LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: April 15, 2025
Subject: State Legislative Updates of Interest to Contra Costa County: Sponsored Legislation
Submitted For: Legislation Committee
Department: County Administrator’s Office
Referral Name: Federal 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:
This session, the County has two sponsored bills:
1. Sales tax cap legislation, to allow the County to enact a five-year, 5/8 cent general purpose sales tax, subject to voter approval requirements.
Senator Jesse Arreguin has agreed to author this legislation. A potential standalone vehicle has been identified for the bill. However, it is unlikely that the bill will be in print as a standalone measure.
Instead, due to the volume of local (City and County) revenue measures being considered in the Legislature, Leadership in both houses is working to consolidate all local tax measures into a smaller number of vehicles. Therefore, the bill is not yet in print, as of the publication of this packet. The County’s staff and lobbyists continue to remain in close contact with Senator Arreguin’s team, as conversations with Legislative leadership progress.
The Committee will receive updates, as available, during this item.
2. AB 2278 (Ávila Farías): This develops a 5-year pilot project for the County of Contra Costa for the purpose of improving IHSS eligibility and processing times through the use of innovative technologies. Under the bill, the project would be designed with a focus on decreasing IHSS application processing times for recipients participating in the CFCO program. The bill would require the county to post annual reports on project progress and outcomes.
As reported a the March 30 meeting, AB 2278 had its first hearing on Tuesday, March 24, where it was considered by the Assembly Human Services Committee. The measure passed out of Committee with 5 yes votes and 2 abstentions.
The bill has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection, where it is expected to be scheduled for a hearing in the coming weeks.
While the bill made it out of its first policy committee, challenges still lie ahead. The bill has fiscal implications, which may make it difficult to progress through Appropriations Committee.
Also notable, the County’s Aging and Adult Services Bureau within EHSD has made significant strides in improving the IHSS CFCO processing times.
The county adopted three key strategies: 1) contracted with a temporary staffing agency to bring on extra help with CFCO re-assessments; and 2) prioritized CFCO reassessments over non-reassessments and initial assessments for all cases; and 3) instituted weekly management meetings to track progress of completing re-assessments.
The county has made great progress in addressing overdue reassessments and has reduced the backlog to under 1,000 cases, down from around 3,300. With continued investment in a new unit and additional staffing, EHSD hopes to continue its progress.
County staff have relayed these developments to the author’s office and remain in close communication as next steps are considered.
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.