July 20, 2023

Last Friday marked two milestones for the 2023 legislative calendar: the deadline for legislative policy committees to hear and report bills and the commencement of the Summer Recess. The legislature will reconvene on Monday, August 14, and fiscal committees will hear and report bills to the floor before the fiscal committee deadline on Friday, September 1. The frenzy to finalize legislative business ramps up after Labor Day, when floor sessions will be held for legislators to cast their final votes. The clock runs out on Thursday, September 14, when the legislature begins their interim recess, to last for three months. At this point, all bills that passed out of the legislature will go to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law or vetoed. The complete 2023 legislative calendar is available here.

CSAC staff work diligently with legislators and their staff, as well as with local government partners to help shape the bills that impact counties. Below is a summary of the bills on which the Government Finance and Administration team have taken positions throughout 2023. CSAC will continue to keep counties updated on the latest developments concerning the status and impact of these measures.

Top Priorities (listed by current status)

Awaiting Floor Action in the Second House

AB 557 (Hart) Open meetings: local agencies: teleconferences.

CSAC is a co-sponsor of this legislation.

This measure would eliminate the January 1, 2024, sunset on the current provision to allow local agencies to meet remotely during a declared state of emergency, without complying with certain teleconferencing requirements. Additionally, AB 557 would adjust the required timeframe for resolutions passed to renew a local agency’s temporary transition to emergency remote meetings to 45 days from the previous timeline of 30 days. CSAC is delighted to co-sponsor AB 557, along with the California Special Districts Association, League of California Cities, and the California School Boards Association. AB 557 would preserve an effective tool for local agencies facing emergencies that would otherwise prevent them from conducting the people’s business during an emergency.

AB 1020 (Grayson) County Employees Retirement Law of 1937: disability retirement: medical conditions: employment-related presumption.

CSAC opposes this legislation.

This measure would change the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 by expanding the scope of medical conditions and employment-related presumptions for a disability retirement for firefighters, members in active law enforcement, and public safety members who have completed five years or more of service and that arise out of and in the course of employment. CSAC and a coalition of county employer advocates are opposed to AB 1020 on the basis that it would add considerable new costs for public employers at a time when budgets are facing significant headwinds. While we recognize that our public safety members serve our state with distinction in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable, these employees are currently provided with fair access to the workers’ compensation system for injuries, and the Author and sponsors have not been able to demonstrate the objective analysis that substantiates a need for the massive expansion of applicability for presumptions, as proposed by AB 1020.

Referred to Fiscal Committees in the Second House

AB 452 (Addis) Childhood sexual assault: statute of limitations.

CSAC opposes this legislation.

This measure would eliminate the statute of limitations to bring a civil action against an employer, including school districts, public agencies, and others, where there has been a claim against an employee of that organization for alleged child sexual abuse that occurred on and after January 1, 2024. The coalition worked with the author on amendments to make the bill prospective, so a claim for damages based on conduct that occurred on or before December 31, 2023 will be subject to the law as of December 31, 2023. The current statute of limitations allows claims to be made either 22 years after the age of majority (i.e., 40 years old) or anytime thereafter within five years of discovering a related psychological injury for a plaintiff to bring a civil suit against the employer of the Accused. CSAC and a broad coalition comprised of school districts, public agencies, and others are committed to working diligently to enhance the safety of all children but are regretfully opposed to this measure. If the bill passes, amendments must be mad to: 1. Conform language to the recently enacted federal law by not applying vicarious liability or negligence claims against public organizations unless they aided and abetted the abuse; 2. Clearly define the standard of knowledge; 3. Consider a more comprehensive approach to ensure child safety and recovery which may include state created alternatives. Should this bill pass, funding will be needed, as at least $1.4 billion has been paid out by public entities for related claims in the past few years.

AB 504 (Reyes) State and local public employees: labor relations: strikes.

CSAC opposes this legislation.

This measure would declare the acts of sympathy striking and honoring a picket line a human right. AB 504 would also void provisions in public employer policies or collective bargaining agreements limiting or preventing an employee’s right to sympathy strike. CSAC and a broad coalition of public employer advocates are opposed on the basis that “no strike provisions” in local contracts have been agreed to by both parties in good faith often due to the critical nature of the employees’ job duty. By overriding local memorandums of understanding (MOUs), this bill would grant sympathy strikers greater rights than the employees engaged in a primary strike. Under current law, both primary and sympathy strikes may be precluded by an appropriate no-strike clause in the MOU, which this bill proposes to override only for sympathy strikes.

AB 764 (Bryan) Local redistricting.

CSAC opposes this legislation, unless amended.

