Bill Talk: Time to do it all over again

By Cal Cities Staff

Welcome back to Bill Talk! This week looks like a (relatively) quiet one, due in part to the June primary. Lawmakers last week wrapped up a short but busy week of floor votes. Bills that advance to the floor tend to pass; this year was no exception.

But there are still plenty of opportunities to make your voice heard, as lawmakers must repeat the committee process in the second house. Legislators have until July 2 to get their bills through the final round of policy committee hearings. But before then, they must iron out a final(ish) budget agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsom — due June 15 if they want to get paid. (The exact contours of the budget are typically ironed out later in the year.)

Curious about what the biggest bills for cities are as we enter the second half of the legislative year? Check out the May 20 edition of Bill Talk, which highlighted the biggest bills that survived the twice-yearly appropriations gauntlet.

-Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor

165 cities would bear the brunt of SB 866's data mandate

Cal Cities remains strongly opposed to SB 866 (Blakespear), a measure that requires select cities to collect extensive homelessness data in their housing element. Last week, the author committed to new amendments to pass the bill off the Senate floor. The changes would exempt cities with populations under 50,000 from the data collection requirement.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently released Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) trailer bill further exacerbates the inequity at the heart of SB 866. The budget trailer bill details how the next round of HHAP will be implemented. The proposal exempts the largest cities, counties, and Continuums of Care — which receive millions of dollars in HHAP funding and represent more than 70% of California’s unhoused population — from the same extensive data collection mandate required for cities between 50,00 to 300,000 in SB 866.  

The original intent of including homelessness-related data collection as a requirement to receive HHAP funding was to ensure accountability for jurisdictions that receive direct state funding for homelessness. However, SB 866 applies the data collection outlined in the Governor’s trailer bill to smaller cities that do not receive HHAP funding. Between SB 866 and the HHAP trailer bill, only a random assortment of 165 cities with populations between 50,000 and 300,000 would need to collect extensive homelessness data.

Cities are encouraged to call their assembly members and submit letters of opposition to the Assembly Housing Committee and should expect an action alert on the bill this week.

- Serena Scott, legislative affairs analyst

Support letters needed for sponsored road repair bill

A Cal Cities-sponsored bill, SB 922 (Laird), was recently referred to the Assembly Local Government Committee. The measure seeks to clarify that cities may recover the cost of street maintenance and repair caused by public service operations, such as waste hauling, through service-related fees and charges. While the bill has yet to be set for a hearing, cities are encouraged to submit their letters of support to the committee.

- Ben Triffo, legislative advocate

Cal Cities moves to neutral on monarch habitat bill

Following appropriations, Asm. Dawn Addis amended AB 2254 before it was heard on the Assembly floor. The bill focuses on protecting the overwintering habitat sites of monarch butterflies. Cal Cities had an oppose unless amended position on the bill.

Cal Cities asked the author to ensure coastal cities and counties have flexibility to develop policies appropriate for their communities instead of mandating land use updates in their local coastal programs. The new changes addressed those concerns, allowing Cal Cities to move to neutral on the bill.

- Melissa Sparks-Kranz, legislative advocate

A quick reminder

Bill Talk is a weekly breakdown of the biggest bills, policy committee hearings, and legislative deadlines that city leaders need to know about. To get this list on Monday morning, contact your regional public affairs manager. To access old Bill Talks, visit the archive page. To see all tracked bills by issue area or priority, visit the Bill Search page.