The Government, Finance and Administration Policy Committee is
requesting feedback on the following bills. Please send comments
to Geoff
Neill or Ada
Waelder.
AB 398 (Chu) – Local Government and School Recovery and
Relief Act
AB 398 would impose a $275 per employee tax on private,
for-profit businesses with more than 500 employees who perform
any part of their duties within the state. Revenues generated by
the tax would be deposited in to a newly established COVID-19
Local Government and School Recovery and Relief Fund. The Fund
will be divvied among counties and cities in proportion to their
share of the relevant employees, with 20% of the fund going to
counties and 30% going to cities. The remaining 50% will be
distributed equally among K-12 school districts.
The bill’s stated goal is to help bolster funding opportunities
for local governments and school districts during the COVID-19
pandemic, so would institute the tax for a 5 year period starting
in 2021. Because the bill includes a tax increase it will require
a two-thirds vote to pass each house of the legislature.
AB 3205 would create the Regions Rise Together Grant Program,
within the Office of Business and Economic Development. The
program would provide competitive grants for multijurisdictional
organizations that involve local governments, and private and
civic organizations. The bill would define “region” as a
geographic area comprised of one or more counties and cities that
form a functional economy.
Under the legislation grant applications could be submitted by
“regional collectives,” which are required to be made up of one
government agency, one local business, one education or workforce
entity, one economic development entity, and one nonprofit
organization. These collectives should address common regional
challenges , for example workforce development, educational
pathways, land use, climate planning, transportation, housing,
homelessness, economic mobility, equity gaps, and economic
development.
Any funds awarded under the program will be available for three
years. The bill encourages matching funds from the recipients,
however, does provide an exception if funds aren’t available.
