North Bay city officials lobby lawmakers on wildfire liability, pensions, and more

North Bay city officials lobby lawmakers on wildfire liability, pensions, and more

By Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor. Additional contributions by Nancy Hall Bennett, regional public affairs manager (North Bay Division)

Cities from Cal Cities’ North Bay Division made their voices heard in Sacramento amid last week’s end-of-session chaos. The group advocated on several pressing city issues, including proposed changes to wildfire liability and employee pensions.

“It was a productive day in Sacramento,” said Natalie Rogers, the division’s president and Santa Rosa council member. “These meetings gave us a valuable opportunity to share the priorities and concerns of our cities and advocate directly on the issues that matter most to our communities as the legislative season comes to a close.”

Now-scuttled changes to wildfire liability rules dominated the meetings. The Newsom-backed bailout would have limited how much money local governments and individuals could recover from companies after a utility-caused wildfire. Legislators ultimately agreed to a pared-down proposal focused on wildfire mitigation, faster payouts to victims, and stricter oversight of the claims process, among other things. The compromise bill died on Tuesday after pushback from utilities, builders, and electrical workers.

The North Bay delegation expressed their disappointment over the passage of AB 1383 (McKinnor). The measure makes several significant changes to public employees’ retirement benefits that would ultimately lead to increased costs for cities and taxpayers. The measure is awaiting action from the Governor.

Local officials encouraged legislators to pass several measures, all of which are now on the Governor’s desk. AB 2296 (Papan), sponsored by Cal Cities, lets cities update their housing elements six months earlier than existing law. AB 1941 (González, M.) and SB 758 (Umberg) — both co-sponsored by Cal Cities — strengthen penalties for organized metal theft and combat the illegal use of nitrous oxide, respectively.

The delegation also reminded lawmakers that a change to state law could force goat grazing companies out of business and jeopardize wildfire risk reduction services in the region. By acreage, targeted grazing ranks third in the state’s wildfire resilience activities. Gov. Gavin Newsom has yet to approve a legislative fix that passed in the final days of session.

The division met directly with Assembly Members Chris Rogers, Damon Connolly, and Lori D. Wilson, as well as Senator Mike McGuire and the staff from Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry's office.