December 5, 2024

In late November, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released their annual publication, The 2025-26 Budget: California’s Fiscal Outlook.

October 31, 2024

Late last week, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce approved California’s application for over $70 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding is part of the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program (DEC) established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

October 10, 2024

October 3, 2024

September 26, 2024

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) is hosting a meeting to discuss the administration of local and district taxes. The meeting will be held virtually through Microsoft Teams on October 3, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 

Interested parties can register here.

September 19, 2024

August 15, 2024

A recent opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General (AG) found that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that individuals with disabilities can participate in Brown Act meetings remotely, without the need to post the address of their remote meeting location. The decision could improve accessibility for individuals with permanent or temporary disabilities serving on Brown Act bodies.

August 1, 2024

The California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) recently announced two new competitive grant opportunities for the State & Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLCGP), including a funding opportunity for the SLCGP for Local and Tribal Governments Program.

July 18, 2024

The National Association of Counties (NACo) hosted their 2024 Annual Conference in Florida from July 12 – 15, with strong attendance from CSAC and the California county family.

June 20, 2024

Amidst the flurry of budget negotiations and legislative deadlines, there has been a whirlwind of activity as deals are struck to determine the fate of key policies. Concurrently, the ballot initiative process is in full swing. Critical dates are approaching, with the final deadline to qualify measures for the ballot set for next Thursday, June 27. Shortly thereafter, the Secretary of State will finalize the ballot, assigning proposition numbers and drafting the voter information guide for the November 2024 ballot.

June 6, 2024

May 30, 2024

The month of May brought two key legislative deadlines: the fiscal and house of origin deadlines. Earlier this month, the deadline for fiscal committees to hear and report bills introduced in their respective house to the floor passed. Over 1,000 bills were placed on the Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees’ Suspense Files, with about 30 percent of those measures getting held on Suspense and are therefore no longer active. Almost 70 percent of those measures moved on to the next stage of the legislative process for Floor votes.

May 16, 2024

As we reported last week, Friday, May 17 is the deadline for the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Appropriations Committee (collectively referred to as “the fiscal committees”) to hear and report bills with fiscal impacts to the floor of that house (Senate or Assembly) for a vote of the full house.

May 9, 2024

As the curtains close on policy committee hearings in the first house, our legislative spotlight now shifts dramatically towards the fiscal committees. In the weeks ahead, bills will navigate through a labyrinth of legislative deadlines, each more critical than the last. Amidst this intricate dance of governance, the fate of many bills hinges on a pivotal distinction: their fiscal impact on the state as determined by the Office of Legislative Counsel.

May 9. 2024

The Governor’s Office announced it will release the revised 2024-25 budget proposal on Friday, May 10^th at 11 AM. The Governor will begin a press conference around that time, which will be broadcast on the Governor’s YouTube channel.

May 2, 2024

April 25, 2024

The 2024 Legislative Session – How’s it going so far?

March 14, 2024

February 8, 2024

Governor Newsom announced his proposed budget for 2024-25, along with the state’s updated revenue forecast, on January 10, 2024. The CSAC team issued a Budget Action Bulletin update following the Governor’s budget release, highlighting the most significant impacts to counties.

February 15, 2024

January 4, 2024

Following our reporting on combatting disruptive behavior during public meetings in November 2023, we asked counties to share their best practices and policies for managing public meetings. This includes rules of civility, codes of conduct, scripts used to respond to meeting disruptions, and other resources that counties have found useful in conducting effective meetings during conflict.

November 30, 2023

Remote participation options for public meetings have been a breakthrough in facilitating public engagement in local governing boards. For many working parents, people with disabilities, or simply those whose lives make it difficult to carve out the time to attend a meeting in person, remote participation in public meetings has allowed them to engage in their community decisions for the first time. However, the tool has been challenged by some alarming trends.  

October 26, 2023

What Are People Saying?

In early 2022, on the heels of an unprecedented, ceiling-shattering budget surplus, the Governor’s Administration first introduced an economic talking point that continues in 2023 to be a mantra in press releases and budget documents: expect continued, but slowing economic growth that stops short of assuming a recession.

September 21, 2023