HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 01222008 - C.21 8� L
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ,;` —`;. CONTRA
COSTA
FROM: John Cullen, County Administrator o', - a•�iimia, COUNTY
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DATE: January 22, 2008 .,,_
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SUBJECT: Federal and State Legislative Programs C0:1
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION(S):
ADOPT the Contra Costa County 2008 Federal and State Legislative Platforms, as amended.
BACKGROUND/REASON(S) FOR RECOMMENDATION(S):
On December 18, 2007, when the Board of Supervisors accepted the report on the County's 2007
Federal and State Legislation Programs and approved the proposed legislative platforms for 2008,
Congress had not adopted the FFY 2007-08 budget. Consequently, the County did not know which
of its appropriations requests would be funded. Since that time, Congress consolidated its 11
outstanding appropriations bills into a single omnibus package which was subsequently signed by the
President.
Of the County's FFY 2008 appropriations requests, funding was provided for the following projects:
➢ Mount Diablo Mercury Mine Clean-up: $517,000
➢ Lower Walnut Creek Flood Control Project: $562,000
➢ Pinole Shoal Management (Delta LTMS): $462,000
➢ San Francisco to Stockton Deepening: $403,000
➢ CALFED Levee System Integrity: $4.92 million
➢ Grayson and Murderer's Creeks Flood Control Project: $98,000
➢ San Pablo Bay/Mare Island Strait Maintenance Dredging: $1 .692 million
➢ Suisun BaV Channel/NY Slough Maintenance Dredging: $2.856 million
➢ Juvenile Hall Library: $121,000
➢ ARIES Integrated Justice Systems: $658,000
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VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
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ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ON MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVI S ON THE DATE SHOWN.
Contact: Sara Hoffman-335-1090 /
ATTESTED
JOHN CULLEN, RK i�_��_
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
cc: CAO
Nielsen Merksamer(via CAO)
Alcade&Fay(via CAO)
Dept Heads(via CAO) O
BY, PEPUTY
2008 FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM
The adoption of the federal budget triggers the need to amend three appropriation requests on
the Proposed 2008 Federal Legislative Platform:
The $125,000 request for the library improvements at the Juvenile Hall has been removed,
owing to the appropriation of $121,000 for FFY 2008.
The Mt. Diablo Mercury Mine Clean-up request has been revised to $483,000, reflecting the
appropriation of $517,000 and the balance of the total project cost of $1 million.
The ARIES Integrated Justice Information Systems request has been revised to $1,000,000 to
reflect a current assessment of project needs.
In addition amendments to the platform reflect anticipated new information and proposals:
An appropriations request has been added for a transportation project: $4,000,000
appropriation for engineering and construction of an overcrossing for the Mokelumne Trail
over the State Route 4 Bypass in the Brentwood area.
6 projects have been identified for the reauthorization of the Water Resources Development
Act (WRDA):
• Pinole Creek 1135 Project
• Wildcat Creek 1135 Project
• Rodeo Creek Restoration Project
• Rheem Creek Project
• Walnut Creek Shoreline Dredge Project
• Regional Watershed Planning
A policy position has been added to support amendments to the Internal Revenue Code to
allow an offset against income tax refunds to pay for court-ordered debts that are past-due.
r A policy position has been added to support the modernization of the 911 and emergency
communication systems.
The revised 2008 Federal Legislative Platform is Attachment A.
2008 STATE LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM
In addition, consistent with direction from the Board of Supervisors, the 2008 State Legislative
Platform has been amended to include the following:
A policy position has been added to support efforts that seek to identify and eliminate elder
financial abuse and elder exposure to crime that may be committed through conservators hips.
(#81)
A policy position has been added to support efforts to allow Medi-Cal clients transportation
access to medical care via the most efficient transportation mode possible instead of the very
costly ambulance transportation that is currently prevalent. (#86)
The revised 2008 State Legislative Platform is Attachment B.
2
SEA(,
2008 FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM
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CONTRA COSTA COUNTY 904 �c
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Each year, the Board of Supervisors adopts a Federal legislative platform which
establishes priorities and policy positions with regard to potential federal legislation and
regulation. The 2008 Federal Legislative Platform includes 10 requests for
appropriations; 6 requests for the reauthorization of the federal transportation act; 6
requests for the reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act; 7
appropriation and grant support positions; and 17 policy positions.
FFY 2009 Federal Appropriation Requests
The following list is a preliminary ranking in priority order. Adjustments to the priority
order may be appropriate once the President releases his budget. The current priority
ranking gives preference to those projects that we know will not be included in the
President's budget, with lower priority to Army Corps of Engineers projects which may
be in the budget. Also, Army Corps project requests will be adjusted to be consistent
with Corps capability.
1. Safe and Bright Futures for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence —
$750,000 appropriation to implement the federally funded plan to diminish the damaging
effects of domestic violence on children and adolescents and to stop the cycle of
intentional injury and abuse. The three year assessment and planning process resulted
in a program plan that will align and create a system responsive to the needs of children
exposed to domestic violence through identification, intervention, and treatment; raising
awareness, training professionals, utilizing and disseminating data, establishing
consultation teams to support providers in intervening and using best practices; and
developing targeted services. The local domestic violence hotline received over 3,100
calls involving children last year (60% of all calls). Exposure to trauma like domestic
violence reshapes the human brain, influences personality, shapes personal skills'and
behaviors, impacts academic performance, and substantially contributes to the high
cost of law enforcement, civil/criminal justice and social services.
2. Mt. Diablo Mercury Mine Clean-up — $483,000 appropriation to complete work on a
model agreement and process to enable clean-up of the Mt. Diablo Mercury Mine in a
cost effective, environmentally sound manner with minimal liability exposure for the
County and involving all stakeholders through an open community-based process. The
project involves the development of a preliminary remediation plan, identification of
applicable permit and environmental standard requirements, completion of an
appropriate federal and state environmental analysis, and the production of liability
limiting agreements for the clean-up of the Mt. Diablo Mercury Mine. Located on private
property on the northeast slope of Mt. Diablo at the upper end of the Marsh Creek
watershed, the Mt. Diablo Mercury Mine tailings are responsible for 88% of the mercury
in Marsh Creek. Mercury levels in fish in Marsh Creek Reservoir exceed the health
standard concentration of 0.5 ppm. (Note- $517,000 appropriated for FFY 2008.)
1/16/2008 1 Attachment A
3. Lower Walnut Creek, California — $600,000 appropriation for the Army Corps of
Engineers to analyze the lower five miles of the Walnut Creek Channel, constructed by
the Army Corps in the 1960's, to restore flood capacity, provide environmental
enhancements and ecosystem restoration and evaluate fish passage through the
system. The project is designed to help improve flood protection in a densely populated
area, while leaving the creek in a natural state, thus providing habitat for migratory
birds, fish and other wildlife; increasing neighborhood livability; and allowing for linkages
with recreational and park land. (Note: $188,000 appropriated for FFY 2006; no FFY
2007 appropriation; $562,000 appropriated for FFY 2008.)
4. Grayson and Murderer's Creeks, California — $600,000 appropriation for the Army
Corps of Engineers to analyze Grayson and Murderer's Creeks to determine the
feasibility of providing flood control, environmental enhancement and ecosystem
restoration and fish passage through the system. The project is designed to help
improve flood protection in a densely populated area, while leaving the creeks in a
natural state, thus providing habitat for migratory birds, fish and other wildlife; increasing
neighborhood livability; and allowing for linkages with recreational and park land. (Note:
$100,000 appropriated for FFY 2006; no FFY 2007 appropriation; $98,000 appropriated
for FFY 2008.)
5. Delta LTMS-Pinole Shoal Management, CA — $2,000,000 appropriation for the
Army Corps of Engineers to continue a Long Term Management Strategy (LTMS) for
levee rehabilitation, dredging and sediment reuse in the Delta, similar to the effort
completed in the Bay area. Levee work, reuse of dredged sediments, dredging and
other activities have been difficult to accomplish due to permitting problems and a
divergence of priorities related to water quality. Significant levee rehabilitation is critical
to the long term stability of these levees and to water quality and supply for the 23
million Californians who depend upon this water. Stakeholders from the Department of
Water Resources, Ports, Army Corps, levee reclamation districts, local governments
and other interested parties are participating in the LTMS. A Sediment or Dredged
Material Management Office will be established, and in the longer term, preparation of a
Sediment Management Plan will consider beneficial reuse of dredged materials as one
potential source of sediment for levees, among other things. (Note: $500,000
appropriated for FFY 2005; $225,000 for FFY 2006; $500,000 for FFY 2007; $462,000
appropriated for FFY 2008.)
6. San Francisco to Stockton (J. F. Baldwin and Stockton Channels) Ship
Channel Deepening — $1,400,000 appropriation for the Army Corps of Engineers to
continue the Deepening Project. Deepening of this channel will allow for operational
efficiencies for many different industries, an increase in waterborne goods movement,
reduced congestion on roadways, and air quality benefits. Phase one work focused on
establishing economic benefit to the nation and initial salinity modeling in the channel
sections. The second and final phase includes detailed channel design, environmental
documentation, cost analysis, additional numeric modeling, and dredged material
disposal options. (Note: $500,000 appropriated for FFY 2005; $200,000 for FFY 2006;
$200,000 for FFY 2007; $403,000 appropriated for FFY 2008.)
1/16/2008 2 2008 Federal Platform
7. ARIES Integrated Justice Information Systems — $1,000,000 appropriation to
continue implementation of the integration and interoperability of criminal justice and
related information systems for public safety agencies within Contra Costa County and
neighboring counties, including Alameda, Solano, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara
and San Francisco. The Automated Regional Information Exchange System (ARIES)
will give agencies access to jail records, criminal histories, mug shots, certified
fingerprint data, restraining orders information and images, contacts made by all law
enforcement agencies, and probation and parole status of persons in the community.
Access to these disparate public safety databases will allow approximately 48 law
enforcement agencies to "connect the dots" in preventing crime and terrorist events and
in identifying and locating persons of interest. (Note: $250,000 appropriated for FFY
2004; $625,000 for FFY 2005; $450,000 appropriated for FFY 2006; no FFY 2007
appropriation; $658,000 appropriated for FFY 2008.)
8. Suisun Bay Channel/New York Slough Maintenance Dredging — $6,136,000
appropriation for the Army Corps of Engineers for maintenance dredging of this channel
to the authorized depth of minus 35 feet. Continued maintenance is essential for safe
transport of crude oil and other bulk materials through the San Francisco Bay, along the
Carquinez Straits and into the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta. Dredging for this channel
section is particularly costly, due to requirements on placement of dredged materials in
upland environments. An oil tanker ran aground in early 2001 due to severe shoaling in
a section of this channel, which creates a greater potential for oil spills (Note.. $4.559
million appropriated for FFY 2005; $4.619 million for FFY 2006, $2.82 million for FFY
2007; $2.856 million appropriated for FFY 2008.)
