HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10241989 - 2.3 c2. 3
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Contra
FROM: Costa
County Phil Batchelor, County Administrator s
County
DATE: October 18, 1989 "y
srqcotin`�'i
SUBJECT: STATUS REPORT ON 1989 LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
SPECIFIC REOUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Acknowledge receipt of this final status report from the
County Administrator on the Board' s Legislative Program for
1989 .
2. Concur with the County Administrator' s recommendations for
items which should be carried over to the Board' s 1990
Legislative Program.
3. Request the County Administrator to prepare a proposed 1990
Legislative Program and present it to the Board of
Supervisors for their consideration on either November 28 ,
1989 or December 5 , 1989.
BACKGROUND:
On December 6, 1988 the Board of Supervisors approved its 1989
Legislative Program. Now that the Legislature has recessed for
1989, it is timely to report to the Board on the status of those
measures which were considered to be the highest priority for
adoption in 1989. What follows is a restatement of each of some
24 items from the Board' s 1989 Legislative Program along with the
status of each. (The numbers are not all in sequential order
because some items of lesser priority were dropped from
consideration early in the year) . The current status of each
item is in bold to distinguish it from the original statement
included in the Board' s Legislative Program for 1989. We have
also included three measures which were sponsored by the Board of
Supervisors that were not a part of the original 1989 Legislative
Program and have provided a status report on each of these (see
items 53 , 54 & 55 at the end of this report) .
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT:Ye,;j_YES SIGNATURE: e& //
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE /!/L
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S): xllffw ��?
ACTION OF BOARD ON October 24, 1`1259 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER
Supervisor Fanden ABSTAINED due to.'.a-conflict of.` interest on Item No. 8.
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: 1, 11, IV, V NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: II OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
CC:
County Administrator
soC.TTESTED
Les Spahnn, Jackson/Banish & As
All Department Heads (via CAO) PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
M382 (10/88)
BY DEPUTY
The County Administrator' s recommendation for inclusion of the
item in the Board' s proposed 1990 Legislative Program which will
be returned to the Board on either November 28, 1989 or December
5, 1989 is underlined and in bold at the end of each item.
1. Authorize counties to levy an "override" on property taxes
to fund the County contribution to the retirement fund as a
voter-approved indebtedness.
Current law allowed counties to levy an "override" on property
taxes only during the 1982-1983 and 1983-1984 fiscal years. In
order to give the Board of Supervisors an opportunity to
determine whether they wish to impose all or a part of the
County' s voter-approved retirement costs as an override on the
property tax it is necessary to either repeal the sunset date or
move it ahead into the future a year or so to provide the Board
of Supervisors with a "window" within which to make such a
decision. (See R & T 97.65 )
Assemblyman Campbell has introduced this legislation for the
Board of Supervisors as AB 1202. The bill has passed the
Assembly Floor and the Senate Local Government Committee and is
awaiting final action on the Senate Floor. The bill has been
placed on the Senate inactive file at the request of the County
Administrator until we are able to work out a compromise with the
Governor's Office whereby we will stand some chance of getting
the bill enacted into law.
It is recommended that this item be included in the proposed 1990
Legislative Program in the hope that some type of compromise can
be worked out with the Administration.
2. Repeal Oakland Zoo funding in Trial Court. Funding Act.
This provision, which was added to the trial court funding bill
the last evening of the 1988 Session, has nothing to do with the
Trial Court Funding Program and should not have been included in
it. The requirement that the Board of Supervisors provide $50,000
a year to the Oakland Zoo preempts the responsibility of the
Board of Supervisors to decide priorities for use of the General
Fund money freed up by the Trial Court Funding Act. When
combined with the requirement that the County transfer a portion
of its property tax revenue to certain cities, the Trial Court
Funding Act as it affects this County makes the whole program
less attractive.
It appears unlikely that the County will be successful in
entirely repealing this provision. However, the County is
considering other efforts to increase revenue in other areas
which will offset the loss of revenue in this area. No specific
action has been taken in this regard since our last status report
to the Board.
It is recommended that in 1990 an effort be made to amend Penal
Code Section 1463.28 (b) to increase the amount shown for Contra
Costa County from $100,000 to at least $150,000 in order to
offset the transfer of funds from the County to the Oakland Zoo.
3 . Add one Municipal Court Judge to the Delta Municipal Court.
