County Budgets, CSAC News, State Budget Comments turned off

CSAC Girds for Late Summer Push

By on August 1st, 2010

The California Legislature returns from its summer recess tomorrow and California’s counties are preparing for an onslaught of activity. Technically, the Legislature is supposed to adjourn August 30. All bills considered during this second year of a two-year session would expire if not approved by that date, so the month of August will be busy to say the least.

I say the Legislature “technically” is supposed to adjourn by August 31 because the overriding issue yet to be resolved is a state budget for the fiscal year that began on July 1. As has been reported here in the past, there has been very little activity on moving a budget forward. Senator Denise Ducheny, Chair of the Budget Conference Committee, has scheduled a couple of sessions for this week, but it remains to be seen what will be on their agenda. As in past years, the final push will depend upon the Big Five resolving the larger issues – many of which remain in this budget. There have been no Big Five discussions to date, and there do not appear to be any on the immediate horizon. The record late date for adoption of a budget was set in 2008 when the budget was completed on September 21.

Budget aside; there are a number of bills that remain in the Legislature that could dramatically impact California’s counties. Details of several bills are listed in the CSAC E-Bulletin that was published last Friday. Click here for access to that bulletin. Highlights of some of the bills CSAC is tracking include:

AB 155, by Assembly Member Tony Mendoza, would require local agencies to receive the State’s permission when seeking bankruptcy protection. The effect of AB 155, were it enacted, would be to unnecessarily delay a local agency’s entry into bankruptcy, conceivably to the point of default. It would also require locals to spend considerable money and open them to litigation at precisely the time they can least afford it.

SB 1399, by Senator Mark Leno, would establish a medical parole program for physically or cognitively incapacitated state prison inmates. According to information provided by the sponsor , 32 inmates alone (who are either in a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) treatment bed or in an outside hospital) cost the state $42.6 million annually. This figure includes costs for both medical care and guarding.

SB 1207, by Senator Christine Kehoe, is virtually identical to the measure that was vetoed by the Governor last year. This bill would amend the general plan safety element requirements for state responsibility areas (SRA) and very high fire hazard severity zones (VHFSZ).

Two bills that would change the way final compensation is calculated for the purpose of determining a retirement allowance continue to move through the Legislature. SB 1425, by Senator Joe Simitian, amends the Public Employees Retirement Law and the State Teacher’s Retirement System law, while AB 1987, by Assembly Member Fiona Ma, makes changes to the 1937 Act County Retirement law. The bills are the Legislature’s attempt to curb “pension spiking”, where employees artificially inflate their compensation in the year(s) immediately preceding retirement in order to receive larger pensions than they otherwise would be entitled to receive.

SB 771, by Senator Elaine Alquist, was amended last month to extend Medi-Cal eligibility to emancipated foster youth up to age 26. Not only would this important legislation provide a health care lifeline to emancipated foster youth who face significant challenges as they enter early adulthood, but it also would allow the state to draw down federal matching funds and align California with the recently enacted federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

These are but a few of the many bills CSAC will be tracking over the course of the month. It will certainly be a busy one.

NACo News Comments turned off

California County Officials Figure Prominently in NACo Leadership for 2010-11

By on July 27th, 2010

NACo President Glen Whitley (Judge, Tarrant County, Texas) has announced his appointments to leadership positions for the next year within the National Association of Counties and California county officials figure very prominently in those leadership roles. In total, 19 positions are filled by California county officials. Here are the appointments:

Frank Bigelow, Supervisor, Madera County, Vice Chair, Rural Development Subcommittee, Agriculture Committee; Brian Dahle, Supervisor, Lassen County, Chair, Environment, Energy and Land Use Committee; Salud Cabajal, Supervisor, Santa Barbara County, Vice Chair, Environment, Energy and Land Use Committee; Mike McGowan, Supervisor, Yolo County, Vice Chair, County and Tribal Government Relationships Subcommittee, Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee; Liz Kniss, Supervisor, Santa Clara County, Chair, Health Committee; Shirlee Zane, Supervisor, Sonoma County, Vice Chair, Health Committee; Patrick Duterte, Director, Health and Social Services, Solano County, Chair, Health Disparities Subcommittee, Health Committee; Susan Adams, Supervisor, Marin County, Vice Chair, Public Health and Healthy Communities Subcommittee, Health Committee; Hub Walsh, Supervisor, Merced County, Vice Chair, Human Services and Education Committee, Jo Weber, Social Services Director, Sonoma County, Chair, Education and Families Subcommittee, Human Services and Education Committee; Ronn Dominici, Supervisor, Madera County, Vice Chair, Law Enforcement Subcommittee, Justice and Public Safety Committee; David Finigan, Supervisor, Del Norte County, Chair, Airports Subcommittee, Transportation Committee; Scott Haggerty, Supervisor, Alameda County, Vice Chair, Large Urban County Caucus; Webster Guillory, Assessor, Orange County, Chair, Essential County Technology, Information Technology Committee; Maria Pe, Chief Deputy Tax Collector, San Diego County, Vice Chair, NACo Deferred Compensation Advisory Committee; Salud Cabajal, Supervisor, Santa Barbara County, Vice Chair, Green Government Advisory Board; Liz Kniss, Supervisor, Santa Clara County, At-Large Appointment to the NACo Board of Directors; Paul McIntosh, Executive Director, California State Association of Counties, Committee Member, FSC Advisory Committee; and Paul McIntosh, Executive Director, California State Association of Counties, Co-Chair, County Government Works Initiative.

