December 7, 2012
On Nov. 13, via webinar, and on Nov. 14, in Riverside, the League held its Annual Legislative Briefings. The presentations focused on the state budget and key developments from the 2011-12 legislative year.
October 26, 2012
Read this article online now in Western City magazine.
October 12, 2012
Realignment implementation is under way throughout California. During this process, if cities experience an increase in crime, they can draw on their own police powers and certain state laws to abate problems at essentially no cost other than (in some instances) staff time.
October 1, 2012
On Sept. 30 Gov. Jerry Brown completed action on bills for the 2011-12 legislative session. The Governor in the end was consistent with 72.4 percent of the League’s 29 signature and veto requests.
September 28, 2012
This Sunday, Sept. 30 is the deadline for Gov. Jerry Brown to take action on the bills passed by the Legislature and sent to his desk at the end of August.
September 28, 2012
Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 1162 (Runner).
September 24, 2012
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a report earlier this month detailing potential federal cuts of approximately $109 billion that would be triggered if Congress fails to act on a plan to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion in accordance with the Budget Control Act of 2011. Also referred to as “sequestration,” the act would impose a 9.4 percent reduction in non-exempt discretionary funding and an 8.2 percent reduction in non-exempt, nondefense discretionary funding.
September 21, 2012
Gov. Jerry Brown has until Sept. 30 to take action on hundreds of bills passed by the Legislature and sent to his desk. On Sept. 4, the League published a comprehensive list of bills of interest to cities and on Sept. 14 published subsequent actions taken by the Governor.
September 14, 2012
On Monday, Sept. 4, following the final night of the 2011-12 legislative session on Friday, Aug. 30, the League published a comprehensive list of bills of interest to cities which were passed by the Legislature and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for action. City officials are still encouraged to immediately send request for signature or veto letters as indicated below, as the Governor could take action at any time before his Sept. 30 deadline.
September 12, 2012
The League has requested that the Governor veto AB 1616 (Gatto), which would require cities to issue permits to “cottage food operations” that operate out of a residence and deem them to be a permitted use of residential property for local zoning, building, and fire codes. Cities are encouraged to also send veto request letters immediately.
August 30, 2012
This year the League has been tracking a number of major bills which affect cities as reflected in its updated Aug. 10 Major Bills List. This week, the League also published a list of gut and amends that affect cities. The following actions have occurred for the bills the League is tracking.
August 28, 2012
On Monday, Aug. 27, the League reported on a number of gut and amend bills being analyzed by League staff for potential impacts to cities. Since then the following updates have occurred.
August 27, 2012
The last week of session is typically filled with last minute gut and amends. This year is no different. The following bills are still being analyzed by League staff for potential impacts to cities.
August 24, 2012
It was a big win for cities Thursday when League-opposed hot bill AB 1551 (Torres) was amended to address an unrelated housing issue. While AB 2451 (Pérez) another priority bill is still moving after being passed in the Senate this week.
August 24, 2012
The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) released the FY 2012-14 RFP for the state CalGRIP grants. Applications are now available online and are due in early October.
August 24, 2012
The California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) has launched a new Office of Grants Management newsletter featuring updates on current programs, success stories, highlights, upcoming events and funding opportunities.
August 22, 2012
Amendments taken to AB 2451 (Pérez) on Monday do not adequately address concerns over the new costs this bill would impose on public employers at a time when public agencies can least afford them. Consequently, the League remains opposed. AB 2451 is on third Senate reading and may be heard this week.
August 22, 2012
Cities wondering about the status of the frontline city police department grants totaling $20 million in Gov. Jerry Brown’s final FY 2012-13 Budget will not have an answer until later in the year when the fate of the Governor’s temporary tax increase ballot measure is determined by California’s voters. The grants are included in the list of trigger cuts that will go into effect should the Governor’s tax measure fail passage.
August 17, 2012
SB 1468 (Calderon), which would have expanded fireworks sales to New Year’s Eve, was held in suspense during yesterday’s Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill is not expected to move forward this session.
August 16, 2012
Today, both the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees met and took up a number of regular order business items, as well as their suspense files.