Senator Boatwright has introduced SB 468 for this purpose and
Assemblyman Isenberg has introduced AB 1908 for this same
purpose. SB 468 has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and is
currently on the Suspense File in the Senate Appropriations
Committee. AB 1908 is being held at this time in the Assembly
Judiciary Committee. No new judges were created in 1989.
However, we are well positioned to have the additional Municipal
Court Judge created in 1990.
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It is recommended that the addition of one Municipal Court Judge
to the Delta Judicial District be continued as a priority item in
1990.
4 . Increase tipping fee to pay for solid waste public education
programs.
The Board of Supervisors has made it clear that this is a
priority item in order to provide funding for a solid waste
public education program. The intent here is simply to obtain
state approval to include public education programs within those
programs which are a legitimate expenditure from the current
tipping fee. At present this fee can be used only for the
planning and preparation of the solid waste management plan. A
separate tipping fee is available for the enforcement actions
necessary to insure that sanitary disposal site operators are
properly complying with current state and county regulations.
(See GC 66784. 3 )
A major revision to solid waste statutes was accomplished by the
passage of AB 939 (Chapter 1095, Statutes of 1989) . It appears
that a number of provisions are included in this bill which may
provide the flexibility to raise revenue in order to fund a
public education program. We are now reviewing this language
with County Counsel to determine whether further amendments are
necessary in order to accomplish the Board's objectives.
If County Counsel concludes that further amendments are needed in
order to accomplish the Board's objectives in this regard this
item will be includes in the proposed 1990 Legislative Program.
5 . Include Contra Costa County in AB 558 pilots to test the
value of using foster care funds to prevent placements.
Current law enacted in 1988 allows three counties, including
Solano County, to use a portion of their foster care funds to
provide an intensified social work program designed to prevent
the need to place a child in out-of-home care. If these efforts
are successful there should be sufficient savings in foster care
funds to offset the cost of the additional staff. The Social
Service and Probation Departments hope to design a multi-agency,
interdisciplinary team which can provide the same type of
intensified support services for a family, but using a variety of
professional staff from the Social Service, Probation, Schools
and Mental Health Departments. The intent here is to have Contra
Costa designated as a pilot county to test this concept, similar
to that provided for in AB 558, but broadened to include staff
from other disciplines.
Assemblyman Campbell introduced AB 899 for this purpose. AB 899
passed the Legislature but was vetoed by the Governor for reasons
which do not appear to be directly related to the concept
contained in the early versions of AB 899. AB 899 would have
allowed this County to extend its Family Preservation Program
county-wide, using foster care funds to finance the additional
intensive and inter-disciplinary staff efforts which are required
to eliminate the need to place a child in foster care or reduce
the amount of time a child remains in foster care. Unfortunately
the County agreed to allow the bill to be amended to authorize
any County to participate in the AB 558 project. This was
apparently what caused the Governor to veto the bill.
For 1990, we will recommend that the Board sponsor the
reintroduction of AB 899 in the form it was before the
objectionable amendments were accepted and that no such
amendments be permitted to the bill in 1990.
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6. Reintroduce "Buy-America" Legislation similar to SB 2185 of
1988.
In 1988 legislation was introduced at the request of the Board of
Supervisors to allow local governments and the state to require
the use of domestic products in major construction projects like
highways, bridges and the West County Justice Center. The bill
ran into trouble with opposition from a number of domestic firms
that purchase semi-finished products from foreign suppliers and
then finish it locally. SB 2185 was not drafted carefully enough
to permit such situations to be included within the definition of
"domestic" products. If the language is more carefully drawn to
permit this type of situation we believe we have a reasonable
chance of getting it passed.
Each member of this County's legislative delegation has been
approached about introducing this legislation. Each has declined
to carry the legislation. In the absence of any interest in this
legislation on the part of our delegation, we were unsuccessful
in making any progress in this area.
Unless the Board directs otherwise, we do not plan to include
this item in the proposed 1990 Legislative Program.
