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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 14117 City of Palo Alto (ID # 14117) Policy and Services Committee Staff Report Meeting Date: 3/8/2022 Report Type: Action Items City of Palo Alto Page 1 Title: Update and Potential Recommendations on Pending State and Federal Legislation From: City Manager Recommendation Staff recommends that the Policy and Services Committee (a) receive a legislative update from the City’s state and federal advocates, and (b) subject to the Committee’s discussion, recommend any pending bills that the full City Council may wish to take a position on outside of the existing legislative guidelines. Background On February 7 2022, the City Council adopted the 2022 Legislative Guidelines (CMR 13904; Minutes). The guidelines provide a baseline for the City’s legislative advocates at the state and federal level to advocate on the City’s behalf in relation to proposed legislation. Discussion The City’s legislative advocates in Sacramento (Townsend Public Affairs) and legislative advocates in Washington, D.C. (Van Scoyoc Associates) will be present to discuss updates on legislation, the budget, and the coming weeks and months in Sacramento and D.C. Below is a high-level summary of activity at both the state and federal level. State Update: Attachment A contains the Sacramento update from Townsend Public Affairs. The State legislative calendar is online here: https://www.assembly.ca.gov/legislativedeadlines or https://www.senate.ca.gov/legdeadlines. Federal Update: The information below is the Washington D.C. update from Van Scoyoc Asso. Legislative Branch Activity FY22 Appropriations Outlook The War in Ukraine has reinforced the need for Congress to pass the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 appropriations bills quickly (there are 12 bills total). Congress is poised to bundle the 12 bills into a single omnibus appropriations bill, and negotiations on that bill are going smoothly. President Biden requested $6.4 billion in military and humanitarian aid be included. There are discussions about where the funding will come from. There are also some discussions of City of Palo Alto Page 2 whether previously appropriated dollars to build the wall on the US-Mexico border can be rescinded and repurposed elsewhere. Unless these topics are resolved quickly, it is unlikely the House and Senate can pass their massive FY 2022 appropriations bill by the March 11th deadline. That would require another short-term continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown. Regardless, the political desire to finish this important bill is very strong, and according to leaders of both parties, they will indeed pass the omnibus bill soon. President Seeks to Revive ‘Build Back Better’ Bill in State of the Union Speech In President Biden’s State of the Union speech, he laid out several domestic priorities which he hopes to be included in a future legislative package. The president hopes to rename and repackage the stalled Build Back Better legislation. In his speech he mentioned the need to address inflation by taking the following steps: • Affordable housing investments • Invest in weatherization and clean energy solutions • Cap child-care costs at 7% of a family’s income • Capping insulin costs at $35 per month • Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers • Long-term care facility investments • Pre-Kindergarten investments Many of these components were key provisions of the Build Back Better bill which had objections from some senators (including Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV)). Following the State of the Union speech, Senator Manchin described the terms he would need to support such a plan. Senator Manchin wants to repeal some of the 2017 Trump tax cuts on top earners and corporations, with half the revenue generated being dedicated to deficit reduction, and the other half directed at key spending priorities (with a 10-year sunset). Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) has opposed repealing the 2017 tax cuts, which makes the path forward questionable on any new Build Back Better packages. Senate Prepares for Supreme Court Nomination President Biden announced his nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee announced it will begin Jackson’s confirmation process will begin March 21, starting with an introductory hearing, two days of questioning, and a day of witness testimony. In the coming weeks, Judge Jackson will meet with senators of both parties to address her confirmation. Any time a Supreme Court nomination occurs, all of Capitol Hill focuses on those hearings, and other work slows down. We expect this time to be no different. Executive Branch Activity City of Palo Alto Page 3 FEMA Extends 100% Federal Funding for COVID-19 Expenses The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced they are extending through July 1 the authority for the agency to fund 100% of its Publica Assistance Category B payments to state and local governments without a local match. Without that announcement, such claims would have reverted to a 75% federal / 25% local split beginning April 1. CDC