Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Manager
Connie Juarez-Diroll, Legislative Officer
Subject: 2021 State and Federal Legislative Update #7
RECOMMENDATION:
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Accept this informational report on the 2021 State and Federal legislative sessions.
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BACKGROUND:
Governor Newsom's 30-day period to sign or veto the hundreds of bills passed by the Legislature ended on October 10th. The Legislature is now in recess and will reconvene on January 3, 2022 to begin the second year of the 2021-22 legislative session.
In Washington, D.C., Congressional Democratic leaders failed to meet a self-imposed end of the month deadline to complete action on President Joe Biden's multi-trillion-dollar economic agenda, the framework of which was released on October 28th.
DISCUSSION:
2021 State Update
The Legislature introduced over 2,400 bills in the 2021 legislative session. Ultimately, 836 bills reached the Governor's desk. The Governor signed 770 proposals and vetoed 66, an approval rate of 92%.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted numerous issues throughout California, inspiring legislative action on: closing the digital divide, ensuring transparency for local government meetings, protecting workers, safeguarding public health and supporting small businesses:
Broadband: The Governor signed a package of bills, as well as a budget package, aimed at closing California's digital divide. Key new laws include:
* AB 14 (Aguiar-Curry, Ch. 658, Statutes of 2021) extends the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) program to encourage deployment of broadband service to unserved Californians.
* SB 4 (Gonzalez, Ch. 671, Statutes of 2021) extends the operation of the CASF through 2032, increases the annual funding cap for the CASF, and expands projects eligible for CASF grants to include fund broadband deployment at unserved locations used for emergency response.
The Brow...
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