7. Provide Funding for an Abandoned Vehicle Program.
The County, and most other cities and counties in the state, are
caught in a bind in terms of obtaining state funding for an
abandoned vehicle program. The Legislature is apparently willing
to pass a statewide, mandated $1. 00 surcharge on vehicle
registrations to pay for an abandoned vehicle program. However,
it appears likely that the Governor will veto such legislation on
the basis that it is a tax increase. The Governor is more likely
to sign legislation which authorizes each county to impose such a
surcharge. However, such an optional "tax" requires approval of
the voters. Since it seems unlikely that the Governor will sign
any surcharge on vehicle registrations which does not require a
vote of the people it is recommended that the County press for
legislation which provides for such an option, either sponsoring
such legislation or providing substantial support to CSAC or
other counties and cities who may sponsor such legislation.
Assemblyman Steve Clute has introduced AB 1441 at our request for
this purpose. AB 1441 passed the Legislature but was vetoed by
the Governor. AB 1441 would have allowed the County and cities
to establish an authority which would have the responsibility to
impose the additional $1 surcharge on vehicle registrations for a
five year period and operate the abandoned vehicle abatement
program.
Knowing that this is a priority with the Board, we will include
abandoned vehicle legislation in the proposed 1990 Legislative
Program, perhaps applicable only to this County.
8. Increase Excise Tax on Alcoholic Beverages.
The Board of Supervisors has clearly indicated its intent to try
for legislation in 1989 that will provide for at least a modest
increase in the excise tax on alcoholic beverages. It is
believed that such legislation has a reasonable chance of passage
only with the support of the alcoholic beverage industry. Their
opposition will more than likely doom the County' s efforts. The
Board of Supervisors has, therefore, directed the County
Administrator to seek a meeting with representatives of the
alcoholic beverage industry in an effort to reach a compromise on
legislation. If such a compromise proves not to be possible the
Board of Supervisors may wish to consider pursuing an initiative
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campaign in 1990 . This item is listed here primarily for the
purpose of attempting to reach such a compromise. A major effort
probably cannot be successfully mounted in the Legislature
without such a compromise.
As the Internal Operations Committee has reported to the Board,
no legislation increasing the excise tax on alcoholic beverages
passed in 1989 and it appears unlikely that any will pass in
1990. It appears likely that the initiative route is the only
remaining vehicle for achieving the Board's objectives.
Assemblyman Connelly is leading the initiative effort.
Other than recommending the support for the initiative once it
qualifies for the November 1990 ballot, we do not plan to
recommend that the Board pursue any further legislative remedy in
this area during 1990.
9. Increase amount of liability for causing unnecessaryn
emergecy response.
Under current law, an individual who causes an emergency response
by fire, medical or law enforcement personnel because of the
abuse of alcoholic beverages while operating an automobile or
boat can be billed for the actual cost of the response up to
$1000 for incident. It has been suggested that $1000 may not be
an adequate figure. It is therefore recommended that the Board
of Supervisors seek an increase to $1000 per emergency response
agency up to a total not to exceed $5000 per incident. (See GC
53155) .
Senator Royce, who authored the original emergency response
liability legislation, has introduced SB 318 for this purpose.
The bill is still in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
We plan to recommend that the Board continue its sponsorship of
SB 318 in 1990.
10. Increase small claims certified mailing fee to reflect
actual cost of mailing.
Under current law a court often mails documents for the plaintiff
or defendant using certified mail. The fee which can be charged
for this purpose is currently $3 .00. This does not cover the
actual mailing cost and administrative costs of the court staff.
Therefore, it is recommended that this fee be increased to a
figure which will reimburse the court for actual mailing costs,
rounded to the next higher dollar figure and then indexed for
future increases in mailing costs. (See CCP 117. 14)
Assemblyman Elihu Harris amended this provision into his AB 9,
which has now passed and been signed into law as Chapter 15,
Statutes of 1989. The bill contained an urgency clause and
therefore became effective May 10, 1989 when it was signed by the
Governor.
No further action in this area appears necessary during 1990.
11. Allow administrative fee on dismissal of financial
responsibility to see if it reduces caseload.
Under current law, a driver is required to carry proof of
insurance in his or her vehicle at all times. If a driver is
found by a law enforcement officer to not have appropriate proof
of insurance in the vehicle when the driver is stopped for any
other reason the driver can be cited. However, if the driver has
insurance but simply did not have it available in the vehicle the
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driver need only produce proof of the fact that he or she has
insurance and the citation is normally dismissed. This causes a
great deal of work for the court personnel and the entire
procedure produces no revenue for the court. It is therefore
suggested that a $10. 00 administrative fee be authorized for
cases where the citation is dismissed to see whether the
knowledge that a driver will at least have to pay a $10. 00 fee
even if the citation is dismissed would be a deterrent to failure
to carry proper proof of insurance coverage and thereby reduce
the burden on the courts. It is suggested that this might even
be a pilot project with Contra Costa County serving as the pilot
to see whether the administrative fee reduces the number of
citations that are issued.