9. San Pablo/Mare Island Strait/Pinole Shoal Channel Maintenance Dredging —
$3,790,000 appropriation for the Army Corps of Engineers for maintenance dredging of
the channel to the authorized depth of minus 35 feet. The Pinole Shoal channel is a
major arterial for vessel transport through the San Francisco Bay region, serving oil
refineries and bulk cargo which is transported as far east as Sacramento and Stockton.
(Note $1 million appropriated for FFY 2005; $2.988 million for FFY 2006; $896,000 for
FFY 2007; $1.696 million appropriated for FFY 2008.)
10. Mokelumne Trail Overcrossing of State Route 4 Bypass — $4,000,000
appropriation for engineering and construction of an overcrossing for the Mokelumne
Trail over the State Route 4 Bypass in the Brentwood area. The project will enable trail
users, who are bicyclists and pedestrians, to cross over the new highway. The
overcrossing is one of the environmental mitigations identified in the environmental
impact report for the State Route 4 Bypass, but it has not yet been constructed due to
inadequate funding. If the appropriation is received, Contra Costa County will pass it
through to the State Route 4 Bypass Authority, a joint powers agency that operates with
administrative and engineering support provided by Contra Costa County. The
appropriation would combine with regional traffic impact fees and grant funds to fully
fund the project.
1/16/2008 3 2008 Federal Platform
2009 Reauthorization of Federal Transportation Act
The current federal transportation policy and spending act, a five-year act known as the
Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act — A Legacy for
Users, or SAFETEA-LU, expires in 2009. However, discussions on the reauthorization
are expected to begin in 2008.
1. Vasco Road Safety Improvement Project— $25 million for improvements to a 2.5-
mile accident-prone section of Vasco Road. Project components include widening the
roadway to accommodate a concrete median barrier and shoulders on either side of the
barrier, construction of the barrier, and extension of an existing passing lane. The
project will eliminate cross-median accidents which have caused numerous fatalities in
recent years, and will provide increased opportunities for vehicles to pass safely (unsafe
passing is a major cause of accidents and fatalities on this segment of the increasingly
busy two-lane undivided road). The project will include provisions for wildlife
undercrossings to preserve migration patterns. The requested funds will augment the
regional, state and federal funds already committed to Vasco Road, including East
County regional traffic impact fee revenue and Proposition 1 B Local Streets and Roads
funds. The Vasco Road project was developed through inter-jurisdictional efforts
involving the County, the City of Brentwood, California Highway Patrol, local community
groups and state and federal wildlife resource agencies.
2. North Richmond Truck Route Project — $6.5 million to construct a new road
system that will provide truck access between businesses and the Richmond Parkway,
moving the truck traffic away from a residential neighborhood and elementary school.
This project will increase safety, improve public health around the school and residential
area by reducing diesel particulate emissions from those areas, increase livability of the
neighborhood, improve local access to the Wildcat Creek Regional Trail, stimulate
economic development in the industrial area of the community and provide a better
route for trucks traveling to and from the Richmond Parkway. The alignment was
developed through a community planning process funded through an Environmental
Justice planning grant from Caltrans.
3. Eastern Contra Costa Trail Network — $5 million for joint planning, environmental
review, right-of-way acquisition and implementation of a coordinated network of trails for
walking, bicycling and equestrian uses in eastern Contra Costa County. Eligible trails
include, but are not limited to: (1) the Mokelumne Trail overcrossing of the State Route
4 Bypass; (2) the Great California Delta Trail as authorized in SB 1556 (Torlakson),
which will link Contra Costa County and other counties in the San Joaquin/Sacramento
River Delta; and (3) a supportive network of East Contra Costa Trails in unincorporated
County areas and the Cities of Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley and Pittsburg.
4. State Route 4 / Old River Bridge Study — $1,000,000 appropriation to work with
San Joaquin County and the State of California on a study of improving or replacing the
Old River Bridge along State Route 4 on the Contra Costa/San Joaquin County line.
The study would determine a preferred alternative for expanding or replacing the
1/16/2008 4 2008 Federal Platform
existing bridge, which is part of State Route 4. The existing bridge is narrow, barely
allowing two vehicles to pass each other, and is aligned on a difficult angle relative to
the highway on either side, requiring motorists to make sharp turns onto and off of the
bridge. The project would improve safety and traffic flow over the bridge.
5. Rural Road Funding Program — The County supports the creation of a new funding
program that will provide funds for converting or upgrading rural roads into more
modern roads that can handle increasing commuter traffic in growing areas, such as
East County. These roads do not often compete well in current grant programs
because they do not carry as many vehicles as roads in more congested urban or
suburban areas. As a result, improvements such as widening, realignment, drainage
improvements and intersection modifications often go unfunded, leaving such roads
with operational and safety problems as well as insufficient capacity.
6. Transportation Funding for Disabled, Low-income, and Elderly Persons — The
County supports continuation and increased funding levels for the three federal funding
programs dedicated to transit services for these population groups -- the New Freedom
Program for senior transit services, the Job Access and Reverse Commute Program
which funds transit services to job locations for low-income persons, and the Section
5310 transit funding program for the elderly and individuals with disabilities. SAFETEA-
LU provided a total of $1.7 billion nationwide for these programs. By comparison, $200
billion was provided for highway projects; even transportation research got more funding
($2.3 billion) than transit for elderly, disabled and low-income persons. All of the
demographic trends point to a growing need for such services in the future. For
example, the 65-and-older population in the Bay Area is projected to more than double
by the year 2030.
Transit services for elderly, disabled, and low-income persons are provided by the
County, by some cities, by all of the bus transit operators, and by many community
organizations and non-profits that provide social services. Increased funding is needed
to provide and maintain more service vehicles, operate them longer throughout the day,
upgrade the vehicle fleet and dispatching systems, improve coordination between public
providers and community groups that also provide such services to their clients, and
expand outreach programs to inform potential riders of the available services, among
other needs.
2009 Reauthorization of Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)
The Water Resources Development Act of 2007 became law in November, more than
seven years after the last authorization bill. It appears that the House and Senate
Committees intend to move a WRDA bill this year. Whether or not it would be enacted
is open to question. We would, nevertheless, want to get our projects in for
consideration at this point.
1/16/2008 5 2008 Federal Platform
1. Pinole Creek 1135 Project— TBD appropriation for the Army Corps of Engineers to
complete their study of the feasibility of restoring and enhancing wildlife resources in
Pinole Creek between San Pablo Bay and Highway 80. The existing Corps-designed
flood control channel supports only degraded, primarily non-native habitat. Despite the
poor habitat, the creek does support a population of the threatened steelhead trout. A
preliminary restoration plan has been completed by the Corps, and federal participation
is desired to augment and expand local efforts for creek restoration.
2. Wildcat Creek 1135 Project — TBD appropriation for the Army Corps of Engineers
for environmental enhancement, ecosystem restoration and fish passage in Wildcat
Creek. The primary purposes of the project are to enhance the fish and wildlife values
for the original Wildcat Creek Flood Control Project while also increasing the flood
protection capacity of the project. The project includes construction of a meandering low
flow channel, increasing the associated riparian corridor, stabilizing the adjacent flood
plain, expanding the existing sediment basin, and providing a natural fish bypass
around the sediment basin and concrete channel. The project also includes
construction of floodwalls to ensure continued flood protection is provided with these
changes to the channel.
3. Rodeo Creek Restoration Project — Project authorization is needed for the Army
Corps of Engineers to prepare a study of the feasibility of restoring and enhancing
wildlife resources in Rodeo Creek between San Pablo Bay and Highway 80. The
channel was designed and constructed to provide adequate flood protection for the
community of Rodeo and to control erosion of the creek. The channel currently does
this, but requires extensive, environmentally insensitive maintenance to keep the
channel functioning property. In addition, the current channel design includes barriers
to migration of anadromous fish. The Contra Costa Flood Control and Water
Conservation District would like to partner again with the Corps of Engineers under the
Corps' 1135 program to transform this outdated design into a sustainable,
environmentally sensitive facility that better serves the community and the environment.
4. Rheem Creek Project — The Contra Costa Flood Control and Water Conservation
District is seeking a 1135 project authorization for Rheem Creek between the mouth at
San Pablo Bay and Giant Road. The Army Corps of Engineers' existing flood protection
project on Rheem Creek protects a number of commercial, industrial, residential and
open space areas in the Richmond / San Pablo area of Contra Costa County.
Surrounding the mouth of the creek is a large undeveloped parcel (Brunner Marsh)
which is being acquired by the East Bay Regional Park District for a future public park.
Development of the adjacent lands as a regional park provides a unique opportunity for
an enhanced creek environment in an area that will be very visible to the public.
5. Walnut Creek Shoreline Dredge Project— The Walnut Creek channel is currently
covered by a General Reevaluation Report study. Work to date has shown that the
flood capacity of the downstream reaches of the channel is negatively impacted by
sediment at the mouth of the channel and in the 1,000 foot section from the mouth to
the ship channel. The Flood Control District is seeking project authorization for a minor
1/16/2008 6 2008 Federal Platform
expansion of the existing ship channel dredging program to include this 1,000 foot
section. The depth of dredge is much shallower than needed for the ship channel but
can use the same equipment and methodology as the larger dredge project and should
have large benefits to the proper functioning of the Lower Walnut Creek channel.
6. Regional Watershed Planning — $500,000 appropriation to the Army Corps of
Engineers to participate in developing Regional Wetlands Permits for Placer,
Sacramento, Contra Costa, Yolo, Santa Clara and Solano counties. This Regional
Watershed Planning project will help to integrate endangered species permits and
wetlands permits, improving and streamlining the permitting process for public and
private developments and ensuring effective conservation of wetlands and species.
While regional endangered species permits for urban growth are becoming more
common, there is little precedent for receiving similar permits for wetlands impacts
under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. This project will pilot this innovative concept
for areas such as eastern Contra Costa County that have already embarked on regional
conservation/permitting efforts.
This project should be added to the list of authorized projects in the next iteration of
WRDA to facilitate additional appropriations in future years. Further, the provision of
WRDA that authorizes the Army Corps to partner with local entities to cooperatively
fund dedicated permitting assistance by Army Corps staff should be continued to
provide another avenue for developing and implementing Regional Wetlands Permits
with the Army Corps.
FFY 2009 Federal Legislative Appropriations and Grants — Support Positions
The following support positions are listed in alphabetic order and do not reflect priority
order.