This measure would require counties and other local governments to comply with uniform requirements related to redistricting. This bill would require local governments to adopt district boundaries, using specified criteria, following the decision to establish district-based elections and following each federal decennial census. CSAC and other county advocates have been opposed to AB 764 unless amended to ameliorate the burdensome reporting requirements that make compliance a challenge, mitigate the additional requirements for public hearings that are costly and impractical, and remove a costly private right to action that would create significant uncertainty and costs.  The author recently adopted amendments requested by CSAC and the coalition of county advocates to replace the concerning private right of action provision with a “notice and cure” process, similar to the process established in the Brown Act. CSAC remains concerned about the overly prescriptive requirements for public hearings and workshops, outreach plans, and some other aspects of the bill. CSAC is analyzing the amendments and evaluating our position on this measure in light of the recent changes.

AB 1248 (Bryan) Local redistricting: independent redistricting commissions. 

CSAC opposes this legislation, unless amended.

This measure would require counties with populations of 300,000 or above to create an independent redistricting commission for the 2030 redistricting process and each of the redistricting processes that occur in the future. CSAC and other county advocates are opposed to AB 1248 unless amended to ensure that counties are fully reimbursed for costs and to incorporate more robust statutory and technical assistance provisions to ensure that local agencies are able to effectively deliver on the promise of independent redistricting. Additionally, CSAC and a coalition of local governments has suggested amendments to limit the scope of the bill to apply only to counties with populations of 500,000 or above and to incorporate an independent assessment of the 2031 redistricting process to better understand outcomes and impacts faced by local agencies.

AB 1484 (Zbur) Temporary public employees.

CSAC opposes this legislation.

This measure would require the inclusion of temporary workers in the same bargaining unit as permanent employees upon the request of the recognized employer organization. CSAC and a broad coalition of public employers are opposed to AB 1484 on the basis of that it reduces employer flexibility regarding mandatory subjects of collective bargaining (i.e., wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment), and intrudes upon the “community of interest” provisions under existing law regarding bargaining unit determinations. Notably, temporary employment fills critical needs during seasonal surges, particularly in public health and healthcare, elections, agriculture, parks and recreations staff, and lifeguards, and fills permanent positions that have not yet been filled.

AB 1713 (Gipson) Local agencies: federal funds: reports.

CSAC opposes this legislation.

This measure has been amended substantially since we last provided a bill update, as recent amendments would limit the requirements of local agencies. However, CSAC and a coalition of local governments remains opposed due to the unnecessary burden it would place on counties and local agencies. The bill would require local agencies that receive federal funds subject to an expiration date to submit a written report to its legislative body no later than one year after the funding expiration date with an enumeration of the amount of funds returned, a summary of the reasons the funds were returned, and an analysis of policy or operational changes required to ensure that relevant funds are spent timely in the future. The bill would place this requirement on local agencies that fail to spend at least 25 percent of nonformula-funded, competitive, and discretionary federal grant programs at least two of three consecutive allocations from the same federal grant program. These requirements are duplicative, as government agencies at the state and federal level already require significant reporting and auditing as a condition of receipt of federal funds. The level of oversight and reporting mandates proposed in AB 1713 would add unnecessary staffing costs for local governments. Local agencies would require additional staff resources to track and report this information to their own legislative bodies. Extrapolated statewide, these impacts to staff resources could be substantial and fail to address real challenges that local governments face when trying to fully utilize federal resources.

SB 525 (Durazo) Minimum wage. health care workers.

CSAC opposes this legislation.

This measure proposes to raise the health care minimum wage broadly across the health sector to $21 per hour commencing on June 1, 2024, then raising to $25 per hour after June 1, 2025, and increasing wages by the lesser of 3.5% or by inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) every year thereafter, for employees working in county agencies – specifically, county health departments, county mental health departments, county correctional health settings, county hospitals, and county owned and operated clinics. Additionally, SB 525 requires exempt/salaried employees to be paid 1.5 times the proposed minimum wage – creating a new salary base of approximately $78,000 per year. The measure also broadly applies the wage requirements to contractors within these facilities. The only carveouts to the bill are delivery and waste collection workers. CSAC is opposed to this measure on the basis that it circumvents the local collective bargaining process, would impact the wages of employees and contracted services in other sectors of county government, and is anticipated to result in costs to counties in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars annually. These numbers increase when factoring in other compensation such as pension, as well as wage compression for also needing to increase wages for similarly classified workers and supervisors due to MOUs. With the uncertain state of the economy and state budget deficit, SB 525 would dramatically and significantly affect county budgets that could result in the curtailing of services or even job loss.

Referred to Fiscal Committees in the Second House and now on Suspense File

A bill or set of bills with a fiscal impact may be set aside (referred to the “suspense file”) in either the Senate or Assembly Appropriations Committee by a majority of lawmakers present and voting. These bills may be heard at a later hearing or get held by the Committee (and die).

AB 972 (Maienschein) Local Assistance and Grant Program Streamlining Workgroup.

CSAC supports this legislation.