Eases Mask Guidance The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased mask recommendations for the vast majority of the country. Rather than use positive case data alone as the basis for its masking recommendations, the CDC is now suggesting officials also weigh metrics such as hospital capacity and coronavirus admissions. Under the new approach, many parts of the country previously categorized as having “high” or “substantial” virus levels have been reclassified as having “low” to “medium” levels of covid-19 disease. The CDC recommends mask wearing indoors in public settings like schools only in communities with high levels of disease. The updated CDC mask guidance can be found here. EPA Local Government Advisory Committee Adopts Infrastructure Recommendations The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) has adopted recommendations to present to EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan on the agency’s implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The committee was asked for input on how to implement BIL programs in a way that both achieves the Biden Administration’s climate and environmental justice goals and also meets the needs of local governments. Key recommendations include: • Expanding the technical assistance available to help local governments access funding, upgrade their infrastructure, and ensure climate and equity are incorporated into their projects. • Providing training and education at every level of government on environmental justice and encouraging the use of available tools and data to make informed, equitable decisions. • Issuing guidance to encourage infrastructure projects that do not contribute to climate pollution. • Encouraging state partners to engage with communities, solicit project ideas from local governments, and include them in decision-making processes. • Adding flexibility in allowable costs to enable investments in workforce development, community outreach, and the development of regional partnerships. More information on LGAC and the full set of recommendations can be found here. City of Palo Alto Page 4 FEMA Transfers $450 Million to Flood Risk Capital Markets The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced it continues to expand its reinsurance program while also transferring an additional $450 million to flood risk capital markets to help strengthen the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) financial framework for the 2022 hurricane season. As part of the three-year reinsurance agreement, FEMA will pay $61.23 million in premiums for the first year of reinsurance coverage. Additionally, the agreement will cover the following losses for any single flood event: • 2.5% of losses between $6 and $7 billion. • 5% of losses between $7 and $9 billion. • 32.5% of losses between $9 and $10 billion. Combined with the other outstanding bonds, FEMA says it has transferred $2.664 billion of the NFIP’s flood risk to the private sector ahead of the 2022 hurricane season. Additional Federal Bill One item that the City Council expressed interest in during the June 22, 2021 legislative discussion that has come up within the City’s SCAP discussions was possible support for the Carbon Dividend Act. To help address carbon pollution around the country, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act would impose a fee on the carbon content of fuels that emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The existing Legislative Guidelines do not clearly cover that topic presently. If the Policy and Services Committee would like to recommend the full City Council support this legislation, such a recommendation could be made through this agenda item. More information about the bill can be found online here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2307. Resource Impact No resource impacts for this particular report. Stakeholder Engagement Staff connects with relevant stakeholders as needed throughout the legislative session. Attachments: • Attachment A: 2022 State Update Memo for CPA State Capitol Office ▪ 925 L Street • Suite 1404 • Sacramento, CA 95814 • Phone (916) 447-4086 • Fax (916) 444-0383 Federal Office ▪ 600 Pennsylvania SE • Suite 207 • Washington, DC 20003 • Phone (202) 546-8696 • Fax (202) 546-4555 Southern California Office ▪ 1401 Dove Street • Suite 330 • Newport Beach, CA 92660 • Phone (949) 399-9050 • Fax (949) 476-8215 Central California Office ▪ 744 P Street • Suite 308 • Fresno, CA 93721 • Phone (949) 399-9050 • Fax (949) 476-8215 Northern California Office ▪ 300 Frank Ogawa Plaza • Suite 204 • Oakland, CA 94612 • Phone (510) 835-9050 • Fax (510) 835-9030 MEMO To: Ed Shikada, City Manager Chantal Gaines, Deputy City Manager From: Christopher Townsend, President, Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. Niccolo De Luca, Vice President Andres Ramirez, Senior Associate Carly Shelby, Legislative Associate Date: February 25, 2022 Subject: State Legislative Update for January and February 2022 SUMMARY Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. (TPA) has prepared this report for the City of Palo Alto as we start another legislative year and as a recap of the first 6 weeks of