Byron Airport — $1 .5 million grant to acquire an 80-acre parcel adjacent to the Byron
Airport. The parcel is directly within the flight path of one of the Airport's runways. The
land acquisition is necessary to protect, enhance and further the identified aviation
needs for the Byron Airport consistent with the approved June 2005 Master Plan, which
included a Business Plan for project implementation. The Byron Airport is poised for
future general aviation and aviation-related development, however, growth is dependent
upon infrastructure improvements on and around the Airport, plus protection from
incompatible encroachment adjacent to the Airport.
CALFED Bay Delta Reauthorization Act Levee Stability Improvement Program
(LSIP) — TBD appropriation for the Army Corps of Engineers for levee rehabilitation
activities. The CALFED Reauthorization Act, passed in January 2004, authorized $90
million, which may be appropriated for levee rehabilitation work. The Corps has
prepared a "180-Day Report" which identifies projects and determines how these funds
would be spent. Since that time, the breakdown of CALFED, coupled with the Army
Corps' attempts to define an appropriate and streamlined process has delayed funding
and resultant levee work. (Note: $500,000 appropriated for FFY 2006; $400,000 for
FFY 2007; $4.92 million appropriated for FFY 2008).
1/16/2008 7 2008 Federal Platform
Contra Costa Water District's Canal Emergency Flood Control Project—$10 million
appropriation to replace the existing unlined, open water Contra Costa Canal with a
pipeline buried to increase flood protection in the surrounding area that is undergoing
rapid residential growth, increase public safety and security, and improve drinking water
quality while protecting the environment. Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) relies
upon the Canal to reliably deliver high quality water to over 550,000 people in Contra
Costa County. (Note: $23 million was authorized in the Water Resources Development
Act of 2007; FFY 2009 request of $10 million to complete Phases 1 and 2; FFY 2010
request of $13 million will be made for final completion of the project.)
Delta Islands and Levees Feasibility Study— TBD appropriation for the Army Corps of
Engineers for the Delta Islands and levees feasibility study. Originally designed to be a
cooperative effort with the State (the State risk assessment process moved ahead of the
Federal process), the study will now look at the water resources challenges in the Delta,
will consider a larger Federal role, and will develop a collaborative planning process.
(Note: $200,000 appropriated in FFY 2006; $800,000 in FFY 2007; $2 million expected
in FFY 2008.)
East Bay Regional Communication System (EBRCS)— $3 million appropriation to
build the East Bay Regional Communication System (EBRCS), a P25 Radio System
infrastructure for Contra Costa and Alameda County. This two-county system will
provide interoperable voice communication in both the 800 MHz and 700 MHz
frequencies to all public safety and public services agencies within Contra Costa County
and Alameda County. The project will improve radio system reliability, enhance radio
coverage, relieve channel congestion, reduce maintenance costs, provide seamless
regional coverage, facilitate future expansion and provide a migration path to new
technologies. Due to a regional approach, economies of scale will also be realized.
EBRCS will allow for interoperable voice communication within the region that can be
integrated with other P25 radio systems outside the geographical area of the EBRCS,
for example, with San Francisco. This project will provide Level 5 communications
which is the highest level of interoperable communications. This project will allow for
everyday interoperable communications, not just various levels of interoperability during
big events or disasters in which radio caches are deployed or gateway devices used.
Regional Habitat Planning and Conservation — $100 million appropriation increase to
the Department of the Interior's "Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund"
to keep pace with rising land costs and the increasing number of Habitat Conservation
Plans (HCPs) throughout the country. The Cooperative Endangered Species
Conservation Fund awarded only $68 million nationwide this year, including $7.5 million
through the Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance Grants Program, $47 million
through the Habitat Conservation Plan Land Acquisition Grants Program and $13.9
million through the Recovery Land Acquisition Grants Program. $7 million was awarded
for land acquisitions in eastern Contra Costa County to benefit the East Contra Costa
County HCP.
1/16/2008 8 2008 Federal Platform
Southern California Counties have effectively tapped the Cooperative Endangered
Species Conservation Fund for almost a decade to obtain significant federal investment
in habitat and open space acquisition in their region, but for Contra Costa County and
other new northern California HCPs to recoup their fair share of these funds, the overall
amount of funding must be increased by at least 100%. In addition to the East Contra
Costa County HCP, regional HCPs are also being prepared in the northern California
Counties of Sacramento, Solano, Yolo, Placer, Sutter, Yuba, EI Dorado and Santa
Clara.
San Francisco Bay, Long Term Management Strategy (LTMS), Environmental
Windows, Science Projects — $3.45 million appropriation for the Army Corps of
Engineers' "Environmental Windows Science Projects" as part of the Bay Area Long
Term Management Strategy (LTMS). Environmental Windows are limited timeframes
when dredging and, to some extent, disposal can occur within San Francisco Bay and
environs. However, the existing windows are based on old and, in some cases, little or
no scientific basis. This project would identify where additional science is necessary,
prioritize science projects, obtain funding and oversee these scientific studies. The
broad based coalition includes the Bay LTMS Agencies (EPA, BCDC, Corps, Regional
Water Board), resource agencies (USFWS, NOAA Fisheries, State Fish and Game) and
a number of other agencies, organizations and individuals.
2008 Federal Legislative Platform Policy Positions
The following support positions are listed in alphabetic order and do not reflect priority
order.
Affordable Housing and Homeless Programs —For Housing and Urban Development
(HUD)'s Homeless Assistance Grants, the County will support funding that does not
include set-asides or other requirements that limit local communities' ability to respond
to the particular needs in their areas.
For the Housing Assistance for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program, the County will
support legislation to update the formula used to allocate HOPWA grants to reflect local
housing costs as well as the number of AIDS cases.
Agricultural Pest and Disease Control — Agriculture and native environments in
Contra Costa County continue to be threatened by a variety of invasive/exotic pests,
diseases and non-native weeds. The Federal government provides funding for
research, regulation, pest exclusion activities, survey and detection, pest management,
weed control, public education and outreach. The County will support funding in all
these areas for protection of our agricultural industry and open space. Consistent with
the policy position, the County will also support legislation which would authorize and
direct the USDA to provide state and local funding for High Risk Prevention programs
(also called Pest Detection Funding).
1/16/2008 9 2008 Federal Platform
Beneficial Use of Dredged Materials — As the beneficial reuse of dredged materials
has a clear public benefit, particularly in the Delta, the County will continue to support
beneficial reuse in general and also continue to advocate for funding for a federal study
to determine the feasibility of beneficial reuse, considering the benefits and impacts to
water quality and water supply in the Delta, navigation, flood control damage,
ecosystem restoration, and recreation. The study would include the feasibility of using
Sherman Island as a rehandling site for the dredged material, for levee maintenance
and/or ecosystem restoration. Language to authorize the study was included in the
Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) which was passed into law on
November 8, 2007.
Community Development Block Grant and HOME Programs — The County's ability
to continue to provide funding to a variety of nonprofit agencies that provide critical
services to lower income residents, including financing the development of affordable
housing, was threatened by the Administration's plan to cut the CDBG and HOME
programs as part of the FY 2006 federal budget. While the proposal was defeated, it
could resurface as a means to reducing the federal deficit and to force more costs onto
state and local governments. The County will oppose proposed cuts in these vital
community development programs. In addition, as part the Administration's
"Community Development Block Grant Reform Act" introduced last year, the formula
used in the CDBG program to determine a grantee's entitlement amount would be
amended in several ways. If this formula change is enacted by Congress, the County
would lose approximately $1.2 million dollars or 35 percent of its CDBG grant. The
County will oppose the proposed changes in the CDBG allocation formula.
At present, the HOME program is the only federal source of affordable housing
production funding. The County supports increased funding for HOME, particularly
formula grants.
Cost Shifts to Local and State Government— Contra Costa County performs many of
its services and programs pursuant to federal direction and funding. Other services and
programs are performed at the behest of the state, which receives funding through the
federal government. In the past, the Administration's budget has contained significant
cuts to entitlement programs and/or caps on entitlements. Such actions could shift cost
of services from the federal government to the state and/or local governments (and to
the extent that costs would shift to the state, it is highly likely that these would be
passed on to the County). The County will oppose any actions that would result in cost
shifts on federal entitlement programs or which would result on greater dependency on
county funded programs. In addition, the County will support federal and state financial
assistance to aid county and local government efforts to meet unfunded federal
mandates, such as those contained in the National Response Plan (NRP), the National
Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), and the National Incident Management System
(NIMS).
Criminal Debt Collection — Nonpayment of court-ordered victim restitution, fines and
fees is a problem of epidemic proportions for all jurisdictions. Literally billions of dollars
1/16/2008 10 2008 Federal Platform
go uncollected each year across the country, resulting not only in financial suffering of
victims, but also the loss of public revenue. Many states already allow for the offset of
State Tax Refunds, and these programs are successful in achieving revenue recovery.
Federal Tax Refunds are already being successfully offset to pay for delinquent child
support. The County will support amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
allow an offset against income tax refunds to pay for court-ordered debts that are past-
due.
Designation of Indian Tribal Lands and Indian Gaming — The Contra Costa County
Board of Supervisors has endorsed the California State Association of Counties'
(CSAC) policy document regarding development on tribal land and the policy document
regarding prerequisites to Indian gaming. These policy statements address local
government's concerns for such issues as the federal government's ability to take lands
into trust and thus remove them from local land use jurisdiction, absent the consent of
the state and the affected county; the need for tribes to be responsible for all off-
reservation impacts of their actions; and assurance that local government will be able to
continue to meet its governmental responsibilities for the health, safety, environment,
infrastructure and general welfare of all members of its communities.
The County will continue to advocate for federal legislation and regulation that supports
the CSAC policy documents, including limitations on reservation shopping, tightening
the definition of Class II gaming machines; assuring protection of the environment and
public health and safety; and greater transparency, accountability and appeal
opportunities for local government in the decision-making process that permit the
establishment of Indian gaming facilities. The County will also continue its opposition to
Indian gaming facililties proposed by the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and the
Guideville Band of Pomo Indians in Contra Costa County through administrative,
regulatory or legislative action.
Economic Development Programs — The Administration's FFY 2008 budget proposed
to eliminate the Section 108 Community Development Loan Guarantee program, the
Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI), and the Rural Housing and
Economic Development (RH/ED) program. The Administration argued that communities
could undertake activities traditionally supported by these programs by using
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, even as the President's budget
proposed cuts to the CDBG formula funding by 25 percent. The County will support full
funding for these valuable programs.
Federal "Statewideness" Requirements — For many federally funded programs, there
is a "statewideness" requirement; i.e., all counties must operate the specific program
under the same rules and regulations. This can hamper the County's ability to meet
local needs, to be cost effective and to leverage the funding of one program to reduce
costs in another program. Contra Costa County cannot negotiate for federal waivers or
do things differently because it is not a state, yet its population is greater than seven
states. Recognizing this is a very long-term effort, the County will advocate for
relaxation of the "statewideness" rule to allow individual counties or a consortium of
1/16/2008 11 2008 Federal Platform
counties to receive direct waivers from the federal government and/or adopt the rules
and regulations currently in use in another state for specific programs.
