CSAC Co-Hosts Williamson Act Summit in Fresno County This Week
Participants to develop aggressive advocacy campaign
By Paul McIntosh, Executive Director
pmcintosh@counties.org
On March 24, county officials from across the state participated in a Williamson Act Summit in Fresno County that focused on county concerns about the permanent loss of this program and its potential negative impact on the state’s economy, particularly agriculture. Fresno County, the lobbying firm of Shaw/Yoder/Antwih, Inc., and CSAC hosted the event.
Given the statewide support for the Williamson Act, county officials from the Central Valley felt it was imperative to bring all interested counties and representatives from agriculture together to share perspectives.
[FULL STORY]
|
Governor Approves Mid-Year Budget Package
The evening of March 22, Governor Schwarzenegger approved the final element of the mid-year budget package, concluding action on the budget until the May revision. For detailed information on this package, see this week’s Budget Action Bulletin. The package also included the signing of the transportation gas tax swap; see posting in the County Voice, CSAC’s blog.
[FULL STORY]
|
Celebrate County Government Month in April
The National Association of Counties (NACo) has designated April as National County Government Month to raise public awareness and understanding about the roles and responsibilities of county government. During the week of April 19-23, CSAC will have five focus days to draw attention to various vital services provided to all Californians. The focus days are:
[FULL STORY]
|
Administration of Justice
SB 1324, by Senator Gloria Negrete-McLeod, seeks to give state and local governments the ability to recover costs associated with complying with public record requests pursuant to the Public Records Act.
[FULL STORY]
|
Employee Relations
Due to 2009-10 budget cuts that resulted in a 10% funding reduction and staff cuts, the Governor signed legislation last year allowing the State Mediation and Conciliation Service (SMCS) to charge fees for certain services provided to employers and labor unions beginning July 1 of this year.
[FULL STORY]
|
Government Finance and Operations
A number of legislative measures have been introduced to add specific activities to the definition of “redevelopment”: AB 2043, by Assembly Member Alberto Torrico; AB 2050, by Assembly Member Paul Fong; AB 2531, by Assembly Member Felipe Fuentes; and AB 2759, by Assembly Member Brian Nestande. CSAC is seeking county feedback on these measures to inform our positions.
[FULL STORY]
|
Health and Human Services
Both the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee No. 3 on Health and Human Services and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on Health and Human Services met this week to discuss the state budget.
[FULL STORY]
|
Washington, D.C., Report
After more than a year of contentious debate, President Barack Obama signed into law on March 23 a sweeping health care reform package (HR 3590). Known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, enactment of the legislation marks the most far-reaching changes to domestic policy since the 1965 creation of the Medicaid and Medicare programs.
[FULL STORY]
|