A variety of bills were introduced which would address the
Board's desire for such an administrative fee. However, it
appears that the underlying requirement that a driver have proof
of financial responsibility in the vehicle at all times was
allowed to sunset effective January 1, 1990. SB 1706 (Chapter
1124, Statutes of 1989) eliminated the sunset provision and would
have continued the financial responsibility requirement
indefinitely. However, SB 1706 provided that this section only
goes into effect if SB 1160 (Robbins & Presley) were enacted. SB
1160 was vetoed by the Governor, thus the repeal of the sunset
date for the financial responsibility law proposed by SB 1706
does not take effect. We have thus far been unable to identify
any other bill which repealed the sunset date which passed and
was signed by the Governor. In the absence of any such bill
coming to our attention we are concluding that the financial
responsibility law will sunset effective January 1, 1990 and
therefore the issue of an administrative fee is moot.
While we will continue to monitor efforts to reinstate the
financial responsibility laws and will try to include an
administrative assessment if such legislation is introduced, we_
do not plan to recommend that the Board sponsor legislation in
this area in 1990.
12. Allow County to recover costs of successfully prosecuting a
civil or criminal violation of nuisances.
Under current law if an individual repeatedly violates nuisance
ordinances County Counsel can take the individual to court on
civil or criminal charges. However, if the County is successful
there is no way for the County to recover from these deliberate,
repeat violators the often extensive administrative and legal
costs which are sustained by the County. These costs can
discourage the County from prosecuting such cases. It is;
therefore, suggested that counties (and cities, if they wish) be
authorized to recover their reasonable administrative and legal
costs when they successfully prosecute such a case. (Add GC
25845. 5)
Senator Boatwright introduced SB 618 for this purpose. The bill
was amended to allow the County to recover three times the cost
of the abatement. In this form the bill has passed the
Legislature and has been signed into law. It is now Chapter 114,
Statutes of 1989.
Absent further direction from the Board, we do not plan to
recommend any further legislation in this area in 1990.
13 . Waive 2-year time limit on complex assessment appeals.
During the 1988 legislative session the County had legislation
introduced which would have allowed a waiver of the two-year time
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limit within which assessment appeals must be processed where the
amount of the assessment which is in dispute exceeds $10 million.
This legislation grew out of a concern that the County would be
unable to complete processing of the assessment appeals filed by
Tosco Oil Co. within the current two-year time limit. This time
limit helps to protect residential homeowners from the sometimes
slow process of government. Eventually the assessment appeals
were settled to the County' s satisfaction. The issue still
remains unresolved, however. While a two-year limit is
appropriate for residential and most commercial property there
are difficult and highly technical assessment issues facing such
property as oil refineries and other large industrial firms which
often cannot be resolved within the two-year statutory period.
It is therefore suggested that the County seek authority to waive
the two-year limit where the amount of the assessment in dispute
exceeds $10 million. This will exclude all but the largest and
most complex of such appeals.
Since the Tosco assessment appeal has been resolved successfully
most legislators are unwilling to carry this legislation at this
time.
We do not plan to recommend any further legislative efforts in
this area during 1990.
14. Allow public member on parole board to have an alternate.
Under current law the membership of a County Board of Patrol
Commissioners consists of the Sheriff, the County Probation
Officer and a public member selected by the Presiding Judge of
the Superior Court. The Sheriff and the County Probation Officer
have the opportunity under the law to appoint alternates from
their offices to represent them at meetings of the County Parole
Board. No such authority exists for the public member. While
this has not been a problem in the past, the inception of the
maximum supervision parole program in 1987 has increased the
number of parole applications and thereby the number and length
of meetings which have to be held. It is therefore recommended
that the Presiding Judge be authorized to select not only the
public member but an alternate for him or her as well. This
would relieve the burden on public members who have other
responsibilities and cannot necessarily dedicate several half
days a month to this task. (See PC 3085) .