This measure would coordinate, align, and streamline local government assistance resources to ensure that every community has the same opportunity to compete for state funding opportunities by convening a statewide, cross-agency Local Assistance and Grant Program Streamlining Workgroup. CSAC believes the collective input from local and state government is necessary to reduce the inefficiencies of a fragmented state funding landscape and ensure we can meet our collective goals for climate resiliency. In June, the bill was amended to include both CSAC and a diverse array of counties in the work group. As a result, CSAC joined in support of the bill.

AB 1637 (Irwin) Local government: internet websites and email addresses.

CSAC opposes this legislation.

This measure would require cities and counties, by January 1, 2029, that maintain an Internet website for use by the public to ensure that the Internet website utilizes a “.gov” top-level domain or a “.ca.gov” second-level domain, and would also require a local agency to ensure that each email address provided to its employees utilizes a “.gov” domain name or a “.ca.gov” domain name. CSAC and a broad coalition of local governments were previously opposed unless amended and moved to full oppose when the bill was awaiting an Assembly Floor vote, as this measure creates considerable programmatic and fiscal impacts on local governments. Cumulative costs to counties are likely in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars and staff resources.

Additional bills GFA has taken a position on:

AB 24 (Haney) Emergency response: opioid antagonist kits.

CSAC removed opposition to this bill after working with the Author’s office to secure amendments. The bill was later made into a two-year bill by the Author.

AB 41 (Holden) Telecommunications: The Digital Equity in Video Franchising Act of 2023.

This measure was significantly amended on July 13. CSAC is analyzing the amendments and reevaluating our support position on this measure in light of these changes; referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 78 (Ward) Grand juries.

CSAC opposed this legislation unless it was amended. It was later held on Assembly Appropriations suspense file and died.

AB 286 (Wood) Broadband infrastructure: mapping.

CSAC supports this legislation; referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 321 (Wilson) Sales and Use Tax: exemptions: zero-emission public transportation ferries.

CSAC supports this legislation; held on Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file and died.

AB 415 (Rodriguez) Emergency Fairgrounds Communications Grant Act.

CSAC supports this legislation; made into a two-year bill.

AB 537 (Berman) Short-term lodging: advertising: rates.

CSAC supports this legislation; referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 597 (Rodriguez) Workers’ compensation: first responders: post-traumatic stress.

CSAC opposes this legislation; made into a two-year bill.

AB 684 (Ta) County veterans service officers: additional resources.

CSAC supports this legislation; made into a two-year bill.

AB 735 (Berman) Workforce development: utility careers.

CSAC supports this legislation; made into a two-year bill.

AB 817 (Pacheco) Open meetings: teleconferencing: subsidiary body.

CSAC cosponsors this legislation along with a coalition of local government entities; made into a two-year bill.

AB 965 (Carrillo) Local government: broadband permit applications.

CSAC has a neutral position and removed opposition to this measure in June after successfully securing amendments; referred to Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1156 (Bonta) Workers’ compensation: hospital employees.

CSAC opposes this legislation; made into a two-year bill.

AB 1213 (Ortega) Workers’ compensation: aggregate disability payments.

CSAC opposes this legislation; placed on Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file.

SB 16 (Smallwood-Cuevas) Civil rights: discrimination: enforcement.

CSAC supports this legislation; placed on Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.

SB 252 (Gonzalez) Public retirement systems: fossil fuels: divestment.

CSAC opposes this legislation; the Author made this a two-year bill in the beginning of July.

SB 375 (Alvarado-Gil) Employment: employer contributions: employee withholdings: COVID-19 regulatory compliance credit.

CSAC supports this legislation; made into a two-year bill.

SB 399 (Wahab) Employer communications: intimidation.

CSAC opposes this legislation; referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 428 (Blakespear) Temporary restraining orders and protective orders: employee harassment.

CSAC supports this legislation; held at the Assembly desk for the final chaptering out of amendments, and will then be put on consent before passing out of the Legislature. (Please see the resources at the end of this article for an explanation of this process and these terms). 

SB 532 (Wiener) San Francisco Bay area toll bridges: tolls: transit operating expenses.

CSAC supported this legislation when it was a measure related to ballot measures, before it was amended on June 29, 2023. Following the amendments, CSAC has no position on this measure; referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 548 (Niello) Public employees’ retirement: joint county and trial court contracts.

CSAC supports this legislation; referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 553 (Cortese) Occupational safety: workplace violence: restraining orders and workplace violence prevention plan.

CSAC opposes this legislation; referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 623 (Laird) Workers’ compensation: post-traumatic stress disorder.

CSAC opposes this legislation; referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 878, SB 879, and SB 880 (Committee Governance and Finance) Validations of 2023.

CSAC supports this legislation; chaptered in June 2023.

Have questions about some of the terms used in this article? Please refer to CSAC’s Overview of the California Legislative Process and the Senate’s Glossary of Legislative Terms.

A complete, detailed list of legislation that CSAC is monitoring related to Government Finance and Administration is available here.