the 2022 session. Start of the Second Year The Legislature reconvened on Monday, January 3, which began the second year of the state’s two-year session. Because it is the second year of session, the month of January featured a number of statutory deadlines for 2-year bills to continue through the legislative process. On Monday, January 31, bills introduced in the first year of session had to be passed out of their house of origin and move on to the second house. Those bills which failed to adhere to this deadline were not moving this session. To meet the January 31 deadline for 2-year bills, the final day of January featured several “do-or- die” votes. In the Assembly, a handful of bills including AB 1400 (Kalra), which creates a state- funded single-payer health care system, and AB 854 (Lee), which requires property owners in rent-controlled jurisdictions to hold on to their buildings for at least five years before invoking the Ellis Act, failed to progress this session. Friday, February 18 marked the 2022 Legislative Session’s bill introduction deadline, meaning all new legislative vehicles will need to be introduced by this date. Although new bills have trickled in since the January 3 start of session, most legislators wait until the final deadline week to introduce the bulk of their proposals. Legislators will still have the opportunity to amend existing bill vehicles into new legislation. Assembly and Senate leaders have set a mid-March deadline for legislators to amend existing “spot” bill language into new language. Additionally, “gut and amended” bill language - which changes the cast and scope of the existing language - will also need to adhere to the mid-March deadline. The Legislature has introduced a total of 2,115 bills for this 2022 Session. Of the 2,115 total bills introduced by the February 18th deadline, there were over 1,360 Assembly Bills and over 650 Senate Bills. Further down this memo we list some of the notable bills. 2 Governor Releases January Budget Framework Proposal On January 10, Governor Newsom released his budget proposal for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, calling it his California Blueprint. According to the Governor, overall spending trends in the proposed budget reflect a more “down to earth” budget framework compared to the 2021-22 FY budget, which included a larger surplus with federal COVID relief funds. Additionally, most of the proposed expenditures – 86% in total – will be made available via one-time spending formulas. The Framework includes $286 billion in total spending, reflecting a 9.1% increase, and $213.1 billion in General Fund spending, which represents a 1.5% increase, from last year’s final budget. The budget framework also proposes to direct $34.6 billion to the state’s reserves accounts, which includes approximately $20 billion into the rainy-day fund and $9.7 billion into the school stabilization reserve. The Governor also announced that the January Budget proposal assumes a $45.7 billion operating surplus, of which $20.6 billion will be available for discretionary use. Governor Newsom iterated that these numbers are likely to change over the next few months, pending revenue information that will materialize during tax return season before the June 15th budget deadline. The breakdown of the surplus funds and earmarked expenditures are as follows: • Total surplus: $45.7 billion o $16.1 billion in Proposition 98 obligations o $3.9 billion to pay down unfunded retirement liabilities o $5.1 billion for reserves • Remaining discretionary total: $20.6 billion The proposed budget is largely focused on addressing what Governor Newsom referred to as “California’s five existential threats” which include addressing the COVID-19 crisis, the rising cost of living, homelessness, public safety, and making investments in climate resiliency. Several of the Governor’s specific proposals are targeted for “early action,” which mean the Governor’s goal is to get certain portions of funding out in the coming weeks, well before the final budget is adopted. The early action portions of the budget include $1.4 billion in emergency appropriations to address the ongoing COVID-19 crisis through bolstering testing access, vaccine distribution, and supporting frontline healthcare workers. Below is a high-level overview of proposed expenditures, organized by issue area: • COVID-19 Relief ($2.7 billion total, appropriated over 2 years) o $1.2 billion: bolster testing o $583 million: expand vaccine distribution o $614 million: support frontline healthcare workers o $200 million support state response operations o $110 million: support vulnerable populations and expand contact tracing • Combatting the Climate Crisis o Forest Health: $1.2 billion  $582 million: forest maintenance  $382 million: fuel breaks  $110 million: regional investments o Wildfires: $648 million  $400 million: CAL FIRE firefighter support 3  $248 million: new firefighter equipment o Drought: $750 million  $500 million: immediate drought support  $250 million: drought contingency support o Nature Based solutions: $2.1 billion  $400 million: Coastal and ocean protection  $325 community resiliency (catalytic projects, regional