LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: September 28, 2026
Subject: State Budget Updates of Interest to Contra Costa County
Submitted For: Legislation Committee
Department: County Administrator’s Office
Referral Name: State Budget Update
Presenter: M. Rubalcava and G. Neill, Nielsen Merksamer
Contact: E. Struthers (925) 655-2045
Referral History:
The Legislation Committee regularly receives reports on the State Budget and bills of interest to the County and provides direction and/or input to staff and the County’s state lobbyists.
Referral Update:
During this item, the County’s state advocates will provide an update on various legislative and budgetary matters of interest.
FY26-27 State Budget
The Legislature concluded business on Tuesday, September 1, one day after the constitutional legislative deadline of Monday, August 31. This was possible due to urgency clauses included in several bills, including a budget bill jr. and the wildfire liability bill. AB/SB 113, the main end of session budget package, went into print late on Friday, August 28.
Notably, AB 113 included a number of earmarks, primarily from Prop. 4 Climate Bond funds. Contra Costa County, as well as a number of related partner jurisdictions and organizations received funding for several projects advanced by members of our delegation.
These projects include:
County and ConFire
• $1 million to ConFire for wildfire and evacuation modeling and planning tools
• $1 million to ConFire to support the Contra Costa Peer Support and Crisis Referral Program
• $100,000 for Contra Costa County to support the Casita Project, a farmworker housing pilot project by Hijas Del Campo.
Green Empowerment Zone
• $2 million for Green Empowerment Zone
Delta
• $75 million to improve existing levees in the delta, of which $30 million is specifically for the Delta Levees Repair of State water project - special projects program and flood control subventions program
• $15.2 million for local assistance, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy, from Prop 4 funding.
• $5 million to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy for Jersey Island acquisition and remediation.
Local Non-profits
• $16.5 million for diaper/wipe distribution to low-income families, divided amongst 11 Food Banks, including Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.
• $750,000 is available to the Immigrant Action Network to expand the community defense program serving immigrants at the Concord Immigration Court through the SAFE Center.
Local Cities/Agencies
• $4,000,000 to the City of Concord for renovations and enhancements to Ellis Lake Park.
• $400,000 to the East Bay Regional Park District for the Stock Pond Restoration (I believe this is at Contra Loma in Antioch).
• $1,000,000 to the City of Richmond for a wildland fire engine and fire mitigation.
• $2,000,000 to the San Ramon Fire District to be used to clear dry grass and brush in Mount Diablo State Park and surrounding neighborhoods.
• $2,000,000 to the City of Pittsburg to facilitate and scale the construction of affordable housing units for families in the East Bay in coordination with the Yellow Roof Foundation.
The budget bill jr. and a new Health trailer bill also made some new investments in Health.
Health & New Health Trailer Bill: AB 113 (budget bill jr.) augmented funding for the 988 system.
• State investments in 988 system:
§ $5.8 million for state interoperability of 988 system.
§ $6.8 million to DHCS
§ $2.8 million to CalOES
• $20 million to support 988 crisis call centers
• $5 million to support a “Press 3” option for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention resources.
The Legislature also adopted a new Health trailer bill, AB 173. Some highlights include:
• 988 funds are permitted to be used for mobile crisis services, also contains some specific timelines around 988 meetings
• Gives full scope Medi-Cal to lawfully present immigrants through 6/30/2027, who lost coverage through H.R. 1 (e.g. refugees).
• Ensures coverage of dialysis regardless of whether the treatment meets the definition of emergency
Legislation
The Governor has until September 30 to act on bills. The fate of many bills remain uncertain until then.
However, the Governor did act on a large tranche of bills on September 20th, including several tracked bills for Contra Costa County, including:
• AB 871 by Assemblymember Catherine Stefani (D-San Francisco) -Mandated reporters of suspected financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult
• AB 2278 by Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías (D-Martinez) - In-home supportive services: Community First Choice Option program: noncompliance penalties.
• SB 1408 by Senator Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley) - Contra Costa Transportation Authority: transactions and use tax.
• AB 1383 by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) - Public employees’ retirement benefits. Veto message: <https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Veto-msg-AB-1383.pdf>
Attachments to this package include the list of tracked bills and their status, which will continue to change as the September 30 deadline approaches.
Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):
RECEIVE the report and provide direction and/or input to County staff and the County’s state advocates, as needed.
Fiscal Impact (if any):
None.