Senator Mello has amended this provision into his SB 1062 which
passed the Legislature and was signed into law by the Governor.
It is now Chapter 624, Statutes of 1989.
In view of the fact that we were successful with this item no
further legislation will be recommended for 1990.
15. Partial Block Grant for Temporary Court Commissioners.
Under current law only two counties have authority to appoint
temporary court commissioners under a tightly supervised and
structured program. These counties are Contra Costa and Napa.
Under the Trial Court Funding Act counties are entitled to a
block grant of $212,000 for each judicial position which is
authorized by the Legislature. However, Contra Costa and Napa
Counties are not entitled to any reimbursement for the temporary
court commissioner positions which are authorized by the
Legislature for those counties. It is recommended that these two
counties be authorized a partial block grant payment based on the
proportion of a full-time position which is represented by the
actual number of hours which the temporary court commissioners
work in a year. (See GC 73362. 1) .
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Senator Robert Presley amended his SB 1669 to include our
temporary court commissioners as eligible positions to be counted
toward the Trial Court Block Grant. This provision was
eliminated by the Assembly Judiciary Committee before the bill
was passed. The Governor subsequently vetoed SB 1669.
We will include this item in the proposed 1990 Legislative
Program.
16. Extend Courthouse Construction fee of $2 per $10 of filing
fee to small claims and civil cases.
Under current law persons found guilty of vehicle code violations
pay most of the penalty assessments for the courthouse
construction fund. And yet, these individuals often use the
courthouse the least of all violators, particularly in the .
municipal court. Many such violators never appear in court but
nevertheless pay a penalty assessment to assist with the
construction of the courthouse facilities for the County.
Current law places no such assessment on civil claimants and
small claims claimants all of whom, by definition, use the
courthouse facilities regularly. It is therefore suggested that
the current courthouse construction penalty assessment of $2.00
for each $10. 00 of fine be imposed on civil and small claims
claimants by charging them $2.00 for each $10 .00 of filing fees
they pay.
Senator Alquist amended his SB 430 to provide that if either of
the proposed Courthouse Construction Bond Issues passes the
Legislature and is approved by the voters, those counties which
receive funds pursuant to the bond issue may collect a surcharge
of up to $25 on all civil matters except domestic relations
proceedings and matters which are within the monetary
jurisdiction of the small claims court. These funds would have
to be used as matching funds for any Courthouse Construction bond
funds the County might receive. SB 430 passed the Legislature
but was vetoed by the Governor.
It is clear that both the Governor and many members of the
Legislature are opposed to further fee increases. It seems
fruitless to sponsor additional legislation in this area. We
will, however, confer with the Municipal Court Administrator and
our lobbyist to determine whether sponsoring such legislation is
worthwhile.
17. Re-introduce SB 458 to allow administrative fee on certain
vehicle code actions in Contra Costa County.
In 1986 legislation was introduced to allow Alameda County to
impose a municipal court administrative assessment of not to
exceed $10. 00 to cover the cost of recording and maintaining a
record of convictions for vehicle code violations and the cost of
notifying the DMV. In addition this legislation authorized
Alameda County to establish a fee in both the Municipal Court and
Superior Court for the processing of accounts receivable for
fines owed in criminal cases, not to exceed $30 . 00. Contra Costa
asked to be added to this legislation. The author agreed.
However, so many counties asked to be added that the author
eventually allowed the bill to be made applicable statewide. It
thereby lost some critical support in the Legislature and in
order to get it passed the author amended the bill, back to
include only Alameda County, although the author had agreed to
leave Contra Costa County in the bill. The legislation was
eventually enacted with only Alameda County included. In an
effort to correct this oversight the author introduced SB 458 in
1987. This legislation never went anywhere and the County still
needs to have the authority, currently granted only to San Diego
and Alameda Counties, to impose these assessments. (See GC
72062) .
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Senator Petris introduced SB 358 for this purpose. This bill has
passed the Legislature and has been signed into law by the
Governor. SB 358, which is now Chapter 49, Statutes of 1989,
authorizes any county to impose these additional administrative
assessments.
In view of our success in this area and the opposition to further
fee increases, no further legislation in this area will be
recommended for the 1990 Legislative Program.
18. Amend 1463 PC dealing with Kensington to allow for local
agreement to alter percentage of split in fines and forfeitures.
