduction estimate.
The Senate budget also differs from the House version with regard to fiscal year 2014 spending on defense and domestic programs. As indicated above, the Ryan budget would provide about $50 billion less in domestic discretionary spending in fiscal year 2014, with additional funding being transferred to the Pentagon. The Senate budget would reflect the sequester law, which requires the discretionary defense cap to be lowered to $497 billion and the discretionary domestic cap to go down to $469 billion.
Because of the stark contrasts between the House and Senate budget resolutions, there is a strong likelihood that the two chambers will be unable to produce a final fiscal year 2014 budget blueprint. In the absence of a final budget resolution, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will set their own top-line spending level for fiscal year 2014.
On a related matter, the Obama administration is scheduled to unveil its fiscal year 2014 budget the week of April 8. Although the president, by law, is required to issue his budget on the first Monday in February, the administration has indicated that a number of fiscal uncertainties - including the end of year fiscal cliff deliberations - has forced the White House to delay the release of its budget.
Water Resources
At the time of this writing, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee was in the process of marking up its Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) reauthorization bill. Among other things, the legislation includes a section on levee vegetation, which would require the Secretary of the Army to conduct a comprehensive review of the Corps' levee vegetation removal policy. Under the bill, the Secretary would be required to consider factors that promote and allow for variances from the national guidelines on a regional or watershed basis. Additionally, the legislation would require the Secretary to solicit and consider the views of the National Academy of Engineering as part of the review process.
The bill includes a number of other provisions of interest to Solano County, including a title on levee safety, as well as a title on innovative financing for certain pilot projects. The latter section would provide an authorization for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). WIFIA would provide federal credit assistance in the form of a secured loan or loan guarantees to finance various water infrastructure projects.
In other developments, legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate that would designate the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as California's first National Heritage Area (NHA). The bills (S 228; HR 1004), sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative John Garamendi, would authorize funding of up to $10 million ($1 million in any fiscal year) to the Delta Protection Commission to implement an NHA management plan - with up to 50 percent federal cost-share - to carry out programs and projects that protect and promote the cultural, historical, and natural assets of the region.
With regard to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP), the California Natural Resources Agency released on March 14 the first four chapters of the draft plan. According to the Agency, the full plan will be released in three stages over the coming weeks and accompanied by public meetings in West Sacramento. The full BDCP and an accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report will be released for formal public comment later this year.
In anticipation of the release of the draft chapters, members of the Delta Counties Coalition (DCC) were invited to participate in a recent call with staff to Delta-area members of Congress. The purpose of the call was to discuss ongoing collaboration between the Delta Counties and its congressional delegation on BDCP public relations efforts.
Berryessa NCA Legislation
Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative Mike Thompson - with support from Representatives Garamendi, George Miller, Ami Bera, Jared Huffman, and Anna Eshoo - recently introduced legislation (S 483; HR 1025) that would designate the Berryessa Snow Mountain region as a National Conservation Area (NCA). Under this designation, existing federal lands within the NCA boundary would be united under one management plan.
The proposed NCA would cover nearly 350,000 acres of existing federal land in Solano, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and Yolo Counties. While similar legislation was introduced in the 112th Congress, the bills did not include land within Solano County.
It should be noted that the proposed boundaries included in previous proposals coincided with the eastern border of Representative Thompson's congressional district. Because his district has shifted, the boundaries of the proposed Berryessa NCA also have shifted. According to Thompson's staff, the boundaries for the new legislation have not been finalized. The congressman has made several commitments to better define the private lands, so once those changes are made, the final map will be made available.
Finally, the legislation clarifies that private property would not be affected by the new designation and that boating/recreation activities would still be permitted on the land. Additionally, the measure expressly states that nothing in the proposal would impair the ability of the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) and its managing partners to operate, maintain, or manage Monticello Dam, Lake Berryessa, and other Solano Project facilities in accordance with the purposes of the project. The legislation also includes language indicating that nothing in the bill modifies, changes, or supersedes any water contract or agreements approved or administered by BoR or the Solano County Water Agency or the Solano Irrigation District.