Meeting Minutes - Final

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY Legislation

Committee

Supervisor Diane Burgis, Chair

Supervisor Ken Carlson, Vice Chair

https://cccounty-us.zoom.us/j/82970370770

Call In: 1-888 278 0254, Access code: 219464

10:00 AM

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

2255 Contra Costa Blvd., Suite 202, Pleasant

Hill | 3361 Walnut Boulevard, Suite 140,

Brentwood, CA 94513|

Introductions

Vice Chair Carlson convened the meeting at 10:01 a.m. from his office. Chair Burgis was in

attendance from her office but having computer issues; these issues resolved after Public Comment,

and she was able to resume chairing the meeting. No members of the public joined the meeting from

either Supervisor's office.

Also in attendance were:

Lara DeLaney, staff to the Committee

J. Dante

Kurt Henke, AP Triton

Mark Hartwig

Colleen Awad, District IV Senior District Representative

Esa Ehmen-Krause, Chief Probation Officer

Jim Davenport, Thorn Run Partners

Paul Schlesinger, Thorn Run Partners

Marshall Bennett, Director of Emergency Medical Services

Dr. William Walker

Lewis Broschard, Fire Chief CCCFPD

Timothy Ewell, Chief Assistant County Administrator

Michelle Rubalcava, Nielsen Merksamer

Kiki Farris, County Probation Department

Shoshana Wechsler

Monica Nino, County Administrator

Will Nelson, Department of Conservation & Development

John Kopchik, DCD Director

Tom Geiger, County Counsel

Jody London, County Sustainability Coordinator

Geoff Neill, Nielsen Merksamer

Maureen Toms, Department of Conservation & Development

chold

Diane Burgis and Ken Carlson

Present:

Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda (speakers

may be limited to two (2) minutes).

No public comment was received.

RECEIVE and APPROVE the Meeting Minutes for the March 25, 2024

meeting of the Legislation Committee, with any necessary corrections.

24-1111

Meeting Minutes Draft 03.25.24

Attachments:

The Minutes for the March 25, 2024 meeting were approved as presented.

This Consent Item was approved.

RECEIVE a report on federal matters of interest to the County and provide

direction and/or input as needed.

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Attachment A: Federal Update

Attachments:

The County's federal lobbyists, Paul Schlesinger and Jim Davenport, provided an update

to the staff report. They discussed the political challenges in the House of

Representatives for Speaker Johnson, with members of his own party expressing an

intent to oust him from the leadership position.

Regarding appropriations for FY '25, no guidance had been issued as yet on

"Community Project Funding" (formerly known as "earmarks"), but Jim reported it

should be a similar process to last year, with minor tweaks. He anticipated that

Congressman DeSaulnier's portal for applications would soon be open. He noted that he

and Abigail Fateman, from the Department of Conservation and Development, were just

in Congressman DeSaulnier's office in Washington, advocating for the Knightsen

Wetland Restoration project and discussing the Harmful Algal Blooms Demonstration

project as well.

Chair Burgis provided input on the Harmful Algal Blooms money, noting that project

partnering has made it difficult to utilize the funding. She expressed an interest in

pursuing funding to address the situation in the Delta through other means than

through an Army Corps of Engineers project.

Further discussion about the Delta ensued, with Jim discussing a letter the delegation

had sent to the Corps to request all possible steps to consider the environmental

consequences of the Governor's proposed Delta Conveyance Project; a response should

be expected soon. Vice Chair Carlson indicated a meeting had also been held with

Region 9 of the EPA the prior week regarding the Conveyance project. Chair Burgis

expressed appreciation for the advocacy efforts. No public comments were made.

This Consent Item was received.

CONSIDER recommending a position of "Oppose" to the Board of

Supervisors on SB 1057 (Menjivar) Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, a

bill that proposes to make considerable changes to the local planning body

and associated process for the deployment of Juvenile Justice Crime

Prevention Act (JJCPA) funds, as recommended by the Chief Probation

Officer.

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Attachment A: SB 1057 analysis and CPOC Oppose Letter

Attachments:

Chief Probation Officer Ehmen-Krause addressed the Committee about her concerns

with SB 1057, noting its similarity to previous bills. She noted the significant disruption

and destabilization to the system that the bill would create. Chair Burgis inquired about

the motivation behind the bills, which was explained as long-standing issues with Los

Angeles County's Probation department. Vice Chair Carlson supported the

recommendation to oppose the bill, and Chair Burgis concurred. No public comments

were made.

Recommend a position of "Oppose" to the Board.

CONSIDER a position recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on AB

2973 (Hart) Emergency Services, a bill that purportedly intends to clarify the

statutory responsibilities of counties, boards of supervisors, and local

emergency medical service agencies regarding EMS and ambulance services

and reaffirm the authority of the boards of supervisors in EMS and

ambulance service provision decisions.

