Cal Cities Board adopts new bill positions, reviews federal changes and priority-setting process

By Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor

The Cal Cities Board met last week in Sacramento, focusing on the City Leaders Summit and other lobbying efforts, new legislative positions, federal uncertainty, and association operations.

Recent legislative and legal advocacy developments 

President Lynne B. Kennedy opened the meeting by reminding people about the impact of collective advocacy and Cal Cities’ progress thus far. According to Legislative Director Jason Rhine, the timing of this year’s City Leaders Summit was perfect. City leaders were able to testify on many Cal Cities’ top priorities, in addition to their usual meetings with lawmakers.

“If we can put a council member or mayor in front of them, it holds them accountable,” he said.

Rhine also noted that Cal Cities has implemented a new way to measure member engagement. Cities have submitted at least 460 legislative letters this year and are on track to send over 1,000 before the session ends.

Lobbyists expressed optimism on several priority measures, including those focused on housing element reform, short-term rentals, encampment resolutions, wildfire preparedness, disaster aid, recovery home oversight, Advanced Clean Fleets, and copper wire theft.

The Board learned that Sen. Sasha Pérez agreed to significantly amend SB 634 after receiving feedback from over 50 cities. The bill would now prohibit cities from adopting an ordinance prohibiting a person or organization from providing support services, including legal services and medical care, to a homeless person.

The Cal Cities legal team also provided an update on over a dozen completed or pending legal cases — including a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s ability to withhold funding for sanctuary cities.

Board adopts positions for AB 222 and AB 306

A considerable part of the meeting focused on two pending measures. The Board voted to support AB 222 (Bauer-Kahan), a bill focused on the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence development. The measure would add new reporting requirements and energy efficiency standards for data centers, as well as protect ratepayers from associated costs.

The Board took an oppose unless amended position for AB 306 (Schultz). The bill would freeze most building standards for six years, with a few exemptions. Board members voiced concern about the length of the pause and its impact on reach codes.

Federal funding update

Mike Wallace, a legislative director with the National League of Cities, provided a briefing on recent federal actions. Building on an earlier presentation, Wallace warned that cities will be expected to do more with less support as the federal government pulls back on its responsibilities. Ultimately, he encouraged cities to communicate with Congress about the need to challenge these cuts.   

The cuts have also impacted organizations that serve cities. During her update, Erica Manual, who leads the Institute for Local Government, said that executive orders had impacted about 10% of ILG’s budget, with federal officials refusing one grant application due to its language.

Cal Cities Operational Updates

The Board broke into small group discussions about possible changes to how Cal Cities determines its advocacy priorities each year. Cal Cities CEO Carolyn Coleman reminded the group that, “If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.” 

The feedback from the group discussions will inform future decisions regarding the process for establishing advocacy priorities.

The Board also discussed a request to review and clarify the role of the Advancing Equity Advisory Committee. After a robust conversation, the Board referred the matter back to the Executive Committee for further consideration.

The next Board meeting is July 17-18 in San Jose.