January 4, 2018

The State Legislature returned to work this week with an agenda that includes a variety of issues critical to California counties. However, the year also begins with the Capitol rocked by the recent resignations of several members and the prospect of a leadership change in the Senate. Two Assembly members resigned late last year amid allegations of sexual harassment and a third resigned effective December 31 citing health reasons. Senator Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) agreed to take a month-long leave of absence yesterday while he is investigated for alleged sexual harassment. And, while the official vote has not taken place yet, it was announced late last year that Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) would succeed Senator Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) as the President pro Tempore. De Leon is termed out at the end of this year but the transition could happen within a few months.

“We have a very solid relationship with Senator Atkins,” said CSAC Deputy Executive Director for Legislative Services Darby Kernan. “We look forward to working with her and her team when she assumes the leadership post.” Kernan said the recent resignations will leave the Capitol waters roiled for a while, but probably will not change the political landscape too much. “All of the open seats are in districts that are considered safely Democratic, so in the long term, they will probably retain their supermajority, but in the short term, there’s going to be some musical chairs with committee assignments.”

Despite the changes, the Legislature and CSAC are waiting to see what the Governor will propose in his January budget. It’s due to be released next Wednesday, January 10 and CSAC will have a full analysis later in the day. While we don’t anticipate any changes to the 2017 negotiated agreement reached to avoid the significant cost shift associated with In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, this issue will remain of highest priority as we seek long-term sustainability for counties to reduce the local general fund impact of IHSS. CSAC is also expecting a number of legislative proposals related to disaster preparedness and recovery issues associated with the devastating wildfires in both northern and southern California. 

CSAC also remains vigilant on the AB 1250 (Jones-Sawyer) front as that measure remains parked in the Senate Rules Committee, but is eligible to be taken up at any time. Recall that AB 1250 would have significantly limited county’s ability to deliver vital services in partnership with community-based providers.  “The large and diverse coalition we built to oppose this bill made clear the negative impacts of this bill on the communities we serve together with our non-profits and private providers,” said CSAC Legislative Representative Dorothy Johnson. “We’ll continue to share this message throughout the session.”

CSAC is also very interested to see how the state will react to the recent changes in the Federal tax code. The restrictions in deducting state and local taxes impact California harder than many states because our property values—and therefore property taxes—are much higher. The $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions hits more people here than in many other states. Senator de Leon was on several TV news programs earlier this week talking about potential changes to the way the state collects taxes that would allow Californians to deduct more than they can under the new federal tax law.