LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: May 27, 2026
Subject: 2027-28 State Legislative Platform
Submitted For: Legislation Committee
Department: County Administrator
Presenter: E. Struthers
Contact: (925) 655-2045
Referral History:
The Legislation Committee reviews and considers the draft State and Federal Legislative Platforms prior to their proposal to the Board of Supervisors for adoption. The adopted Legislative Platforms of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors are available on the County website: <https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/2859/Legislation>.
Referral Update:
In 2020, the County shifted its State and Federal Legislative Platforms from one to two-year documents running concurrently with the legislative and congressional sessions. The County Administrator's Office is responsible for coordinating the development of the Platforms. Pursuant to Administrative Bulletin 110, platform updates are accomplished in the fall of even-numbered years.
In preparation for this process, staff is soliciting initial feedback on key issues, including:
• Timing and Process
• Format and content
• Sponsored bill proposals
Past iterations of the Legislative Platform development process have included the following steps, which have yielded successful results:
1. Board members, County Department Heads, and/or senior staff were invited to meetings with the County's federal and state lobbyists to discuss the department’s legislative and regulatory priorities, sponsored bill proposals, and policy interests.
2. Department Heads and their senior staff were asked to solicit input from any Board-established advisory bodies for which they provide staff support. They are also requested to provide the legislative priorities and principles of the professional associations to which they belong.
3. Policy positions, when included in the Platform, were requested to be refashioned to “principles.” This is intended to streamline the documents, moving away from program, project, or legislation-specific policy statements and toward more general principles. Principles are more basic than policy and objectives and are meant to govern both. However, over time, our platform has lengthened into a more “policy-statement” driven document, rather than a “principles-based” one as more detail has been included. This is not unique to Contra Costa, but a regular issue encountered by many organizations.
4. Draft Platforms are presented to the Legislation Committee for consideration in November and/or December, prior to recommendation of adoption to the Board in the following January.
The past platform is used as the basis for content. Recommendations from departments and community partners are submitted and reviewed. Most suggestions are typically incorporated or were determined to already be incorporated within the existing principles and policy statements. In limited circumstances, suggestions are not incorporated or already included, when inconsistent with the current Board’s positions and past direction.
Preliminary Considerations
• Timing and Process
o Meetings with County staff would be held late August-October, with a calendar scheduling tool to be set up in early-mid August.
§ Also considering workshops, office hours, or open house type approaches.
o A draft platform can be brought to Legislation Committee in October, November, or December.
o Board platform adoption is typically requested in January.
• Format and content
o Level of detail in principles vs. policy statements.
o Graphic vs. text-driven.
o Length, content, or other considerations.
o Policy Statements based: Adopted-2025-26-State-Legislative-Platform-250121 <https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/85518/Adopted-2025-26-State-Legislative-Platform-250121?bidId=>
o Principles-based example from Riverside County: 2025-26 Legislative Platform <https://rivco.gov/sites/g/files/aldnop116/files/users/user151/Attachment-77482.pdf?archive-consent=true>
• Sponsored bill proposals
o Approximately promising 5 proposals are under consideration for next cycle.
o Need preliminary direction on review process to guide timing, outreach, and other considerations.
This list is not all-inclusive, and the Committee is invited to raise other considerations or provide further feedback on the development of the 2027-28 legislative platforms.
Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):
DISCUSS initial feedback and direction related to future updates to the County's next State Legislative Platform, including timing, structure, and process for development.
Fiscal Impact (if any): None.