June 5, 2015
Issue #56

Editor's Note

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Legislature Meets House of Origin Deadline, Bills Starting to be Scheduled for Policy Committees in Second House

The Legislature met one of its major deadlines this week on Thursday afternoon when both houses wrapped up marathon sessions to take action on bills that originated in their house. Bills that fail to pass at this juncture will not continue to move for the remainder of the session, which ends on Friday, Sept. 11.

Legislation, Hot Bills
 

Medical Cannabis Bill Passes Assembly with Historic Consensus

On Thursday, June 4, the California State Assembly took historic action in passing AB 266, medical cannabis legislation, on a bipartisan vote of 60-8, with at least 17 Republican members in support. The measure provides long overdue statewide regulation of medical cannabis that protects local control and public safety, and advances patient protection with maximum potency and health and safety standards.

Legislation, Hot Bills, Public Safety, Marijuana Regulation
 

GASB Announces Major New Accounting Rule for OPEBs

Effective June 15, 2017, Rule Requires Cities to Account for Unfunded Liabilities in Net Fiscal Position

On June 2 the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) released Statement 75 that, effective June 15, 2017, requires governments with unfunded OPEB liabilities and their independent auditors to report either their net or total OPEB liability on their financial statements. In short, OPEB liabilities will no longer just be reported in the financial statements of cities but will have to be reflected in the bottom line net fiscal position of cities, possibly causing reductions in bond ratings and other negative fiscal effects for some.

Municipal Finance, Fiscal Officers
 

New League Page Features Water-Management Resources

The League of California Cities® staff has assembled a new webpage containing resources intended to help cities meet the state’s first emergency water-use restrictions and groundwater management plan mandate.

Water
 

California City Solutions: Long Beach Forms Quality of Life Unit to Help Homeless Transition

This story is part of an ongoing series featuring Helen Putnam Award entries. The 2014 entries are available on the League’s website as a resource for cities in a searchable database called California City Solutions. Long Beach Police Department’s Quality of Life Unit was submitted in 2014 for the Public Safety award category.

CA City Solutions, Helen Putnam, Public Safety
 

NLC Releases Report on Sharing Economy

The National League of Cities (NLC) on June 3 released the first national quantitative survey of local elected officials' views on the sharing economy. The report, City Survey on the Sharing Economy: Shifting Perceptions of Collaborative Consumption, found that 71 percent of cities surveyed are supportive of growth in the sharing economy — particularly with ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft — but many are concerned about the sharing economy’s impact on public safety. On the whole, cities want to encourage economic development and accommodate the services their constituents want.

NLC, Economic Development
 

Save Our Water to Offer Agency Partner Webinar on June 8

 
With the emergency regulations for urban water conservation in effect, many water agencies are being asked to meet high conservation standards. Save Our Water is offering updated public outreach tools and partnership opportunities to help meet these standards.

Water, Meetings and Events
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