collaboration)  $175 million: extreme heat (urban greening) • Homelessness ($2 billion total) o $1.5 billion: solutions to get people off the streets and into shelters/treatment o $500 million: encampments o $10 million: Returning Home Well • Housing ($2 billion total) Last year’s housing budget and legislative priorities were focused on housing accountability and reform efforts. This year, the Administration and Legislature will focus on relationship between climate action and housing policy, meaning housing production and density that is both sustainable and reduces sprawl that could overlap with areas of the state susceptible to natural disaster. o Sustainable Housing Developments  $500 million: Infill Infrastructure Grant Program ($225 million in 2022-23, and $275 million in 2023-24)  $300 million: Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities ($75 million in 2022-23, and $225 million in 2023-24)  $100 million: state excess sites development  $100 million: adaptive reuse incentive grants o Affordable housing  $200 million ($50 million in 2022-23, and $150 million in 2023-24): mixed-income housing development loans  $200 million: portfolio reinvestment program  $100 million : mobile home park rehabilitation • Public Safety o Crime prevention  $255 million: competitive grants for local law enforcement agencies over the next three years to help advance the prosecution of retail crime rings.  $30 million: grants to District Attorney offices to fight theft crimes  $25 million: statewide gun-buyback program o Emergency response  $17 million: early earthquake warning system  $12 million: new Southern California Emergency response center • Transportation o Zero Emissions Vehicles: $6.1 billion (appropriated over 5 years) o Transportation projects: $9.1 billion ($4.9 billion General Fund and $4.2 billion Proposition 1A bond funds)  $4.9 billion: • $2 billion: transit and rail projects 4 • $1.25 billion: local projects • $750 million: bicycle/pedestrian safety/connecting communities projects • $500 million: grade crossings • $400 million: climate adaptation  $4.2 billion: high-speed rail • Supply Chain Resiliency ($2.3 billion) o $1.2 billion: investments in port, freight, and goods movement infrastructure o $875 million: ZEV equipment o $110 million: workforce training o $40 million: more licensed truckdrivers cut red tape at DMV o $30 million: process improvements at port facilities • Education • $1 billion: universal Pre-K o $639 million: first year of universal pre-k o $383 million: reduced adult-to-student ratio • K-12 o $3.4 billion: summer and after school elementary programs o $937 million: additional arts and music investment o $596 million: universal meal program • Higher Education o New statewide degree completion goal of 70% o $1.6 billion: Community Colleges  $463 million: COLA (5.33%)  $388 million: deferred maintenance  $200 million: part time faculty health insurance  $150 million: recruitment and retention rates  $100 million: student success completion grants  $65 million: transfer reform efforts o $537 million: California State University o $600 million: UC System • Small Business Investments o $3 billion: paying down UI debt o $1 billion: loan guarantees o $500 million: small business tax relief: venues and restaurants o $150 million: small business COVID-19 grant program Following the release of the budget framework proposal, the Legislature has been holding budget informational hearings within each house’s standing budget committees and sub-committees with the plan to be done with hearings by the end of February/early March. However, as of the end of January, the Department of Finance has only released a portion of the trailer bill language detailing implementation and funding formula specifics necessary for enacting the Governor’s budget framework. 5 Governor and Legislative Leaders Announce Agreement on COVID Paid Sick Leave As expected, the final proposal mirrored previous versions of supplemental paid sick leave. Its provisions apply to employers with more than twenty-five employees. Covered employees are entitled to paid sick leave under one or more of the following circumstances: • The employee is subject to an isolation period related to COVID-19. • The employee has been advised by a health care provider to isolate due to COVID-19. • The employee is attending an appointment for themselves or a family member to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or a vaccine booster. • The employee is experiencing symptoms or caring for a family member experiencing symptoms related to a COVID-19 vaccine or vaccine booster. • The employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. • The employee is caring for a family member who is isolating due to COVID-19. • The employee is caring for a child, whose school or place of care is closed or otherwise unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19 on the premises. Full-time employees are entitled to 40 hours of paid sick leave for any of the above reasons. Part- time employees are entitled to a proportionate number of hours based on their schedule. Employees are entitled to an additional 40 hours of paid sick leave if the