Public Housing Programs — The Administration's FY 2008 budget requested
approximately 8 percent less than the FY 2007 enacted level for Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). Years of disinvestment threaten the viability of public housing and
the well-being of millions of our neediest citizens. Preservation of the existing inventory
of public housing units is critical not just to families currently residing in public housing,
but also to the millions of families waiting for assistance. The Public Housing program
is now in critical condition. The County will support full funding for public housing
operations; sufficient funding to help preserve the existing inventory of public housing;
funding for unforeseen emergencies or disasters at he former annual levels; and
reauthorizing legislation for the HOPE VI program and fund HOPE VI at least at its
original level of $600 million.
Industry groups estimate that dedicated funding of at least $310 million is necessary to
combat crime and drugs in public housing communities. Since the elimination of the
Public Housing Drug Elimination Grants in FY 2001, agencies have struggled to try to
provide for these services out of their already oversubscribed Operating Fund. The
result of this financial crunch has been widespread termination of security services and
personnel, reduction in public safety services, and termination of programs for at-risk
youth.
The County will support funding of $14.9 billion, at a minimum, for the renewal of
housing assistance vouchers. Congress should build upon the funding formula revision
found in the FY 2007 appropriations bill in order to restore effective funding policies in
authorizing language.
The County will also support funding of at least $1.5 billion for administrative fees and
reestablishing the administrative fee structure in place from 1998-2004.
The County will support funding of at least $72 million for Family Self Sufficiency (FSS)
coordinators, the same as the President's budget request in FY 2004. FSS is a
mandatory program for any housing agency that received new vouchers many years
ago, but only about 22 percent of agencies receive funding to operate the program, due
to recent changes in the program's competitive funding process. Every agency that
needs assistance to operate this mandatory program should receive it.
Retiree and Retiree Health Care Costs — The County operates many programs on
behalf of the federal government. While federal funding is available for on-going
program operations, including employee salaries, the allocation is usually capped,
regardless of actual costs. For retiree and retiree health care, the County's ability to
contain costs is extremely limited. The County will advocate for full federal financial
participation in funding the County's retiree and retiree health obligations.
1/16/2008 12 2008 Federal Platform
San Luis Drain — The U. S. Bureau of Reclamation is under a court injunction to
evaluate and implement options for providing drainage services for the west side of the
San Joaquin Valley. Drainage water from this area contains toxic concentrations of
selenium and other hazardous substances. The San Luis Drain is one of the options
that was studied. The Drain would pass through Contra Costa County to discharge in
the Delta. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has determined to address the problem
without building the Drain but Congress would need to appropriate the funds before this
alternative could be implemented and the injunction requiring provision of drainage
service still looms. The County will continue to oppose the San Luis Drain option and
support instead drainage solutions in the valley, such as reducing the volume of
problem water drainage; managing/reusing drainage waters within the affected irrigation
districts; retiring lands with severe drainage impairment (purchased from willing sellers);
and reclaiming/removing solid salts through treatment, bird safe/bird free solar ponds
and farm-based methods.
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) — The County supports a $60
billion appropriation (combined SCHIP and Medicaid funding) to support reauthorization
of the federally-funded State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This
amount would be sufficient to fund California's current SCHIP program, as well as
Healthy Families program expansions proposed by the Governor and state Legislature.
The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was authorized by Congress in
1997 to expand public health care availability to low-income children and families. At
that time, SCHIP gave $40 billion to states for 10 years to provide coverage for children
living in families who earned too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford
private insurance. Today, this successful program covers more than six million children.
The authorization for this program expired on Sept. 30, 2007. This fall, the House and
Senate adopted two separate but similar reauthorization bills. The first measure was
quickly vetoed by President Bush on October 3, with lawmakers currently holding the
second piece of legislation on Capitol Hill.
Telecommunications Act of 1996 Revisions — The Telecommunications Act of 1996
governs local government's role in telecommunications, primarily broadband cable that
uses the County's right-of-way as well as consumer protections. As Congress works to
update the Act, the County will continue to advocate for strengthening consumer
protections and local government oversight of critical communications technologies;
local access to affordable and reliable high speed broadband infrastructures to support
the local economy; the right of local municipalities and communities to offer high-speed
broadband access: coordination and integration of private communication resources for
governmental emergency communication systems; preservation of local government's
franchise fees; preservation of the local community benefits, including but not limited to
public, education and governmental (PEG) access channels; authority for provision of
municipal telecommunication services; preservation of local police powers essential for
health, safety and welfare of the citizenry; preservation of local government ownership
and control of the local public rights-of-way; and support for ensuring that
communication policy promotes affordable services for all Americans.
1/16/2008 13 2008 Federal Platform
Currently, the Community Broadband Act of 2007, S.1853 and H.R. 3281 encourages
the deployment of high speed networks by preserving the authority of local governments
to offer community broadband infrastructure and services. The County will oppose all
bills that do not address the County's concerns unless appropriately amended. In
addition, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed rule-making
(FCC Second Report and Order Docket 05-311 "Franchising Rules for Incumbents")
that, in the opinion of local government, goes beyond the scope of their authority in this
area. The County will oppose all such rule making efforts. The County will advocate for
consumer education for the DTV (digital television) transition and oppose media
consolidation.
Telecommunications (other) — The National Emergency Number Association supports
the "911 Modernization and Public Safety Act of 2007," which encourages the transition
to a national IP-enabled emergency network and seeks to improve 911 and E-911
access to those with disabilities. The County will support legislation that encourages
the modernization of the 911 and emergency communication systems.
Volume Pricing — The National Association of Counties supports greater access for
local governments to General Services Administration (GSA) contract schedules.
These schedules provide volume pricing for state and local governments and make
public sector procurement more cost effective. However, current law does not provide
full access to state and local governments for GSA schedules. The County will support
legislation that gives local governments access to these schedules and provides the
option of purchasing law enforcement, security, and other related items at favorable
GSA reduced pricing.
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Reauthorization — Congress may again consider
reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act in 2008. In 2005, the President's
budget proposed restructuring WIA as a block grant to the states. The proposal also
contained provisions that would have reduced local control over services and program
expenditures. There was a concern that the new proposed performance measures
would not have necessarily reflected whether or not the program best meets the needs
of clients in a cost effective manner. The County will support reauthorization of the
Workforce Investment Act at current funding levels or higher; keeping the program at
the federal level rather than block granting it; maximizing local control, so that we can
meet local needs; and establishing reasonable performance measures.
1/16/2008 14 2008 Federal Platform
SEAL
2008 STATE LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY ?9cor
Iqc6u'
Each year, the Board of Supervisors adopts a State legislative platform that establishes
priorities and policy positions with regard to potential state legislation and regulation.
The State Legislative Platform includes policy issues that provide direction and
guidance for identification of bills which would affect the services, programs or finances
of Contra Costa County; County-sponsored bill proposals; and issues regarding the
state budget and state-local relationships.
2008 State Sponsored Bills
The following sponsored bill proposals respond to Board articulated priorities and/or
past direction to staff.
Subdivision Map Act Amendment for Pedestrian, Bicycle, Transit and
Traffic Calming Facilities — The County's the circulation element of the General
Plan provides for a balanced transportation system that helps to reduce
cumulative traffic impacts, harmful air emissions and single-occupant commuting,
and encourages use of transit. For some time the County has wanted to update
its transportation fees for new development to fund off-site pedestrian, bicycle,
transit and traffic calming facilities. However, the state statute authorizing local
agencies to adopt ordinances to require the payment of fees for transportation
facilities, section 66484 of the Subdivision Map Act, is limited to bridges and
major thoroughfares.
Rationale: The public's concern over greenhouse gas emissions and the impact
of auto-oriented development on public health has spurred the County's efforts to
secure additional funding for transportation facilities that can help encourage
more walking, bicycling and transit use. In addition, the County's successful
efforts to reduce sprawl through infill development has increased the need for
traffic calming devices to help minimize the traffic impacts from new development
on existing roads. Revising the Subdivision Map Act to allow fees for these
transportation facilities would support the County's public policy goals, consistent
with its General Plan circulation element.
Contra Costa Housing Trust Fund — The shortage of affordable housing in
Contra Costa County is forcing approximately 50% of all renter households and
30% of all homeowner households to either live in substandard or crowded
conditions, or pay an inordinate percentage of their income for housing. In
August 2005, only 10% of County residents could afford the median priced home,
$567,000. The County is working with a coalition of elected officials, civic
leaders, businesses, faith, labor, nonprofit organizations and builders to develop
a plan and strategy to establish a Housing Trust Fund to help address this issue.
The Trust Fund will be a permanent dedicated funding source for affordable
1/16/2008 1 Attachment B
housing developments. Under this proposal, authority would be granted to the
County to collect an additional document recording fee. This would generate
approximately $2.5 million annually for the Trust Fund, based on the volume of
recordings.
Rationale: This issue was brought to the Legislature in 2006 as SB 521
(Torlakson) and in 2007 as AB 239 (DeSaulnier). Reintroduction will allow
development of a stronger local coalition to support passage of this measure.
Establishing a funding source to address the affordable housing crisis in Contra
Costa County is a high public policy priority for the Board.
2008 State Legislative/Regulatory Advocacy Priorities
Each year, issues emerge through the legislative process that are of importance to the
County and require advocacy. For 2008, it is anticipated that critical issues requiring
the attention of Nielsen Merksamer, the County's advocate, will include..
State Budget — The state is currently facing a structural deficit of approximately $14.5
billion for the budget year. The longstanding practice of state government has been to
look to county government as a means of balancing its budget. While opportunities to
do so are more limited with the passage of Proposition 1A, the magnitude of the deficit
makes it certain the state will be creative in their effort to include counties as part of its
budget balancing solution. Of particular concern to counties is the inadequate
reimbursement to counties for their increasing cost of operating several human services
programs, which is often referred to as the "Cost of Doing Business." The annual
shortfall between actual county expenses and state reimbursement has grown to
approximately $900 million since 2001, creating a de Facto cost shift to counties. The
funding gap forces counties to reduce services to vulnerable populations and/or divert
scarce county resources from other critical local services. It also increases the risk of
state and federal penalties.
Health Care — Counties have a high stake in California's health reform efforts.
Counties serve as employers, payers, and providers of care to vulnerable populations.
Consequently, counties stand ready to actively participate in discussions of how to best
structure a universal health care system for California. As proposals for Health Care
reform by either the Administration or the Legislation are presented, they will be
reviewed based on the Board-adopted "Principles for Action," and the Health Care
Principles adopted by CSAC and the Board of Supervisors.