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Attachment A-- AB 2973 (Hart) Bill Text as Amended 04.02.24

Attachment B-- AB 2973 Committee Analysis Asm Emergency Mg

04.08.24

Attachments:

Attachment C--Fact Sheet AB 2973 (Hart) EMS Coordination 4.2

Attachment D-- Oppose and Concern Position Letters

Attachment E-- Prior CCC position letters on related bills

Attachment F--AB 2973 Support Letters

The County's EMS Director, Marshall Bennett, provided his assessment of the bill, AB

2973, which he suggested would lead to Emergency Medical System fragmentation,

degradation of medical control, and ultimately would not serve the public and would

erode county anti-trust protections. Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Chief,

Lewis Broschard, noted that amendments to the bill were made in the Assembly just the

previous day that may address Marshall's comments. He added that the Emergency

Medical System is a complex system and that the bill, as currently amended, seeks to give

boards of supervisors multiple options, which he then discussed. He noted that the

author has accepted multiple amendments, and he then advocated for a support position

on the bill.

Additional speakers included Mark Hartwig, the Fire Chief of Santa Barbara County

and Kurt Henke of AP Triton, who each provided their assessment of the bill and its

impacts. Chair Burgis requested the input of Chief Assistant County Administrator, Tim

Ewell, who provided a historical perspective of the County's engagement on these issues

and noted the County's own public process was anticipated this fall. Chair Burgis

requested County Counsel, Tom Geiger, to weigh in. Tom indicated that he had not seen

the most recent set of amendments to the bill, but regardless, it would not change how

Contra Costa does things. He also stated that ambulance procurement without a

competitive process would remove county anti-trust protection. Chief Broschard provided

additional comments about the most substantive amendment to the bill that removed

EMS Plan sign-off by the Board. Marshall responded that there would still be impacts

that would render the system unmanageable, degrade medical control, and expose the

County to anti-trust liability. Dr. William Walker provided comments about the County

Health Executives Association of California's (CHEAC) recent discussion of the bill and

a recommendation to "Watch with concerns," which he noted was similar to the Urban

Counties of California (UCC) position. Mr. Henke added that he believed the concerns

could be addressed in the bill and would give the County more options.

The Committee expressed concerns with the dynamics of how the bill was developing.

They noted that they had not seen CSAC's opinion on the bill as yet and wanted to wait

until that opinion was shared. Because there was no urgency for a County position on

the bill, the Committee directed staff to continue to watch the bill and bring it back at a

subsequent meeting. (Note, the bill was subsequently pulled from hearing by the author

and is not moving forward.)

Watch the bill.

CONSIDER recommending a position of "Oppose" to the Board of

Supervisors on AB 2557 (Ortega) and AB 2489 (Ward), bills that would

limit the capacity of local agencies to use contractors to provide local

services.

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Attachment A: AB 2557 and AB 2489 Bill Text

Attachments:

The Committee supported a position of "Oppose" on the bills, AB 2557 and AB 2489,

which was consistent with the adopted State Legislative Platform and prior Board of

Supervisors advocacy on related bills.

Find an Oppose position consistent with the Platform.

CONSIDER finding consistent with the adopted 2023-24 State Legislative

Platform or recommending a position of "Support" to the Board of

Supervisors on AB 3233 (Addis) Oil and gas: operations: restrictions: local

authority, a bill that authorizes a local entity, by ordinance, to limit or

prohibit oil and gas operations or development in its jurisdiction,

notwithstanding any other law or any notice of intention, supplemental

notice, well stimulation permit, or similar authorization issued by the State

Oil and Gas supervisor or district deputy.

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Attachment A: AB 3233 Bill Text

Attachments:

Staff provided a brief summary of the bill, AB 3233. Public comment was provided by

Shoshana Wechsler who noted that the cities of Antioch and Brentwood had recently

passed related ordinances to limit oil and gas operations and wanted it entered into the

record that this bill clarifies and reaffirms existing rights. She noted that CSAC had

joined an Amicus brief in December 2022 which supported Monterey County in its effort

to defend its drilling ordinance. The Director of the Department of Conservation and

Development, John Kopchik, indicated that the intent of the bill is clearly to give

authority to counties and cities, if they wish to use it, to enact policies, and this was a

principle that our County has supported. Vice Chair Carlson inquired about the kinds of

gas operations that could be included; Mr. Kopchik noted it was comprehensive. No

further public comments were offered. The Committee found the bill consistent with the

adopted State Legislative Platform.

Find the bill consistent with the Platform.

RECEIVE a report on the FY 24-25 State Budget and the 2024 Bills of

Interest to the County and provide direction and/or input as needed.

24-1117

Attachment A

Attachments:

Attachment B: CSAC 2024 Legislative Priorities

Attachment C: Bills of Interest

The County's state lobbyist, Geoff Neill, provided an update on the State Budget and the

"Early Actions" taken by the Legislature to address the budget deficit, which amount to

$17.3 billion. He also noted that other one-time funds may be pulled back by the state,

and the funding for the Bay Point Library was a critical concern. CAO Nino expressed

additional concerns over the Public Defender's grant funding. Chair Burgis suggested

that affected departments and advocates for the services may need to assist with flagging

these concerns. No public comments were offered.

This Consent Item was received.

10.

11.

The next meeting is currently scheduled for Monday, May 20, 2024 at 1:00 p.m.

Adjourn

Chair Burgis adjourned the meeting at 11:20 a.m.