LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: April 15, 2026
Subject: State Legislative Updates of Interest to Contra Costa County
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:
The California State Legislature is in the second year of a two-year Legislative Session. The bill introduction deadline for new legislation occurred on February 20. The County’s lobbyists, staff, and partner organizations have been analyzing new bill introductions for potential impacts to County finances, operations, and services.
At the same time, work is underway on the FY26-27 budget. Despite better-than-anticipated tax receipts, the State Budget is trending towards a small deficit. While the Governor’s January Budget proposal included a nominal amount of funding for State agencies to implement changes to H.R. 1 for SNAP (CalFresh) and Medicaid (Medi-Cal) administration, it did not include funding for counties to implement these changes. California is one of nine states that administers SNAP locally, and is one of about half of states (27) that administer Medicaid locally. This means that federal impacts are disproportionately passed along to California county governments, impacting general funds and the services that rely upon those funding sources.
The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) has been working with partner organizations, including the Urban Counties of California (UCC), California Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) and the California Hospital Association (CAPH), among many others, to come up with a consolidated budget request. The request was released on Monday, March 23.
May 14 is the deadline for the Governor’s May Budget Revision. Without these changes, there is existing strain on the budget with many programs are currently underfunded or unfunded, such Proposition 36 and In Home Supportive Services (IHSS). Without funding to implement these programs, state requirements fall to County governments to implement, effectively as an unfunded mandate. Combined with broader economic trends and federal funding uncertainties, the more state and local budgetary issues lay ahead.
During this item, the County’s state advocates will provide an update on various legislative and budgetary matters of interest.
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.