Water and Levees /The Sacramento San Joaquin Delta (Delta Vision) — Due to the
Governor's Delta Vision process, legislative activity related to significant re-engineering
of the Delta is expected in the areas of water quality and supply, levees, ecosystem and
flood control that could have significant negative impacts upon the County. In 2007,
several bills requiring the sharing of flood/ levee liability, additional land use
requirements, flood control studies, and mapping (among other items) were signed by
2 2008 State Platform
the Governor. These bills could negatively affect the County, though the extent to which
remains to be determined. In addition, the County has been engaged in outreach with
other agencies and organizations. The County, in conjunction with the Contra Costa
Council has also established a coalition and list of projects to obtain significant funds
from the Proposition 1 E (and Prop 84) bonds to repair levees in the western and central
Delta.
Telecommunications Franchising — The Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition
Act of 2006 (AB 2987 Nunez) provided only a two-year grandfathering of the County's
current franchise authority to override the cable systern for an emergency alert. In
addition, there are numerous technical cleanups that are necessary to eliminate
inconsistencies and errors in the bill.
Illegal Dumping — The Integrated Waste Management Board's Illegal Dumping Task
Force report is expected to be released sometime in December 2007 or January 2008.
It is anticipated the report will spark legislative interest in addressing this issue, which is
not only costly to counties but also a blight on the environment.
Eminent Domain — Despite the defeat of Proposition 90 in November 2006, eminent
domain reform remains an important issue in the Legislature and at the ballot box. A
legislative constitutional amendment, ACA 8, was proposed in 2007 by
Assemblymember De La Torre, however, it did not garner the requisite support in the
Legislature and remains on the Assembly Third Reading File, where it will likely
languish unless there is a significantly altered political landscape. In the meantime,
there are two ballot measure campaigns underway for the June 2008 ballot to provide
new restrictions on the use of eminent domain: the California Property Owners and
Farmland Protection Act (sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association,
among others) and the Homeowners Protection Act (sponsored by the Eminent Domain
Reform Now Coalition, supported by CSAC and the League of California Cities).
Chris Adams Girls' Center— The County pursued a sponsored bill in 2007 (AB 1494,
DeSaulnier) to ensure adequate funding for the Chris Adams Girls' Center by allowing
the Center to become a licensed group home, eligible for AFDC-FC state and federal
foster care residential reimbursement. Unfortunately, the bill was vetoed by the
Governor, who stated increased state costs and a piecemeal approach to group home
licensing and rate setting policy as reasons for his veto. The County will advocate for a
waiver from the Director of the Department of Social Services pursuant to Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 18204 to enable it to directly operate a group home and
receive the necessary foster care reimbursement.
2008 State Legislative Platform Policy Positions
As requested by the Board, a brief background statement accompanies policy positions
that are not self-evident. Explanatory notes are included either as the preface to an
issue area or following a specific policy position. Please note that new and revised
policy positions are in italics as are the explanations regarding policy positions.
3 2008 State Platform
Agricultural Issues
1. SUPPORT efforts to ensure sufficient State funding for pest and disease control
to protect both agriculture and the native environment, including glassy winged
sharpshooter control; high risk pest exclusion activities; pesticide regulatory and
law enforcement activities; and weed pest management area control. Agriculture
is an important industry in Contra Costa County. Protection of this industry from
pests and disease control is important for its continued viability.
2. SUPPORT continued appropriations for regulation and research on sudden oak
death, a fungal disease affecting many species of trees and shrubs in native oak
woodlands. The County's natural environment is being threatened by this
disease.
3. SUPPORT funding for agricultural land conservation programs and agricultural
enterprise programs to protect and enhance the viability of local agriculture. The
growth in East County and elsewhere has put significant pressure on agricultural
lands, yet agriculture is important not only for its production of fresh fruits,
vegetables and livestock, but also as a source of open space.
4. SUPPORT an amendment to Section 113789 (c 6) of the California Retail Food
Code to read: "Premises operated by a producer, selling or offering for sale only
whole produce grown by the producer, or shell eggs, or both, provided sales are
conducted on premises controlled by the producer. Premises falling under this
definition may also offer for sale commercially prepared and packaged water and
soft drinks as well as value added products containing commodities grown by the
producer, if the value added products are not classified as potentially hazardous
food and they are prepared and packaged in an appropriate facility that is
licensed and inspected by the State or County Health Department."
The current California Retail Food Code (Section 113789 (c 6)) exempts from the
definition of Food Facility, premises operated by a producer, selling or offering for
sale only whole produce grown by the producer, or shell eggs, or both, provided
the sales are conducted on premises controlled by the producer. Offering value
added products containing agricultural commodities grown by the producer on
premises operated by the producer would not add a public health risk if those
products are prepared and packaged at an appropriate facility that is licensed
and inspected by State or County Health and as long as those products were
limited to those that were not classified as potentially hazardous food by the
California Retail Food Code. Likewise the addition of commercially packaged
water and soft drinks does not present a public health risk.
Animal Services Issues
5. SUPPORT efforts to protect local revenue sources designated for use by the
Animal Services Department; i.e., animal licensing, fines and fees. Fines, fees,
4 2008 State Platform
and licensing are major sources of revenue for the Animal Services Department.
The demand for animal services is increasing each year as does the demand on
the General Fund. It is important to protect these revenue sources to continue to
provide quality animal service and to meet local needs.
6. SUPPORT efforts to protect or increase local control and flexibility over the
scope and level of animal services. Local control over the scope of animal
services is necessary to efficiently address public safety and other community
concerns. Local control affords jurisdictions the ability to tailor animal service
programs to fit their communities. Animal related issues in dense urban areas
vary from those in small, affluent communities
7. SUPPORT efforts to protect against unfunded mandates in animal services or
mandates that are not accompanied by specific revenue sources which
completely offset the costs of the new mandates, both when adopted and in
future years. Unfunded mandates drain our limited fiscal resources and, at the
same time, chip away at local control over the scope and level of services.
8. SUPPORT efforts to ensure full funding of state animal services mandates,
including defense of the State Department of Finance's lawsuit against the State
Commission on Mandates regarding the State obligations for reimbursement of
local costs for animal services incurred in compliance with SB 1785. The County
invested large sums of money to comply with SB 1785. That was done with the
assurance that our cost would be offset by reimbursements from the state.
Failure by the state to honor the reimbursements negatively impacts the County
General Fund and Animal Services'budget.
9. SUPPORT efforts to protect and/or increase County flexibility to provide animal
services consistent with local needs and priorities. The demand for quality
animal service programming continues to increase each year. The County is
undergoing rapid growth and changing demographics. It is incumbent upon the
Animal Services Department to be flexible enough to adjust to the changing
needs and priorities.
10. SUPPORT efforts to preserve the integrity of existing County policy relating to
Animal Services (e.g., the Animal Control Ordinance and land use requirements).
Contra Costa is looked upon as one of the model Animal Services Departments
in the state. Its policies, procedures, and ordinances are the yardstick against
which other Animal Control organizations are measured. The local control
exercised by the Board of Supervisors is key to that hallmark.
Child Support Services Issues
11 . SUPPORT the establishment of a statewide electronic registry for the creation
and release/satisfaction of liens placed on property of a non-custodial parent as
necessary to collect delinquent child support payments. California law currently
5 2008 State Platform
provides that recording an abstract or notice of support judgment with a County
Recorder creates a lien on real property. This requires recording the judgment in
each of the 58 counties in order not to miss a property transaction. An electronic
registry would simplify not only the creation of liens, but also the
release/satisfaction of liens, because there would be a single statewide point of
contact, and the entire process would be handled electronically through
automated means.
12. SUPPORT amendment of current law that states that documents completed and
recorded by a local child support agency may be recorded without
acknowledgement (notarization) to clarify that the exception is for documents
completed or recorded by a local child support agency. This amendment clarifies
that documents that are prepared by the local child support agency and then sent
for recording either by the local child support agency or by the obligor (non-
custodial parent) or by a title insurance company are covered by the exemption,
a technical point that not acknowledged by all county recorder offices.
13. SUPPORT efforts to simplify the court process for modifying child support orders
by the court by requiring court appearances only when one of the parties objects
to the modification. Currently, establishment of parentage and support by the
court is permitted without court appearance if both parties are in agreement. A
similar process for modification would reduce court time, the workload of all
involved agencies and parties, and streamline the process.
14. SUPPORT efforts to ensure that the reduction caused by the federal Deficit
Reduction Act of 2005 to the California Department of Child Support Services is
not passed down as a reduction to the local program. The Act places a
restriction on the ability of states to use incentive funds as the state match to
draw additional federal funds. In previous years, California used its $30 million in
federal funds in child support programs. As a result, unless the State decides to
backfill the lost incentive funding, the program will be facing the prospect of a $90
million reduction in State FY 2007-08. The estimated reduction resulting from the
loss of federal matching incentives to Contra Costa County in 2007-08 would be
$1.7 million.
Climate Change Issues
15. SUPPORT the CSAC Climate Change Policy Statements and Principles which
address a broad range of issues affected by climate change, including water, air
quality, agriculture, forestry, land use, solid waste, energy and health. The
document is largely based on existing CSAC policy and adapted to climate
change. Additionally, the document contains a set of general principles which
establish local government as a vital partner in the climate change issue and
maintain that counties should be an active participant in the discussions in the
development of greenhouse gas reduction strategies currently underway at the
state level.
6 2008 State Platform
16. SUPPORT efforts to ensure that the implementation of AB 32 results in harmony
among the greenhouse gas reduction target created by the Air Resources Board
for each local agency, the housing needs numbers provided by the state
Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to housing
element law, and the Regional Transportation Plan process.
Elections Issues
17. SUPPORT legislation to adjust precinct sizing from 1,000 voters per precinct to
1,250 voters per precinct. With the option of being able to have up to 1,250
voters per precinct, the best polling locations in a neighborhood can be selected,
and that same site is more likely to be used for several elections, thus avoiding
the need to change poll sites for voters.
18. SUPPORT full state reimbursement for state mandates imposed upon local
registrars by the Secretary of State.
Emergency Preparedness, Emergency Response
19. SUPPORT legislation that would give local agencies more authority to train
volunteers and help clean-up oil spills without taking on additional legal liability.
20. SUPPORT legislation that would require the state's Oil Spill Prevention and
Response Agency to improve communication and clean-up technology, increase
safety standards for ships and establish special protections for ecologically
sensitive areas.
21. SUPPORT legislation that would require responses to future oil spills in a shorter
timeframe, with a more regional approach.
22. SUPPORT measures that enable counties and other local agencies to better
exercise their responsibilities to plan for and respond to emergencies and
disasters without taking on additional legal liability and oppose those that do not
recognize or support the county and local agency role in the State's Standardized
Emergency Management System.
