October 12, 2023

While the Legislature went on recess mid-September, CSAC’s legislative advocacy team has been closely following and advocating on many of the hundreds of bills that were passed by the Legislature and presented to the Governor in the waning days of the 2023 Legislative Session. This period, which coincides with baseball playoff season, is referred to as the “signing period,” and is our advocacy team’s version of the Fall Classic. This year, our advocacy team hit a quartet of home runs, having secured Governor Newsom’s approval on four important pieces of legislation that were co-sponsored by CSAC.

CSAC would like to express its deep gratitude to Assemblymembers Gregg Hart and Blanca Rubio and Senators Anna Caballero and Dave Cortese for authoring the measures summarized below that are of critical importance to counties. In addition, CSAC extends its profound appreciation to the various co-sponsors and coalitions that provided critical support resulting in the enactment of these crucial measures and extends its sincere gratitude to Governor Newsom for his support.

The following CSAC co-sponsored measures were recently signed by Governor Newsom:

AB 400 (Rubio) Local agency design-build projects: authorization allows local governments to continue the utilization of the Design-Build (DB) procurement process for qualifying public works contracts in excess of $1 million, using either a low bid or best value process. This bill extends the existing January 1, 2025 sunset date to January 1, 2031 on the statutory DB authority. CSAC’s coalition letter in support of AB 400 is available here.

AB 557 (Hart) Open meetings: local agencies: teleconferences eliminates the sunset date for allowing local agencies to use teleconferencing without complying with specified teleconferencing requirements during a proclaimed state of emergency. AB 557 preserves an effective tool for local agencies to efficiently and effectively conduct the public’s business while facing emergencies. CSAC’s coalition letter in support of AB 557 is available here.

SB 642 (Cortese) Hazardous materials: enforcement: county counsel will close a loophole to provide county counsels with complete civil enforcement authority over hazardous waste violations, as originally intended by the Legislature. SB 642 will complete the Legislature’s intent by granting county counsels complete civil enforcement authority over hazardous waste violations. CSAC, Santa Clara County, and the Rural County Representatives of California co-sponsored this bill. CSAC’s letter in support of SB 642 is available here.

SB 706 (Caballero) Public contracts: progressive design-build: local agencies allows counties, cities, and special districts to use the progressive design-build (PDB) project delivery method for construction contracts. Until January 1, 2030, the bill authorizes local agencies to use the PDB process for up to 10 public works projects in excess of $5 million for each project. CSAC’s coalition letter in support of SB 706 is available here.

Much of CSAC’s advocacy efforts focus on ensuring the necessary resources and flexibility for all 58 counties. Typically, this involves defending against measures that do not provide county governments with the fiscal resources necessary to meet their obligations or bills that limit the ability to tailor levels of local revenues and services to county residents’ satisfaction. Consistent with The California County Platform, bills sponsored by CSAC advance good governance and provide support and flexibility for all 58 counties to provide county services in a manner that resolves the day-to-day problems that their communities may face.