Sonoma County Supervisor Valerie Brown now serves as the Immediate Past President of the National Association of Counties.  In addition, Frank Bigelow, Supervisor, Madera County; Greg Cox, Supervisor, San Diego County; Keith Carson, Supervisor Alameda County; and Michael Johnson, County Administrator, Solano County, serve on the NACo Board of Directors, bringing the total number of leadership roles filled by California county officials to 24. Congratulations to these California county officials on their appointment and thanks to Judge Glen Whitley for recognizing the many talents held by California counties.

Health and Human Services, State Budget Comments turned off

Postcards from the Edge: Help Restore Child Welfare Services Funding

By on July 26th, 2010

CSAC, along with a broad coalition of associations and child welfare groups, is working to bring Child Welfare and Foster Care Services back from the brink after the Governor vetoed $80 million in CWS funding last fall.

Counties can help give abused and neglected children a hand up by participating in the coalition’s quick and easy electronic postcard campaign. Simply visit www.protectourchildrenca.org and click on the button in the lower right corner that says “Governor Needs to Hear from You!” Then type in one reason or reasons why CWS funding is important to you, your community, and your county. Counties are urged to do so by July 30, and the e-postcards will be delivered to the Governor later this summer – or when a budget is completed – whichever comes first!

Just to put this cut into perspective, the Governor’s $80 million veto has ballooned into a $130 million total cut when lost federal funding is factored in. Because of the veto, social workers across the state have been let go, crisis response times have increased, and more children are waiting for health exams, court dates, and reunification services.  

The members of both the Senate and Assembly have communicated their commitment to restoring this critical funding by including it in the current budget framework, but our work is not yet done. The critical juncture for our campaign will be the Governor’s desk, hence the postcards to the Governor campaign. For more information about the campaign and the impact of the veto, please visit www.protectourchildrenca.org.

CSAC News Comments turned off

CSAC Institute Rolls Out Distinguished Faculty

By on July 22nd, 2010

Since its inception in 2009, the CSAC Institute for Excellence in County Government has made it a priority to attract quality faculty to teach our courses. At no time is this more apparent than in our upcoming August courses, which focus on three timely subjects: pensions, social services and county finances. The course instructors read like a “who’s who” of issue experts. 

For the Aug. 20 “Understanding County Social Services” course, the Institute has assembled two of the state’s leading experts on county social services to serve as faculty: Grantland Johnson and Chet Hewitt. They are sure to generate a stimulating conversation on current and future social services in California. As you may know, Grantland Johnson is the former Secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency for the State of California. He previously served in the Clinton Administration as a Regional Director of HHS, and served as a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, Chet Hewitt is the President and CEO of Sierra Health Foundation, a private philanthropy based in Sacramento.  He previously served as director of the Alameda County Social Services Agency and as director of the state Department of Children and Family Services. Earlier Chet served as an associate director of the Rockefeller Foundation in New York.  These two gentlemen have an enormous amount of experience and insight on the issue of county social services. 

But our distinguished faculty in August doesn’t stop there. The Aug. 12 course titled “Retirement and OPEB: Keeping the County Afloat” features pension expert John Bartel, who has more than 35 years of employee benefits experience in pension and retiree healthcare consulting, serving over 250 California public sector clients. John specializes in OPEB plan valuation, study and design, and helping clients understand actuarial, accounting and regulatory issues. He is a member of the California Actuarial Advisory Panel, appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger in January 2010. This is a great opportunity to receive insight on how county retirement systems and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) impact county finances. 

And Diane Cummins, former Chief Fiscal Policy Advisor to the Senate President pro tem, is back to teach the ever-popular course “Financing California Counties: The History of Funding Sources,” on Aug. 6. Diane’s previous courses have been very highly rated. 

We urge you to take a look at these – and other – Institute courses. You will be learning about vital, timely issues and their relationship to county government in a manner you can’t receive anywhere else. To learn more, visit the Institute’s Web site at www.csacinstitute.org. You’ll be glad you did.

Agriculture/ Natural Resources Comments turned off

California’s Water Woes Continue

By on July 21st, 2010

It may be near 100 degrees in Sacramento, but the rain seems to be falling on the water bond parade, as lawmakers attempt to delay the measure until the 2012 ballot.

 Both Gov. Schwarzenegger and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg have urged the Legislature to delay the $11 billion general-obligation bond package, originally slated for the 2010 ballot. It’s a feat that would take a two-thirds vote of both legislative houses.

Bond supporters are concerned that voters, wearied by a bad economy and the state’s chronic budget crisis, might reject the bond this November. The bond was part of a comprehensive water package approved by the Governor in November 2009, and includes funding for drought relief, water supply projects, Delta sustainability, groundwater, and water storage and conservation projects.

Voter support is not the only hurdle, however. Several environmental groups have announced their opposition to the bond, calling it bad public policy and a clear pathway to a peripheral canal. The issue has split the environmental community, pitting groups such as the Sierra Club against others like the Nature Conservancy. Supporters continue to call the bond package a critical investment that would fund needed improvements to California’s aging water infrastructure and help to restore the Delta ecosystem.

Postponing the water bond might be easier said than done. With a two-thirds vote requirement of both the Senate and the Assembly, the bond issue might get caught up in the budget wrangling process that is currently holding Sacramento hostage.

 The CSAC Agriculture and Natural Resource Policy Committee was scheduled to take up the water bond discussion at its Sept. 8 meeting. If lawmakers have their way, the Committee just might have to wait until 2012.