employee or a family member tests positive for COVID-19 and provides documentation of a positive test. The maximum amount of paid sick leave a full-time employee can take during the period from January 1, 2022, to September 30, 2022, is 80 hours. If an employee is eligible for exclusion pay under the Cal/OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard, paid sick leave hours cannot be used to offset any exclusion pay obligation. Governor Signs Early Action Budget Bills into Law The Governor signed early action budget bills into law, all of which take effect immediately. The new measures include: • SB 113 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) Economic relief: COVID-19 pandemic. This measure transfers $150 million into the California Emergency Relief Fund to fund remaining eligible waitlisted grant applicants from last year’s California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program. Additionally, the measure restores the net operating loss (NOL) deduction and lifts the cap on business incentive tax credits that were suspended and capped in the 2020-21 budget. • SB 114 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) Employment: COVID-19: supplemental paid sick leave. This measure provides 80 hours of paid Covid-19 leave for covered employees working for an employer with over twenty-five employees. The previous law requiring coverage (SB 95, Statutes of 2021) expired Sept. 30, 2021. SB 114 mirrors the provisions included in the previous law, with two notable changes, which include the following additional qualifying cases for taking paid sick leave time: o Attending an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or a vaccine booster for the employee’s family member; or o Caring for a family member who has symptoms from a COVID-19 vaccine or a vaccine booster. • SB 115 (Skinner) Budget Act of 2021. 6 This measure amends the language contained within the 2021 Budget Act to provide for the immediate disbursement of funds marked for early action. This includes $1.9 billion from the General Fund to the California Emergency Relief Fund for COVID-19 mitigation, which includes increasing testing capacity, enhancing vaccination programs, and supporting frontline workers. In addition to the new funds for COVID-19 mitigation and support, the measure allows the state to backfill funds for rental assistance not covered by federal dollars. Notable bill introductions include the following: As noted previously in this memo, Friday, February 18 marked the 2022 Legislative Session’s bill introduction deadline and the Legislature introduced a total of 2,020 bills for this 2022 Session. Below is just a handful of bills we wanted to bring to the City’s attention. • AB 1795 (Fong) Open meetings: remote participation. Requires state bodies to provide all persons the ability to participate both in-person and remotely in any meeting and to address the body remotely. • AB 1857 (C. Garcia) Solid waste. Removes the diversion credit for municipal solid waste incinerators and redefines the practice of incineration as disposal. Requires CalRecycle to ensure that municipalities are prioritizing zero- waste strategies before constructing new incinerators (to meet 1383 diversion requirements). • AB 1859 (Levine) Mental health services. Expedites outpatient care for persons committed to involuntary detention. Requires a licensed mental health professional to follow up with a previously detained person no later than 48 hours after release. • AB 1883 (Quirk Silva) Public restrooms. Requires local governments to complete an inventory of public restrooms owned and maintained by the local government, either directly or by contract, which are available to the general population in its jurisdiction. • AB 1909 (Friedman) Vehicles: bicycle omnibus bill. Removes the prohibition of class 3 electric bicycles on trails, bikeways, bike lanes equestrian trails, or hiking or recreational trails and removes the authority of a local jurisdiction to prohibit class 1 and class 2 electric bicycles on these facilities. Instead authorizes a local authority to prohibit the operation of a class 3 electric bicycle at a motor-assisted speed greater than twenty miles per hour. For reference: Class 1 = pedal assist only tops off at 20 mph and no throttle Class 2 = throttle and maxes out at 20mph. Class 3 = Pedal Assist only and tops off at 28mph. • AB 1944 (Lee) Local government: open and public meetings. Requires all open and public meetings of a legislative body that elects to use teleconferencing to provide a video stream accessible to members of the public and an option for members of the public to address the body remotely during the public comment period through an audio-visual or call-in option. Authorizes a local legislative body to, upon majority vote, waive Brown Act requirement of publishing their private addresses and making those addresses accessible to the public. 