Under current law the percentage of fees, fines and forfeitures
that go to cities and counties are specified. Local
jurisdictions are able to alter these percentages by mutual
agreement. No such authority exists to alter the percentage
split that goes to a special district like the Kensington
Community Services District that provides law enforcement
services. Authority exists to adjust these percentages with
BARTD and the Municipal Court Administrator requests authority to
adjust these percentages with the Kensington Community Services
District. (See PC 1463 ( 1) (c) ) .
We were unable to identify an appropriate bill into which this
provision could be amended during 1989.
We will include this -provision in our proposed 1990 Legislative
Program. _
19. Require DMV to accept Holds on all traffic offenses for
failure to pay fine.
Under current law DMV accepts Drivers ' License holds on the more
serious vehicle code offenses for failure to pay a fine or
otherwise to comply with a court order. The only alternative a
Judge has under current law for less serious offenses is to issue
a bench warrant, a much more serious action than simply refusing
to renew a Drivers ' License until all fines are cleared. This
leaves us with a situation where a Judge may have to issue a
bench warrant for a muffler violation whereas a speeding ticket
which is not paid results only in a hold on the Drivers ' License.
We would like to determine the willingness of DMV to accept holds
on all vehicle code violations, thereby eliminating the need for
many bench warrants and establishing a more consistent penalty
for failure to pay a fine. If DMV is willing we would like them
to join us in sponsoring legislation to require DMV to accept
holds on all vehicle code violations.
Senator Beverly introduced SB 1002 for this purpose. While SB
1002 exempts some vehicle code violations such as parking,
pedestrian , bicycle, off-highway and open alcoholic container
violations, the substance of what was included in the Board's
legislative program for this item is included in SB 1002. SB
1002 passed the Legislature and has been signed into law by the
Governor as Chapter 126, Statutes of 1989.
In view of the extent of our success in this area during 1989, we
do not plan to include any further legislative efforts in this
area during 1990.
20. Increase civil automation and micrographics fee from $1.00 to
an amount acceptable to the Legislature.
Under law in effect until August of 1988 the Board of Supervisors
was able to increase the fee which is charged on civil filings to
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pay for micrographics conversion and automation of court records.
Some counties apparently abused this right and pushed up the fee
to unacceptable levels. As a result, at the end of the last
session of the Legislature, a bill was passed which removed this
authority from the Board of Supervisors. In Contra Costa County
this fee was at $8 . 00. The change in law returned this fee to
the statutory maximum of $1. 00. This fee is inadequate to
finance the micrographics and automation which is required in the
courts. It is, therefore, suggested that the County sponsor
legislation which will increase this fee under legislative
control to whatever level the Legislature is willing to accept,
hopefully to about $8.00.
We have had Assemblyman Cortese amend AB 1638 to provide for
increases in the micrographics and civil automation fees. We
were unsuccessful in making any progress in this area in 1989.
We will include this item in our proposed 1990 Legislative
Program, although the prospects of being successful in this area
are doubtful, given the attitude of the Administration and the
Legislature to further fee increases.
21. Request a study of the whole problem of how to properly_
dispose of recycled motor oil and request that recommendations be
made to the Legislature for future action.
The Board had originally requested that legislation be sponsored
to impose a surcharge on the sale of motor oil to pay for
recycling programs designed to properly dispose of used motor
oil. The County' s lobbyist has indicated that this proposal will
generate substantial opposition from the petroleum industry and
is therefore unlikely to be passed by the Legislature. An
alternative which has been suggested is to have the Legislature
request a study by the Legislative Analyst or other appropriate
body to determine the extent of the problem and develop
recommendations for future legislative action. This appears to
be the action which is most likely to receive legislative support
and is therefore recommended as an interim measure, leading to
further legislation in a year or so after adequate documentation
of the extent of the problem is gathered.
A number of bills were enacted in 1989 that address the issue of
recycling used oil. These bills will be discussed with the
Internal Operations Committee and a report from that Committee
will be coming to the Board shortly which will address the extent
to which there is need for further legislative efforts in this
area. There is also federal legislation pending in this area
which must be taken into account.
We will defer to the Internal Operations Committee in terms of
what legislation in this area should be included in the 1990
Legislative Program.
28. Relieve small school districts of cost of special education
students placed by another district, particularly transportation
costs.
