KEY DEADLINES FOR THE LEGISLATURE

June closed out a busy several weeks for the Legislature, including the June 15 deadline to pass a Budget Act and the bulk of committee hearings leading to the July 3 deadline by which all policy committees must meet and confer on bills in their second house. Bills that are still moving are in their second house, which means that Assembly bills are being heard in the Senate and Senate bills are being heard in the Assembly.

On July 3, the Legislature adjourned for Summer Recess and when it reconvenes on August 5, with a few exceptions, only appropriation committees may meet to determine the fate of fiscal measures. The last two weeks of session leading up to the final day of the 2023-2024 legislative session on August 31 are reserved for Floor deliberations only. June 27 also marked the last day for measures to be added to, or withdrawn from, the November 2024 ballot. However, as we detail further below, nothing is going according to schedules when it comes to this year’s ballot and July 3 is the new July 27 for legislative measures. To date for this year’s legislative session, more than 1,300 bills continue to make their march through the legislative process, while zero have been vetoed, 223 have been chaptered, and approximately 740 have been held.

BUDGET UPDATE

Governor Gavin Newsom signed the 2024 Budget Act, AB 107, on June 26 as passed by the Legislature on June 13. The final Budget agreement represents a $297.9 billion state Budget. The deal included an agreement to increase the size of the Rainy Day Fund from 10% of the state Budget to 20%, exclude deposits into the Rainy Day Fund from the Gann Limit, create a “Projected Surplus Temporary Holding Account,” where a portion of any projected surplus will be deposited and held under a future year once it is clear whether the projected surplus actually materializes. Of note, the budget reverts $50 million for outdoor environmental education and access programs administered through the Outdoor Equity Grants Program.

In homelessness and behavioral health, notable changes include:

• $1 billion for the sixth round of the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) Grant Program. The supplemental $260 million from the current fifth round of funding will be cut.
• $250 million ($150 million in 2024-25 and $100 million in 2025-26) for the Encampment Resolution Grant Program.
• Eliminates $450.7 million in one-time funds from the last round of the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program. Additional rounds will be supported by Proposition 1 bond funding.
• Mostly preserves funding across multiple programs that expand behavioral health treatment and infrastructure capacity for services to children and youth ($7.1 billion total).

The Assembly Floor Report of this agreement can be found here and analysis of the 19-bill package here. The Senate Floor Report can be found here and analyses here.

CLIMATE BOND

After more than five years of debate and discussion, working groups, heavy advocacy, unprecedented surplus followed by a declared Budget emergency, and a FY 24-25 nearly $50 billion deficit, the Legislature has finally come to agreement on a climate bond. Landing on SB 867 by Senator Ben Allen (Santa Monica) as its bond vehicle, over the weekend Senator McGuire announced in a press release the agreement of a $10 billion bond measure to ask voters to fund safe drinking water and drought, flooding, wildfires and forest resilience, sea level rise, extreme heat, park creation and outdoor access, and more.

The proposed bond would dedicate 40 percent of the $10 billion at minimum toward disadvantaged communities, with funds divided among eight chapters:

• $3.8 billion for safe drinking water, drought, flood and water resilience
• $1.5 billion for wildfire and forest resilience
• $1.2 billion for sea level rise and coastal resilience
• $1.2 billion for protecting biodiversity and supporting nature-based climate solutions
• $850 million for clean air programs
• $700 million for park creation and outdoor access
• $450 million for extreme heat mitigation
• $300 million for sustainable farms, ranches and working lands

California Business Roundtable Measure

On June 20, RPPG notified City staff via email that the California Supreme Court had removed the California Business Roundtable (CBRT) tax measure from the November 2024 ballot. More information on the removal can be found here and here. The measure would have required a two-thirds vote by the Legislature for new state taxes and a two-thirds vote by the voters for new local taxes. The California Supreme Court’s action represents a significant win for state and local governments.

Local Government Financing Measure

In 2023, the Legislature passed ACA 1 (Aguiar-Curry, Chapter 173, Statutes of 2023). The bill put a measure on the November 2024 ballot that would reduce the existing local vote threshold requirement from two-thirds to fifty-five percent for local public infrastructure and affordable housing financing proposals using: general obligation bonds, sales and use/transaction and use taxes, or parcel taxes. If the measure is approved by voters, the reduced vote threshold would apply to local measures.

This year, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (Winters) introduced ACA 10 which directs the Secretary of State to make amendments to ACA 1 including deleting all sections of the initiative authorizing the imposition of a sales and use tax and a parcel tax with a 55 percent vote. ACA 10 replaces (rather than amend) two of the sections within ACA 1 pertaining to imposing property tax increases to fund public infrastructure and affordable housing with general obligation bonded indebtedness.

AB 817 UPDATE

AB 817 was heard in Senate Local Government last month and, unfortunately, we did not receive the votes to continue on our way. Cosponsors and the Author were all willing to bend farther than comfortable (as we had previously discussed in legislative committee) and accepted 7 out of 9 of the committee amendments. However, we were not willing to accept the quorum requirement or limitations on a stipend. The quorum is ultimately what stopped the bill, but better the shelf it than create a new legal hurdle to jump over. 

The lead witnesses we lined up for committee were excellent: Jane Whiteford, President of IHSS Consumer Alliance (the alliance is made up of all IHSS advisory groups statewide), and Ethan Rarick, Executive Director of the Little Hoover Commission. The entire room was there in support of the bill, it was an incredibly robust showing with most advocates providing their "me too" testimony doing so on behalf of multiple organizations. Those in opposition were limited to news media and first amendment rights groups. We feel that the Chair and several targeted committee members were spooked by the op-Ed's run in the LA Times and Mercury News prior to the hearing.

To you all I say, impressive showing, excellent execution, let's keep up the good work. Thank you for the support you all and the members provided; the bill may have come to a halt but the opportunities it creates for CARPD to be in a position to effect change has just begun. 

Asm. Pacheco Commits Herself to Inclusivity and Accessibility: A Statement on AB 817

"While I am disappointed that AB 817 did not advance in the Senate Local Government Committee today, I stand behind the objective of this legislation. The bill was crafted to create parity with the rules governing state advisory bodies, and to ensure that local advisory body positions are accessible the public in an effort to foster increased participation and inclusivity.

Contrary to misinformation presented in today’s LA Times editorial, AB 817 was not a reintroduction, but a two-year bill that supporters and I have been working on for an extended period. This bill reflects my commitment to enhancing equity in civic engagement.

I recognize that some people may argue that in-person participation is the best way to ensure that every voice is heard. However, AB 817 aims to provide access for people who may face a host of barriers to in-person attendance, particularly individuals with physical or economic limitations, including older adults and people with disabilities, and people who cannot accommodate the time or distance to engage in person. The bill sought to increase participation options and expand the democratic process to be more inclusive and equitable.

Additionally, during the committee discussion, incorrect statements suggested that subsidiary bodies might include those in which the main subject matter jurisdiction is police oversight or budgets. I accepted amendments explicitly stating that such subsidiary bodies may not include entities in which the main subject matter is police oversight, elections, budgets, or actions that remove materials or restrict public access from legislative body facilities.

With leadership comes the responsibility to lead, and that means standing strong when change is needed. I am committed to leading the way to a more inclusive future. Today, that meant standing with those left behind by our current system to provide a platform of change for the unheard voices in our communities. I remain dedicated to advocating for policies that promote accessibility and look forward to creating a workable solution next legislative session."