Eminent Domain Issues
In the aftermath of the successful "No on 90" campaign, it is recognized that legislation
will be required to address the unresolved eminent domain concerns resulting from the
Welo vs. New London" Supreme Court decision.
23. SUPPORT legislation that would prohibit government agencies from using
eminent domain to take an owner-occupied home to transfer it to another private
owner or developer.
7 2008 State Platform
24. SUPPORT legislation that would amend the Constitution to respond specifically
to the facts and the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Kelo v. City of New
London.
25. SUPPORT legislation that would respect the decision of voters to reject
Proposition 90 in November 2006.
26. SUPPORT legislation that would provide additional protection for property
owners without including provisions, such as those in Proposition 90, which
subjected taxpayers to liability for the enactment of traditional legislative and
administrative actions to protect the public welfare.
27. SUPPORT legislation that maintains the distinction in the California Constitution
between Section 19, Article 1, which establishes the law for eminent domain, and
Section 7, Article Xl, which establishes the law for legislative and administrative
action to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.
28. SUPPORT legislation that would provide a comprehensive and exclusive basis in
the California Constitution to compensate property owners when property is
taken or damaged by state or local governments, without affecting legislative and
administrative actions taken to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.
Flood Control and Clean Water Issues
29. SUPPORT authorization for regional approaches to compliance with aquatic
pesticide permit issues under the purview of the State Water Resources Control
Board. Contra Costa County entered into an agreement with a neighboring
county and several cities to share the costs of monitoring. While it makes sense
for local government to pool resources to save money, State Board regulations
make regional monitoring infeasible.
30. SUPPORT efforts to provide local agencies with more flexibility and options to
fund clean water programs. Stormwater requirements issued by the Regional
Water Quality Control Boards are becoming more and more expensive, yet there
is no funding. Stormwater should be structured like a utility with the ability to set
rates similar to the other two key water services for society, drinking water and
wastewater.
31. SUPPORT efforts to provide immunity to local public agencies for any liability for
their clean-up of contaminations on private lands. Several years ago, the County
had the opportunity to receive grant funding for a clean-up project at an
abandoned mercury mine, however, was unable to perform the clean-up because
of the associated liability. This will be more critical as the Regional Water Quality
Control Boards institute Total Maximum Daily Loads, which establish a maximum
8 2008 State Platform
allowable amount of a pollutant (like mercury) in the stormwater from a
watershed.
General Revenues/Finance Issues
As a political subdivision of the state, many of Contra Costa County's services and
programs are the result of state statute and regulation. The state also provides a
substantial portion of the County's revenues. However, the state has often used its
authority to shift costs to counties and to generally put counties in the difficult position of
trying to meet local service needs with inadequate resources. While Proposition 1A
provided some protections for counties, vigilance is necessary to protect the fiscal
integrity of the County.
32. SUPPORT the state's effort to balance its budget through actions that do not
adversely affect County revenues, services or ability to carry out its governmental
responsibilities.
33. OPPOSE any state-imposed redistribution, reduction or use restriction on
general purpose revenue, sales taxes or property taxes unless financially
beneficial to the County. (Note that a redistribution of sales and property tax may
be beneficial to Contra Costa County in the event that sales tax growth continues
to lag behind property tax growth.)
34. OPPOSE efforts to limit local authority over transient occupancy taxes (TOT).
35. OPPOSE any efforts to increase the County's share-of-cost, maintenance-of-
effort requirements or other financing responsibility for state mandated programs
absent new revenues sufficient to meet current and future program needs.
36. SUPPORT efforts to ensure that Contra Costa County receives its fair share of
state allocations, including mental health funding under Proposition 63 and pass-
through of federal funds for anti-terrorism and homeland security measures. The
state utilizes a variety of methods to allocate funds among counties, at times
detrimental to Contra Costa County. For example, with Proposition 63 mental
health funding, the Department had anticipated $12-16 million per year. The
state allocation is only $7.1 million for the first 3 years, in part because the
homeless population was not considered in the allocation methodology.
37. SUPPORT efforts to receive reimbursement for local tax revenues lost pursuant
to sales and property tax exemptions approved by the legislature and the State
Board of Equalization.
38. SUPPORT continued efforts to reform the state/local relationship in a way that
makes both fiscal and programmatic sense for local government.
9 2008 State Platform
39. OPPOSE reductions in County-run State programs that shift responsibility or
costs to the County.
40. SUPPORT efforts to relieve California of the federal Child Support penalties
without shifting the cost of the penalties to the counties.
41. SUPPORT reduction in the 2/3 vequirement for special taxes that fund high
priority local services. 19,o - I�� 1 i t
VofL
42. SUPPORT efforts to authorize counties to impose forfeitures for violations of
ordinances, as currently authorized for cities. This would provide the County with
the opportunity to require deposits to assure compliance with specific ordinance
requirements as well as retain the deposit if the ordinance requirements are not
met. Currently, the County is limited to imposing fines which are limited to only
$100 - $200 for the first violation, which has proven to be an ineffective deterrent
in some cases.
43. SUPPORT efforts to redefine the circumstances under which commercial and
industrial property is reassessed to reduce the growing imbalance between the
share of overall property tax paid by residential property owners versus
commercial/industrial owners.
44. SUPPORT efforts to reduce County costs for Workers' Compensation, including
the ability to control excessive medical utilization and litigation. Workers'
Compensation costs are significant, diverting funds that could be utilized for
County services. Workers' Compensation should provide a safety net for injured
employees, for a reasonable period of time, and not provide an incentive for
employees to claim more time than medically necessary.
45. SUPPORT state actions that maximize federal and state revenues for County-run
services and programs.
46. SUPPORT legislative compliance with both the intent and language of
Proposition 1A.
47. SUPPORT full State funding of all statewide special elections, including recall
elections.
48. OPPOSE efforts of the state to avoid state mandate claims through the practice
of repealing the statues, then re-enacting them. In 2005, the State Legislature
repealed sections of the Brown Act that were subject to mandate claims, then re-
enacted the same language pursuant to a voter-approval initiative, and therefore,
not subject to mandate claims.
49. SUPPORT strong Public Utilities Commission (PUC) oversight of state-
franchised providers of cable and telecommunications services, including
10 2008 State Platform
rigorous review of financial reports and protection of consumer interests. AB
2987 (Nunez), Chapter 700, statutes of 2006 transferred regulatory oversight
authority from local government to the PUC.
50. SUPPORT timely, full payments to Counties by the State for programs operated
on their behalf or by mandate. The State currently owes counties approximately
$900 million in State General Funds for social services program costs dating
back to FY 2002-03.
51. SUPPORT full state participation in funding County's retiree and retiree health
care unfunded liability. Counties perform most of their services on behalf of the
state and federal governments. Funding of retiree costs should be the
responsibility of the state, to the same extent that the state is responsible for
operational costs.
Health Care Issues
The federal Medi-Cal waiver provided $180 million per year during years 3 to 5 of the
waiver, contingent upon the state developing a "coverage initiative for the uninsured."
The California Association of Public Hospitals has taken the lead in structuring an
initiative that would not only improve the health status of enrollees, but also promote
prudent use of health care services and ultimately lower costs for counties and the
Medi-Cal system.
In addition, the Governor and the Legislature have been engaged in health care reform
proposals during 2007. Counties are concerned about any reform that could transfer
responsibility to counties, without commensurate financing structures or in a manner not
compatible with the County's system. Counties support a concept of universal health
coverage for all Californians. Toward that end, counties urge the state to enact a system
of health coverage and care delivery that builds upon the strengths of the current
systems in our state, including county-operated systems serving vulnerable populations.
Currently, California has a complex array of existing coverage and delivery systems that
serve many, but not all, Californians. Moving this array of systems into a universal
coverage framework is a complex undertaking that requires sound analysis, thoughtful
and deliberative planning, and a multi-year implementation process. As California
moves forward with health care reform, counties urge the state to prevent reform efforts
from exacerbating problems with existing service and funding. The state must also
consider the differences across California counties and the impacts of reform efforts on
the network of safety-net providers, including county providers. The end result of health
reform must provide a strengthened health care delivery system for all Californians,
including those served by the safety net.
52. SUPPORT state action to increase access and affordability. Access to care and
affordability of care are critical components of any health reform plan. Expanding
eligibility for existing programs will not provide access to care in significant areas
11 2008 State Platform
of the state. Important improvements to our current programs, including Medi-
Cal, must be made either prior to, or in concert with, a coverage expansion in
order to ensure access. Coverage must be affordable for all Californians to
access care.
53. SUPPORT Medi-Cal reimbursement rate increases to incentivize providers to
participate in the program.
54. SUPPORT administrative streamlining of Medi-Cal, including elimination of the
asset test and semi-annual reporting and changes to income verification.
California should look to other states for ideas to reduce administrative costs,
such as allowing all children born into Medi-Cal to remain on the program until
age 21.
55. SUPPORT actions that address provider shortages (including physicians,
particularly specialists, and nurses). Innovative programs, such as loan
forgiveness programs, should be expanded. In an effort to recruit physicians from
other states, the licensing and reciprocity requirements should be re-examined.
Steps should be taken to reduce the amount of time it takes to obtain a Medi-Cal
provider number (currently six to nine months).
56. SUPPORT efforts that implement comprehensive systems of care, including case
management, for frequent users of emergency care and those with chronic
diseases and/or dual diagnoses. Approaches could be modeled after current
programs in place in safety net systems.
57. SUPPORT efforts that provide sufficient time for detailed data gathering of
current safety funding in the system and the impact of any redirection of funds on
remaining county responsibilities. The interconnectedness of county indigent
health funding to public health, correctional health, mental health, alcohol and
drug services and social services must be fully understood and accounted for in
order to protect, and enhance as appropriate, funding for these related services.
58. OPPOSE safety net funding transfers until an analysis of who would remain
uninsured (e.g. medically indigent adults, including citizens, who cannot
document citizenship under current Medicaid eligibility rules) is completed in
order to adequately fund services for these populations.
59. SUPPORT efforts to clearly define and adequately fund remaining county
responsibilities.
60. SUPPORT state action to provide an analysis of current health care
infrastructure (facilities and providers), including current safety net facilities
across the state, to ensure that there are adequate providers and health care
facilities, and that they can remain viable after health reform.
12 2008 State Platform
1
61. SUPPORT efforts to provide adequate financing for the reforms to succeed.
62. SUPPORT measures that maximize Federal reimbursement from Medicaid and
S-CHIP.
63. SUPPORT state action to complete actuarial studies on the costs of transferring
indigent populations, who currently receive mostly episodic care, to a coverage
model to ensure that there is adequate funding in the model.
64. SUPPORT efforts that ensure that safety net health care facilities remain viable
during the transition period and be supported afterwards based on analyses of
the changing health market and of the remaining safety net population.