7 • AB 1993 (Assembly Members Wicks, Aguiar-Curry, Low, and Weber) COVID-19 vaccination requirements Mandates vaccines for workplaces (for both employees and independent contractors) and requires employers to verify that their workers are immunized. New hires would need to have at least one shot by their first day — and the second within 45 days. Exemptions are made for persons ineligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine due to a medical condition or disability or who hold a sincerely held religious belief. • AB 2026 (Friedman) Recycling: plastic packaging and carryout bags. Prohibits an online retailer that sells or ships purchased products in or into the state from using single-use plastic or polystyrene packaging that consists of shipping envelopes, cushioning, or void fill to package or transport the products, on and after January 1, 2024, for large online retailers, and on and after January 1, 2026, for small online retailers. • AB 2053 (Lee) The Social Housing Act. Creates a California Housing Authority to produce and acquire social housing developments for the purpose of eliminating the gap between housing production and regional housing needs assessment targets. Check out the bill’s dedicated website HERE. • AB 2062 (Salas) Local law enforcement hiring grants. Establishes a grant program to provide $50,000,000 in grants to local law enforcement agencies to incentivize peace officers to work in local law enforcement agencies that are in underserved communities and to live in the communities that they are serving. • AB 2063 (Berman) Density bonuses: affordable housing impact fees. Prohibits affordable housing impact fees, including inclusionary zoning fees, in-lieu fees, and public benefit fees, from being imposed on a housing development’s density bonus units. • AB 2070 (Bauer-Kahan) Electrical corporations: high fire risk areas: hot work and deenergization events: notice requirements. Requires an electrical corporation to notify a fire protection district at least 24 hours before performing specified actions, including the initiation of a deenergization event within the district’s jurisdiction. Subjects an electrical corporation that fails to provide sufficient notice to a civil penalty of $500. • AB 2097 (Friedman) Residential and commercial development: remodeling, renovations, and additions: parking requirements. (Reintroduced) Prohibits local agencies from imposing minimum parking requirements on residential, commercial, or other development if the development is located on a parcel that is within one-half mile of public transit. Prohibits these provisions from reducing, eliminating, or precluding the enforcement of any requirement imposed on a new multifamily or nonresidential development to provide electric vehicle supply equipment installed parking spaces or parking spaces that are accessible to persons with disabilities. • AB 2249 (Rubio) Open meetings: local agencies: teleconferences. Authorizes a local agency to use teleconferencing without complying with specified teleconferencing requirements if at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body 8 participates in person from a singular location clearly identified on the agenda that is open to the public and situated within the local agency’s jurisdiction. • AB 2557 (Bonta) Peace officers: records. Makes records and information obtained from records maintained by an agency or body established by a city, county, city and county, local government entity, state agency, or state department for the purpose of civilian oversight of peace officers subject to disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act. Requires those records to be redacted only as specified. • SB 897 (Wieckowski) Accessory dwelling units: junior accessory dwelling units. Increases the maximum height limitation that may be imposed by a local agency on an accessory dwelling unit from 16 to 25 feet. • SB 906 (Portantino) School safety: mass casualty threats: firearm disclosure. Requires parents/guardians of children in k-12 to disclose to schools if they have a gun at home, how it is stored, and how accessible it is to the student. • SB 930 (Wiener) Housing Accountability Act. Authorizes HCD to resolve ambiguities in the Housing Accountability Act by issuing standards and definitions. • SB 953 (Min) Oil and gas leases: state waters: State Lands Commission. Bans all offshore drilling in CA by 2023. • SB 964 (Wiener) Behavioral health. Establishes $37,000 in stipends to students pursuing a master’s degree in social work who go on to work in behavioral health at a public agency, while creating a state fund to increase • SB 980 (Wiener) Alcoholic beverage licenses. Prohibits ABC from denying the issuance of a retail alcohol license solely on the basis that the premises are located within one hundred feet of a residence and prohibits the department from maintaining a presumption that the issuance of a retail license for a premises located within one hundred feet of a residence would interfere with the quiet enjoyment of the property. • SB 1067 (Portantino) Housing development projects: automobile parking requirements. Prohibits city a with a population greater than 200,000 from imposing any minimum automobile parking requirement on a housing development project that is located within 1/2 mile of public transit and that either (1) dedicates 75% of the total units to low- and very low income households, the elderly, or persons with disabilities or (2) the developer demonstrates to the local agency that the development would not have a negative impact on the local agency’s ability to meet specified housing needs and would not have a negative impact on traffic circulation or existing residential or commercial parking within 1/2 mile of the project. • SB 1079 (Portantino) Vehicles: sound-activated enforcement devices. Authorizes local jurisdictions to use sound-activated enforcement devices to capture vehicle noise levels that exceed the legal limits and face any applicable penalties after a 30-day warning period. • SB 1100 (Cortese) Open meetings: orderly conduct. 