As requested by the Board of Supervisors, the County
Administrator's Office set up a meeting between Assemblyman
Campbell, Supervisor Torlakson and the superintendents of the
East County school districts. Assemblyman Campbell indicated
that AB 300 had been introduced at the request of this County in
order to address this situation. At the conclusion of the
meeting the superintendents agreed that they would provide
Assemblyman Campbell's staff with additional data to support
their need for additional transportation funding for special
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education children. There does not appears to be anything
further for the Board of Supervisors or the County
Administrator's Office to do on this issue at this time, although
we will continue to follow AB 300. AB 300 has passed the
Assembly Floor and is currently on referral to the Senate
Appropriations Committee where it was held in the Suspense File.
We believe that we have accomplished what staff was directed to
do in this area. Absent directions from the Board to the
contrary we do not plan to recommend legislation in this area in
1990.
29. Clean-Up to SB 1974 of 1988 ( 1988 Muni Court Pay & Staffing
Bill) to remove references to the Marshal.
When the Marshal/Sheriff consolidation legislation was enacted
earlier this year it left in statute the determination of the pay
and staffing for classifications in the Marshal' s Office. Now
that the consolidation has been completed under the Sheriff there
is no need for the state law to fix the pay and staffing for
those positions that were previously in the Marshal' s Office. A
fairly simple change in legislation will be pursued that will
clean-up this issue.
30. Municipal Court Pay & Staffing Bill.
Each year the Board of Supervisors must sponsor a Municipal Court
Pay and Staffing Bill that allows the Legislature to fix the
staffing and pay for employees in the Municipal Court. This
Legislation is generally not controversial and the County
Administrator will again prepare such legislation for
introduction by a member of this County' s delegation. This
Legislation will probably be combined with the clean-up to the
Marshal/Sheriff consolidation discussed above so that all of the
changes to the staffing and pay for the Municipal Courts can be
handled in a single piece of legislation.
Senator Boatwright introduced SB 305 to address both the changes
to remove the references to the Marshal's office and to make
other changes to the Municipal Court Pay and Staffing legislation
to reflect decisions already made by the Board of Supervisors as
well as the terms of the agreement with the Courts over the Trial
Court Funding Act legislation. SB 305 passed the Legislature and
was signed into law by the Governor. It is now Chapter 895,
Statutes of 1989.
It will be necessary to sponsor another Municipal Court Pay and
Staffing bill in 1990 to incorporate any salary changes which are
approved by the Board of- Supervisors and to reflect some staffing_
changes and reclassifications which we understand are in process.
53. Enact the California Child Care Partnership Act.
During 1989 the Board of Supervisors agreed to co-sponsor AB 1853
(Speier) , which would enact the California Child Care Partnership
Act. AB 1853 passed the Assembly Human Services Committee and is
now in the Assembly Ways & Means Committee. It is our
understanding that the author is trying to find a mechanism for
funding the bill that will not require State General Fund dollars
before the bill is heard in the Ways & Means Committee.
We will recommend that the Board reaffirm its co-sponsorship of
AB 1853 in the proposed 1990 Legislative Program.
54. Enact law requiring that foods be required to be labeled to
indicate the nutritional content of the food.
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AB 2207 (Campbell) was introduced for this purpose. It requires
that food packaging include a statement giving the total fat,
cholesterol, sodium and sugar content of the food. AB 2207
failed passage in the Assembly Governmental Efficiency and
Consumer Protection Committee on May 3, 1989 by a vote of 3:3.
The bill requires six "aye" votes to get out of Committee.
We will include in the proposed 1990 Legislative Program
sponsorship of AB 2207 or other similar legislation which will
accomplish the same objective.
55. Enact legislation which would declare it to be State policy
to protect and preserve all reasonable and beneficial uses
of the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Estuary and their tributaries.
AB 2210 (Campbell) was introduced for this purpose. AB 2210
passed the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee on May 2,
1989 but failed passage in the Assembly Ways & Means Committee on
June 20, 1989 on a vote of 8:12, with 12 "aye" votes required for
passage.
We will include in the proposed 1990 Legislative Program
sponsorship of AB 2210 or similar legislation which will
accomplish the same objective.
There will, of course, be a number of additional items
recommended for inclusion in the proposed 1990 Legislative
Program from issues which have already been identified by the
Board for inclusion in the 1990 Legislative Program or which are
recommended by departments.
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