65. SUPPORT state action to implement California's Medi-Cal Hospital/Uninsured
Care 1115 Waiver to ensure full Federal financial participation by creating a
health coverage program through public hospitals that would establish the
provider network and set of services; qualify eligible enrollees; issue coverage
cards; and assign primary care providers.
66. SUPPORT efforts to increase revenues and to contain mandated costs in the
County's hospital and clinics system.
67. SUPPORT efforts to increase the availability of health care to the uninsured in
California, whether employed or not.
68. SUPPORT legislation that improves the quality of health care, whether through
the use of technology, innovative delivery models or combining and better
accessing various streams of revenue, including but not limited to acute and long
term care integration.
69. SUPPORT legislation to protect safety net providers, both public and private.
Legislation should focus on stabilizing Medi-Cal rates and delivery modes and
should advocate that these actions are essential to the success of any effort to
improve access and make health care more affordable.
Currently there is no planned or organized system of care for young people and their
families in need of alcohol and drug treatment services. Moreover there is a vast
disparity between treatment need and treatment capacity for adolescents. In 2002, an
estimated 468,000 persons between the ages of 12 & 18 in our state had an alcohol
and drug problem (abuse or dependence) that warranted treatment. In that same year
only 18,965 adolescents in that age group were actually admitted to publicly-funded
alcohol and drug programs. This number represents only 4% of the estimated
population in need of treatment. Relative to the need and demand for this service, this
is an area of the State's health care system that has been largely ignored.
13 2008 State Platform
70. SUPPORT state efforts to increase the scope of benefits and reimbursement
rates contained in Minor Consent Medi-Cal to give youth suffering from
substance abuse disorders access to a continuum of care, including residential
and one-on-one outpatient treatment.
71 . SUPPORT efforts to give incentives to providers to establish more youth-driven
treatment facilities within the community.
72. SUPPORT efforts to extend Minor Consent Medi-Cal Coverage to incarcerated
youths, many of whom are in custody due to drug related crimes. This could
greatly decrease recidivism in the juvenile justice system.
73. SUPPORT county efforts in the promotion of partnerships that provide integrated
responses to the needs of alcohol and drug populations, including criminal
justice, perinatal and youth as well as those populations with co-occurring
disorders.
74. SUPPORT and encourage the development of strategies that include alcohol and
drug services in the provision of all culturally appropriate health care services.
75. SUPPORT the development and institutionalization of a tracking system for use
on utilization and notification of Healthy Family substance abuse benefits for
youths enrolled under California's Health Family program. Like other youth in
California, youth in Contra Costa County, are the most underserved population in
the County's Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Services' caseloads. The Healthy
Family initiative holds great potential as a funding source to address this major
deficit in our AOD treatment services.
76. SUPPORT efforts to require coverage of medically necessary alcohol and
substance abuse related disorder treatment on the same levels as other medical
conditions in health care service plans and disability insurance policies. Alcohol
and drug treatment services are the most under-funded of all health services.
Neither the state nor the federal allocations to the County covers medical
treatment for AOD services, and so are a cost borne by the County.
Human Services Issues
77. SUPPORT efforts to increase County flexibility in use of CaIWORKs funds and in
program requirements in order to better support the transition of welfare
dependent families from welfare-to-work and self sufficiency, including, but not
limited to, extending supportive services beyond the current limit; enhancing
supportive services; increasing diversion and early intervention to obviate the
need for aid; developing a state earned income tax credit; expanding job
retention services; developing a eligibility definition to 250% of the poverty level;
and exempting the hard-to-serve from welfare-to-work activities and the 20%
exemption or providing flexibility in the time limit (dependent upon terms and
14 2008 State Platform
conditions of TANF reauthorization). All of these measures would make it easier
for CaIWORKs families to enter employment services, become employed, and
continue with the support they need in order to maintain their jobs.
78. SUPPORT efforts to revise the definition of "homelessness" in the Welfare &
Institutions Codes to include families who have received eviction notices due to a
verified financial hardship, thus allowing early intervention assistance for
CalWORKs families. Current law prevents CaIWORKs from providing homeless
assistance until the CaIWORKs family is actually "on the street." This rule
change would enable the County to work with CalWORKs families who are being
threatened with homelessness to prevent the eviction and, presumably, better
maintain the parents'employment status.
79. SUPPORT efforts to ensure funding of child care for CalWORKs and former
CalWORKs families at levels sufficient to meet demand. The State of California
has not fully funded the cost of child care for the "working poor." Additional
funding would allow more CaIWORKs and post-CalWORKs families to become
and/or stay employed.
80. SUPPORT efforts to establish an "umbrella code" for the reporting of incidents of
elder abuse to the Department of Justice, thus more accurately recording the
incidence of abuse. Current reporting policies within California's law
enforcement community and social services departments are uncoordinated in
regards to the reporting of adult abuse. Under an `umbrella code," law
enforcement agencies and social services departments would uniformly report
incidents of elder abuse and California would have much better data for policy
and budget development purposes.
81. SUPPORT efforts that seek to identify and eliminate elder financial abuse and
elder exposure to crime that may be committed through conservatorships.
82. SUPPORT efforts to reduce County costs for In-Home Supportive Services,
including but not limited to extending the required reassessment period. There
are many administrative tasks required in regulation for counties to follow in
managing the In-Home Supportive Services program. Options to many of these
tasks would lower administrative costs while maintaining program integrity.
83. SUPPORT efforts to eliminate the finger-imaging requirement for adult food
stamp applicants, recognizing the fraud deterrent aspects of the Electronic
Benefits Transfer System. Elimination of the finger-imaging requirement, which
was originally implemented as a fraud control measure in the old welfare
programs, is viewed by many as an unnecessary or duplicate process. The
current electronic benefits transfer system combined with program eligibility
processes provides more fraud prevention/detection than does finger-imaging.
15 2008 State Platform
84. SUPPORT efforts to allow phone-in Food Stamp Eligibility Redeterminations as a
more cost effective benefit reassessment process. As counties such as Contra
Costa change their business models to utilize centralized service centers, some
of the antiquated process rules and requirements also need to be changed, to
allow cost efficient practices. Changing the rules to allow phone-ins for Eligibility
Redeterminations is one example.
85. SUPPORT efforts to continue expansion of Child Welfare Redesign Program
Improvements including: use of Federal IV-E funding for pre-placement,
prevention activities; development of caretaker recruitment and retention
campaigns; extension of Independent Living Skill services to age 21; and,
funding to implement Children's Child Welfare Workload Study Results, SB 2030.
Changes in these areas would enable counties to better meet their performance
accountability goals, as required under Federal and State statutes.
86. SUPPORT efforts to allow Medi-Cal clients transportation access to medical care
via the most efficient transportation mode possible instead of the very costly
ambulance transportation that is currently prevalent. California is currently
limited to the types of non-emergency medical transportation for reimbursement
by Medi-Cal. However, the federal Medicaid program allows other much less
costly forms of transportation to be used. Other states use this more permissive
definition of approved non-emergency medical transportation to encourage
Medicaid clients to receive preventative care and reduce the incidence of last-
resort ambulance transportation to hospital emergency rooms for primary care.
Illegal Dumping of Waste
Contra Costa County has been a leader in seeking greater statutory control to ensure
proper disposal of waste, including holding perpetrators of illegal dumping accountable
for their actions. A recent survey indicated that cities, counties and Caltrans collectively
spend over$100 million per year on remediation.
Recognizing that illegal dumping is a problem statewide, the Integrated Waste
Management Board convened a task force to address this issue. The Illegal Dumping
Enforcement Task Force (IDETF) presented its report to the Waste Board in March
2007 and was directed to prepare an implementation plan. The Waste Board also
issued a strategic directive to staff to evaluate by January 2008 potential statutory and
funding options to enhance local and regional capabilities to remediate and prevent
illegal dumping.
The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) has not yet developed its platform
or identified legislative priorities on illegal dumping, pending the Waste Board's final
action on the IDETF implementation plan. To ensure consistency, staff recommends
that Contra Costa County also consider policy positions at that time. In the meantime,
the implementation plan will likely include the following elements.
16 2008 State Platform
87. SUPPORT legislation to establish an advance disposal fee program (retailer
take-back program) for large appliances and furniture.
88. SUPPORT legislation that would make changes to the used tire redemption
program. Instead of collecting a disposal fee from the consumer when new tires
are purchased, a disposal fee would be collected at the wholesale level and
redeemed by the disposal site when the used tires are brought to the site. The
party bringing the tires to the disposal site would also receive a portion of the fee.
Indian Gaming Issues
Contra Costa County is currently home to the Lytton Band of the Pomo Indians' Casino
in San Pablo, a Class Il gaming facility. There are also proposals for two additional
casinos in West County, one in North Richmond, and the other in Point Molate. Local
governments have limited authority in determining whether or not such facilities should
be sited in their jurisdiction; the terms and conditions under which the facilities will
operate; and what, if any, mitigation will be paid to offset the cost of increased services.
Contra Costa County has been active in working with CSAC and others to address
these issues, as well as the need for funding for participation in the federal and state
review processes and for mitigation for the existing Class 11 casino.
89. SUPPORT efforts to insure that counties who have existing or proposed Class II
Indian gaming facilities receive the Special Distribution Funds.
90. OPPOSE the approval or establishment of Indian gaming facilities in Contra
Costa County.
91. SUPPORT State authority to determine if gaming machines are Class II or Class
III machines.
92. SUPPORT State legislative and administration actions consistent with the
California Association of Counties' policy documents on development on Indian
Lands and Compact negotiations for Indian gaming.
Land Use/Community Issues
93. SUPPORT efforts to promote economic incentives for "smart growth," including
in-fill and transit oriented development. Balancing the need for housing and
economic growth with the requirements of the voter-approved urban limit line
requirements of Measure J (2004) will require maximum utilization of "smart
growth"principles.
94. SUPPORT efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing, including, but not
limited to, state issuance of private activity bonds, affordable and low income
housing bond measures, low-income housing tax credits and state infrastructure
financing. Approximately 10% of Contra Costa Households can afford to buy a
17 2008 State Platform
single family home in the county and many low income families cannot afford to
rent in the county. The widening gap between prices and incomes points to the
need to increase housing affordability wherever possible. This position supports
Goals 2, 3 and 4 of the County General Plan Housing Element.
95. SUPPORT efforts to amend Section 65915 of the Government Code (amended
in 2004 by SB 1818 - Hollingsworth) so that state law enhances rather than
inhibits local efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing. The provisions
of law regarding density bonuses and inducements to them should be clarified
and simplified in order to encourage this avenue for affordable housing
production.
96. SUPPORT efforts to reform state housing element law to promote the actual
production and preservation of affordable housing and to focus less on process
and paper compliance.
