Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Executive
Connie Juarez-Diroll, Chief Legislative Office
Subject: State and Federal Legislative Update #8-2024 Legislative Session End-of-Session Wrap-up
RECOMMENDATION:
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Accept an informational report on the 2024 State and Federal Legislative sessions.
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BACKGROUND:
August 31, 2024, marked the end of the second year of the 2023-24 state Legislative Session. In the weeks before the final deadline, lawmakers worked into the evening to determine the fate of over 1,300 bills.
The House and Senate returned from their August recess on September 9. Facing a September 30th deadline before the end of the federal fiscal year, Congress has less than three legislative weeks to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown.
DISCUSSION:
State Update
In 2024, legislators introduced 2,523 pieces of legislation, including 802 bills in the Senate and 1,721 bills in the Assembly. Members also bid farewell to 23 departing Assembly Members, including Assembly Member Phil Ting (D-District 19) and 11 departing Senators.
While the end of the session is often stressful, this year’s was marked by heightened tension generated by the Governor’s end-of-session efforts to address spikes in gasoline prices and high electric bills. This included the “gutting and amending” six bills in the final week of the session to tackle increasing energy costs. The package included SB 950 (Skinner), which proposed requiring oil refiners to maintain reserve stockpiles of gasoline to prevent shortages in case of unplanned maintenance. While Senate pro Tempore Mark McGuire welcomed taking up these consequential bills during the regular session, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas did not, asking for more review time.
In the meantime, the Governor turned up the heat by calling a special session on energy this fall, an idea embraced by Speaker Rivas, but rejected by pro Tem McGuire. In the end, the bills did not move on the final night of the session.
On September 10th, Speaker Rivas announced that the Assembly would convene for a Special Session, including informational sessions on September 18 and 19, a bill hearing on ABx2 -1 (identical to SB 950) on September 26, and a floor vote on October 1st. The Senate pro Tem has indicated he will only call his members back if the Assembly passes special session legislation.
Below is a list of select measures acted on during the closing days of the session that are important to counties. A complete list of bills tracked by the Intergovernmental and Public Affairs (IGPA) Unit is included with this report. Since the regular session wrapped up, any measure that did not move to the Governor by midnight on August 31st is dead. The Governor has until September 30 to determine the fate of the bills sent to him-sign or veto.
• AB 2115 (Haney)-Would update requirements for participation in narcotic treatment programs (NTPs) and authorize specified practitioners at a nonprofit or free clinic to dispense a narcotic drug from clinic supply to relieve acute withdrawal symptoms when necessary while arranging referral to an NTP.
• AB 2199 (Berman)-Would extend the CEQA exemption for infill housing projects in unincorporated areas until 2030.
• AB 2561 (McKinnor)-Would require a public agency to present the status of public employee vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts during a public hearing before the governing board at least once per year.
• AB 2871 (Mainschein)-Would authorize counties to establish an interagency overdose fatality review team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing overdose fatalities, facilitate communication, and integrate local prevention efforts.
• AB 3093 (Ward)-Would create two new income categories, Acutely Low Income (ALI) and Extremely Low Income (ELI), in the Regional Housing Needs Determination (RHND), and Housing Element Law and require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to develop guidance for regions and local governments on distributing and planning for the new income tiers.
• SB 37 (Caballero)-Would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, HCD to establish and administer the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program to provide housing subsidies to older adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness.
• SB 1238 (Eggman)-Would expand the definition of a psychiatric health facility in the Lanterman Petris Short (LPS) Act to include a facility that provides inpatient care for people with severe substance use disorders (SUD) or co-occurring mental health and SUDs.
• SB 1243 (Dodd)-Would make various changes to the Levine Act that restrict campaign contributions to agency elected officials from entities with business before the agency involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use, including raising the threshold for campaign contributions regulated by the Act from $250 to $500.
• SB 1400 (Stern)-Would, among other provisions, expand tracking and reporting requirements for the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act.
The outcome of these bills and those listed in the accompanying Legislative Activity Report will be reported to the Board in October.
Federal Update
On September 11, Speaker Mike Johnson abandoned plans to force a vote on a six-month GOP-friendly government spending bill ahead of the September 30 federal budget deadline, avoiding a government shutdown. Johnson had been trying to pass a financing bill backed only by a narrow Republican majority in the House to gain leverage in negotiations with the Democratic-led Senate and White House. The $1.6 trillion proposal would have extended current spending levels through March 28 and added new unrelated requirements requiring proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. The House has passed five of the 12 full-year spending bills, some with steep cuts; the Senate has passed none, but all 12 are also through the appropriations panel.
The proposal, the SAVE Act, alienated Democrats who believe it would disenfranchise eligible voters, depress turnout, and is unnecessary as it is already illegal for noncitizens to participate in federal elections. However, Speaker Johnson has been unable to get the Republican conference to support his efforts as some refuse to vote for continuing resolutions or oppose the funding deadline. Others were swayed by or felt pressure from former president Donald Trump, who urged Republicans to force a shutdown if they can’t secure the new registration requirements.
Democrats and many Republicans prefer a shorter-term spending bill that would last into early December, allowing time to resolve their fiscal differences but leave it to President Joe Biden and the current Congress-rather than the next president and Congress-to set funding levels for 2025 and beyond.
The farm bill also expires at the end of September, meaning it will need an extension as part of a CR or in some other legislative vehicle. The fiscal 2025 national defense authorization measure is still awaiting action.
On September 17th, the speaker announced the House would vote on a six-month CR coupled with the SAVE Act on September 18th despite near-certain defeat due to GOP defections and almost unanimous Democratic opposition. Johnson considers the SAVE Act a policy imperative. If the House cannot pass the bill, it is unclear what Speaker Johnson’s next step might be. However, he and his allies will likely need to pivot to a new strategy, a “clean” extension, to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month or wait and see if the Senate will take action to move its funding extension to mid-December.
EQUITY IMPACT:
The County’s 2024 Legislative program supports policies that further or enhance equity goals in addressing the needs of underserved, disadvantaged, or marginalized residents.