9 Authorizes members of the legislative body conducting a meeting to remove an individual for willfully interrupting the meeting, thereby modifying the Brown Act. • SB 1117 (Becker) General plans: environmental justice element. Existing law requires local governments to adopt or review the environmental justice element, or the environmental justice goals, policies, and objectives in other elements, upon the adoption or next revision of two or more elements concurrently on or after January 1, 2018.This bill instead requires local governments to adopt or review the environmental justice element upon the adoption or next revision of one or more elements. • SB 1154 (Eggman) Facilities for mental health or substance use disorder crisis: database. Requires, by January 1, 2024, the State Department of Public Health, in consultation with the State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Social Services, and by conferring with specified stakeholders, to develop a real-time, internet-based database to collect, aggregate, and display information about beds in inpatient psychiatric facilities, crisis stabilization units, residential community mental health facilities, and licensed residential alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities in order to facilitate the identification and designation of facilities for the temporary treatment of individuals in mental health or substance use disorder crisis. More Members Depart the Legislature or Will not Seek Reelection January featured more legislators announcing that they would be pursuing other opportunities rather than remaining in the Legislature. Notable resignations during the month of January include: • Former Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez, the Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, departed the Legislature on January 5 to lead the California Labor Federation after its longtime executive-secretary treasurer, Art Pulaski, steps down this summer. • Former Assembly Member Autumn Burke departed the Legislature on February 1. She served as chair of the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation. Assembly Speaker Rendon has not yet announced a new committee chair. The Assembly now features five total empty seats pending special election outcomes. The seats slated for special election include: • Assembly District 17 (formerly held by David Chiu) – February 15, 2022 • Assembly District 49 (formerly held by Ed Chau) – February 15, 2022 • Assembly District 11 (formerly held by Jim Frazier) – April 5, 2022 • Assembly District 80 (formerly held by Lorena Gonzalez) – April 5, 2022 • Assembly District 62 (formerly held by Autumn Burke) – Pending scheduling In total, five legislators have left mid-term, six will term out in 2022, and 15 have announced they will not seek reelection. These numbers exclude the handful of races where the newly drawn districts will pit incumbents against one another, leading to more incumbents out of the Capitol next year. Additional updates Amended “The Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act” Receives Title and Summary 10 The Attorney General issued title and summary for the California Business Round Table- sponsored “Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act.” Initiative proponents withdrew a previous version of the initiative language to push forward the initiative’s amended language. Following the issuance of title and summary, proponents can begin signature gathering. They must submit 997,139 valid signatures to qualify for the November 2022 ballot. The Secretary of State’s recommended date to turn in signatures is April 29, 2022. The Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act would amend the California Constitution to restrict the ability of the state, local governments, other local agencies, and the electorate to approve or collect taxes, fees, and other revenues. It would require voter approval of all state taxes, would further restrict local fee authority by limiting it to the “minimum amount necessary” to provide government services, and would require voter approval for local measures such as franchise fees. Its provisions would make it easier to challenge local revenue measures by increasing the burden of proof on local agencies while disallowing an agency’s characterization of a measure from being considered in court. Initiative opponents comprise a coalition of organizations including the League of California Cities, California Professional Firefighters, AFSCME, SEIU, and the California Alliance for Jobs.