97. OPPOSE efforts to limit the County's ability to exercise local land use authority.
98. SUPPORT increased flexibility in the use of Redevelopment set-aside funds for
low and moderate income housing. Such flexibility would encourage creative use
of these funds, resulting in higher overall production of units.
99. SUPPORT efforts to reduce the fiscalization of land use decision-making by local
government, which favors retail uses over other job-creating uses and housing.
Reducing incentives for inappropriate land use decisions, particularly those that
negatively affect neighboring jurisdictions, could result in more rational and
harmonious land use.
100. SUPPORT establishment of a CEQA exemption for affordable housing financing.
Current law provides a statutory exemption from the California Environmental
Quality Act to state agencies for financing of affordable housing (Section
21080.10(b) of the Public Resources Code; Section 15267 of the CEQA
Guidelines) but not to local agencies. The current exemption for state agencies
is only operational if a CEQA review process has been completed by another
agency, e.g. by the land use permitting agency. Since the act of financing does
not change the environmental setting, the net effect of the exemption is
streamlining the process for providing financial assistance for already approved
projects.
101. SUPPORT efforts to identify funding mechanisms and require producer
responsibility for recycling universal waste (e.g., electronic waste and mercury
containing items) that were banned from landfills as of February 8, 2006. Some
means of disposal is required for these items once their useful economic life has
ended. By creating a universal method of disposal, all Californians will be treated
equally.
18 2008 State Platform
102. SUPPORT allocations, appropriations, regulations, and rule making processes
related to the expenditure of Proposition 84 funds that provide a fair share of
funding to Contra Costa County for the water, park, and resource conservation
projects funded by the Proposition, including but not limited to a per capita
apportionment of funds for local parks that does not differentiate between
residents of unincorporated and incorporated areas as well as funding for land
acquisition and restoration under Natural Community Conservation Plans, such
as the plan being developed for East County. In the past, the residents of
unincorporated Contra Costa County have not received their fair share of local
park funds due to an inequitable allocation process. This policy would address
that inequity. In addition, funding is needed to support the East Contra Costa
County Natural Community Conservation Plan.
Law and Justice System Issues
103. SUPPORT legislation that seeks to curb metal theft by making it easier for law
enforcement agencies to track stolen metals sold to scrap dealers through such
means as requiring identification from customers selling commonly stolen metals,
banning cash transactions over a certain amount, and requiring scrap dealers to
hold materials they buy for a certain period of time before melting them down or
reselling them.
104. SUPPORT full funding of the state Juvenile Probation and Camps Funding
(JPCF). In FY 2004-05, the state eliminated Probation's allocation of federal
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funds, and backfilled them with
state General Funds. At risk is approximately, $5.2 million of revenue that
supports the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility, Home Supervision and
Juvenile Electronic Monitoring Program, and the Juvenile Community Service
program (weekend work).
105. SUPPORT Adult Probation Funding that would provide state funding for adult
probation services to enhance public safety and provide realistic opportunities for
the rehabilitation of probationers. The state of California is providing
approximately $300 million in funding for Juvenile probation services through the
Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act and the former Comprehensive Youth
Services Act, now referenced to in state law as Juvenile Probation Funding. The
Probation Service Task Force, created jointly by the Judicial Council and the
California Association of Counties and staffed by .the Administrative Offices of the
Court, stated in a report to the Governor and the legislature "...Probation
Departments must have stable and adequate funding to protect the public and
ensure accountability and rehabilitation..." Implementing evidence-based
practices can potentially reduce the prison-bound probation population by
between 10 and 30 percent. Intervening with this population of prison-bound
probationers to increase supervision and treatment services can have a
significant impact on prison admissions and help to reduce prison overcrowding
in California.
19 2008 State Platform
Levee Issues, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Issues
106. ADVOCATE for Administrative and Legislative action to provide significant
funding for rehabilitation of levees in the western and central Delta. Proposition
1E, passed in November 2006, provides for $3 billion for levees, primarily those
in the Central Valley Flood Control Program. Language is included in the bond
for other Delta levees, but funding is not specifically directed. The County will
work on a coalition basis to actively advocate for$1 billion in funding through this
bond.
107. ADVOCATE for legislation dealing with the Delta, including levees and levee
programs, level and type of flood protection, beneficiary-pays programs, flood
insurance, liability and other levee/land use issues.
108. SUPPORT legislation/regulation requiring Reclamation Districts to develop,
publish, and maintain hazard emergency plans for their districts. Emergency
response plans are critical to emergency management, particularly in an area or
situation like the Delta where a levee break could trigger other emergencies. This
legislation/regulation should also include the requirement for plan review and
annual distribution of the plan to the residents of the district, County Office of
Emergency Services and other government agencies that have emergency
response interests within the district.
109. ENGAGE in the state Delta Vision program created through legislation and
Governor's Executive Order in 2006. Together with the Delta Risk Management
Strategy, the Delta Vision will ultimately determine how the Delta can become a
sustainable system and ultimately, the final configuration of the Delta.
Library Issues
110. SUPPORT State financial assistance in the operation of public libraries, including
full funding of the Public Library Fund (PLF). The Contra Costa Library has lost
over $1 million in PLF funds in the last 3 years. This is the only source of state
funding for public libraries.
111. SUPPORT State bonds for public library construction. The 2000 library
construction bond provided funding for two libraries in Contra Costa County.
There is currently a need of approximately .5289,000,000 for public library
construction, expansion and renovation in Contra Costa County.
Telecommunications Issues
112. SUPPORT clean-up legislation on AB 2987 that provides for local emergency
notifications similar to provisions in cable franchises for the last 20 years.
20 2008 State Platform
Currently our franchises require the cable systems to carry emergency messages
in the event of local emergencies. With the occurrence of several local refinery
incidents, this service is critical for Contra Costa. Under federal law, Emergency
Alert System requirements leave broad discretion to broadcasters to decide
when and what information to broadcast, emergency management offices to
communicate with the public in times of emergencies.
113. SUPPORT preservation of local government ownership and control of the local
public rights-of-way. Currently, local government has authority over the time,
place, and manner in which infrastructure is placed in their rights-of-way. The
California Public Utilities Commission is considering rulemaking that would give
them jurisdiction to decide issues between local government and
telecommunication providers.
Transportation Issues
114. SUPPORT increased transportation funding and protection of current
transportation funding sources. While County voters' extension of Measure J and
the transportation infrastructure bond measure of November 2006 have increased
the funds available for transportation, additional funds are needed to complete the
funding for major transportation projects such as Vasco Road improvements.
Funds also are needed to meet a growing number of unfunded state and federal
mandates such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and stormwater and habitat
preservation requirements. The County supports creation of new transportation
funding sources provided that the new source does not shift revenue away from
the State's General Fund. The County also supports an amendment to the
Subdivision Map Act to allow the use of off-site transportation impact fees to fund
pedestrian, bicycle transit and traffic calming facilities necessitated by new
development.
115. SUPPORT regional coordination in addressing transportation needs.
Coordinated planning and delivery of public transit, paratransit, and rail services
will help ensure the best possible service delivery to the public. Regional
coordination also will be needed to effectively deal with the traffic impacts of
Indian gaming casinos such as those in West County. Regional coordination
also will be essential to complete planning and development of important regional
transportation projects such as State Route 239, improvements to Vasco Road,
completion of remaining segments of the Bay Trail, improvements to the Delta
DeAnza Regional Trail, and the proposed California Delta Trail.
116. SUPPORT efforts to improve safety throughout the transportation system. The
County supports new and expanded projects and programs to improve safety for
bicyclists, pedestrians and wheelchair users, as well as projects to improve safety
on high-accident transportation facilities such as Vasco Road. Data on
transportation safety would be improved by including global positioning system
(GPS) location data for every reported accident to assist in safety analysis and
21 2008 State Platform
planning. The County also supports school safety, improvement programs such
as crossing guards, Safe Routes to Schools (SR2S) grants, efforts to improve the
safety and security of freight transportation system including public and private
maritime ports, airports, rail yards, railroad lines and sidings. The County also
supports limits or elimination of public liability for installing traffic-calming devices
on residential neighborhood streets.
117. SUPPORT funding or incentives for the use of renewable resources in
transportation construction projects. The County seeks and supports grant
programs, tax credits for manufacturers, state purchasing programs, and other
incentives for local jurisdictions to use environmentally friendly materials such as
the rubberized asphalt (made from recycled tires) that the County has used as
paving material on San Pablo Dam Road and Pacheco Boulevard.
118. SUPORT streamlining the delivery of transportation projects. The length of time
and amount of paperwork should be reduced to bring a transportation project
more quickly through the planning, engineering and design, environmental review,
funding application, and construction phases, such as for Vasco Road. This could
include streamlining the environmental review process and also streamlining all
state permitting requirements that pertain to transportation projects.
119. SUPPORT efforts to better link transportation planning and land use planning.
Local jurisdictions should be given financial or regulatory incentives for
incorporating transit oriented development in their General Plans, particularly for
areas where rail stations are planned. The County also seeks financial or
regulatory assistance for implementation of existing plans for transit-oriented
development, incentives for development of additional affordable housing, and for
providing housing and transportation improvements near state-owned facilities
such as courts, schools, jails and state offices. The County supports efforts to
better coordinate planning between school districts and local jurisdictions such as
joint efforts to select sites for new schools, and funding programs that foster
collaboration to help finance off-site transportation improvements for access to
schools.
120. SUPPORT the CSAC request that another $150 million allocation of Proposition
1B monies be budgeted for counties in FY 2008-09.
121. SUPPORT regional aviation transportation planning efforts for coordinated
aviation network planning to improve service delivery. Regional aviation
coordination could also improve the surrounding surface transportation system by
providing expanded local options for people and goods movement.
122. SUPPORT efforts to increase waterborne transport of goods, and obtaining funds
to support this effort. The San Francisco to Stockton Ship Channel is a major
transportation route for the region, providing water access to a large number of
industries and the Ports of Sacramento and Stockton. A project is underway to
22 2008 State Platform
deepen the channel, providing additional capacity to accommodate increasing
commerce needs of the Ports and providing better operational flexibility for the
other industries. Increased goods movement via waterways has clear benefits to
congestion management on highways and railroads (with resultant air quality
benefits). The Port of Stockton has noted that a deepened channel would remove
approximately 1,200 trucks from the transportation corridors in the Bay area for
every ship utilizing the (Stockton) ship channel. The Port has requested that the
relevant agencies consider the potential for use of Proposition 1B Bond, Trade
Corridors Improvement Funds to help pay for the local share of funding ($35
million) required for the deepening project. The Port of Oakland has been working
with the Ports of Sacramento and Stockton to increase waterborne goods
movement within the region.
23 2008 State Platform