HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 2304-1281CITY OF PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
Special Meeting
Monday, May 15, 2023
Council Chambers & Hybrid
5:30 PM
Agenda Item
13.Update, Discussion, and Potential Direction regarding State and Federal Legislation
City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: ACTION ITEMS
Lead Department: City Manager
Meeting Date: May 15, 2023
Report #:2304-1281
TITLE
Update, Discussion, and Potential Direction regarding State and Federal Legislation
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council receive an update on State Legislation and provide
feedback on bills to monitor or take direction on. This action item is a follow-up discussion to
the April 3, 2023 discussion.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
On April 3, 20231, the City Council received a brief legislative update from Townsend Public
Affairs (Townsend) related to recent actions in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. and asked
Townsend questions of interest. Specific State bills of interest to decide to support or oppose
was not discussed by City Council due to meeting time constraints. Staff has included an
updated memo from Townsend Public Affairs (Attachment A) with the current status of bills
organized in the same way as the last memo.
The memo is organized in the State updates section by pulling a handful of bills to the top and
including specific Palo Alto impact information for those bills. The Mayor has signed letters for 4
of the 5 bills in the first table of the memo and those letters are included as Attachment B. The
memo also lists other bills that Townsend is monitoring on behalf of the City. Staff also
requested the League of California Cities to join for this update, if available, to share their State
advocacy efforts on behalf of cities. Staff will continue to analyze these bills with Townsend as
they progress. If desired, Council members may also raise for discussion other legislation of
Palo Alto interest that is not listed in the memo or may recommend action on any of the bills
listed on the monitoring list. The memo also includes a brief Federal update.
1City Council, April 3, 2023 Item 13:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=1103
As a reminder, the 2023 State legislative calendar (which includes deadlines and other
important dates) can be found online at: www.assembly.ca.gov/system/files/2023-
01/2023_legislative_calendar_final.pdf. This calendar provides helpful context when reviewing
the bills included in the Townsend memo.
Process:
The question of process was included in the April 3rd memo and the City Council did not get to
the discussion on that. The City Council expressed interest in being more involved in the
legislative advocacy process, particularly related to State legislation. Going forward, Townsend
and staff will regularly share legislative updates with the City Council based on the bills the City
is monitoring or has taken positions on. If there are additional bills that Council members feel
the City should be monitoring, please let staff know. Townsend and staff will review the bill and
recommend a course of action. For context, the listed bills are being monitored in anticipation
of potentially taking a position in the future depending on what happens with the bill.
Staff would like to confirm the process that the City Council will use for reviewing legislation. In
prior years, the process has varied between going first to the Policy and Services Committee
versus review directly by the full City Council. Given the City Council’s interest in discussing and
receiving the updates, staff could plan on a monthly agenda item on legislation between
February and June each year. For 2023, this would be difficult as the City Council docket is very
full in June.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
There is no additional funding needed for this update report. The City Council budgets annually
for the legislative advocacy services and these efforts are led by staff in the City Manager’s
Office with stakeholder support across departments on key issues.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Staff from multiple departments are involved in the legislative process in helping to review the
impacts of bills as well as discussing grant opportunities linked to state and federal programs.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The City’s legislative advocacy activities are not a project under section 15378(b)(25) of the
California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines (administrative activities that will not result in
direct or indirect physical changes in the environment).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: State and Federal Update Memo from Townsend Public Affairs, May 2023
Attachment B: Recent Letters on State Legislation
APPROVED BY:
Ed Shikada, City Manager
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M E M O R A N D U M
To: The Honorable Lydia Kou and Members of the Palo Alto City Council
CC: Ed Shikada, City Manager
Chantal Cotton Gaines, Deputy City Manager
From: Townsend Public Affairs
Christopher Townsend, President
Niccolo De Luca, Vice President
Ben Goldeen, Federal Advocacy Manager
Alex Gibbs, Grants Manager
Carlin Shelby, Associate
Date: May 4, 2023
Subject: State and Federal Legislative Updates
Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. (TPA) has prepared this report for the City of Palo Alto to provide a
summary of State and Federal efforts, highlight the current status of the legislative process, and
identify various pieces of legislation that may be of interest to the City.
State Legislative Updates
With the deadline for measures with a fiscal impact to receive policy committee consideration by
April 28, the month of April featured policy committees with packed agendas. The deadline marks
an important milestone for bills, given that policy committees are responsible for the consideration
of a bill’s policy implications. During the policy committee process, bills are amended and refined
pursuant to committee member and stakeholder input. If they are deemed to have a fiscal impact,
they move over to the appropriate Appropriations Committee, which gauges impacts on the state’s
financial ability to support proposed programs. The shift from policy considerations to fiscal
considerations aligns with the state’s budget process, which will kick into high gear in May, with
the release of the May Revision. The Revision will offer an assessment of the state’s overall fiscal
condition and ability to accommodate additional spending programs contained within various bills.
In the coming weeks, appropriations committees may hold bills that are deemed to have too big
of a fiscal impact or one that is duplicative of existing budget programs. We can expect a growing
number of bills to turn into “2-year bills,” meaning that they will not progress during the 2023
Session, but may be revisited in 2024. Because the Legislative cycle runs a 2-year span, all bills
that do not progress in the first year may be resurrected in the second year.
Priority Legislation for the City of Palo Alto
1. Bills With City Positions
The following chart provides an overview of bills with positions taken or pending positions to take
as of May 2, 2023.
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BILL SUMMARY/STATUS CITY IMPACT POSITION/
RECOMMENDATION
AB 1505
(Rodriguez)
Appropriates $250,000,000 for the purpose of
implementing the Seismic Retrofitting Program for
Soft Story Multifamily Housing
Status: Passed policy committee process in
first house, pending consideration from the
Appropriations Committee.
Seismic safety improvements
align with the Palo Alto City
Council’s 2023 Priority of
Community Health and
Safety and will help the City
progress in the seismic
improvements objective.
City Position:
Support
SB 43
(Eggman)
Updates the definition of “gravely disabled” to
include a new focus on preventing serious
physical and mental harm stemming from a
person’s inability to provide for their needs for
nourishment, personal or medical care, find
appropriate shelter, or attend to self-protection or
personal safety, due to their mental or substance
use disorder.
Status: Passed policy committee process in
first house, pending consideration from the
Appropriations Committee.
One of the Palo Alto City
Council Priorities for 2023 is
Community Health and
Safety which includes some
focus on mental health. This
bill seems to align with that
priority.
City Position:
Support
SB 363
(Eggman)
Establishes a real-time, internet-based dashboard
to collect, aggregate and display information about
the availability of beds in a range of psychiatric
and substance abuse facilities.
Status: Passed policy committee process in
first house, pending consideration from the
Appropriations Committee.
One of the Palo Alto City
Council Priorities for 2023 is
Community Health and
Safety which includes some
focus on mental health. This
bill seems to align with that
priority. The City would need
to further analyze the
resources required for this
legislation.
City Position:
Support
SB 423
(Wiener)
Extends the provisions of SB 35 (Wiener, Statutes
of 2017) indefinitely. Removes coastal exemption
and objective planning standards criteria.
Status: Passed policy committee process in
first house, pending consideration from the
Appropriations Committee.
Palo Alto has included in the
Legislative Guidelines many
principles to support local
control of land use and this
bill contrasts with that.
City Position:
Pending Opposition
SB 719
(Becker)
Requires law enforcement agencies to ensure any
non-confidential radio communications are
accessible to the public.
Status: Passed policy committee process in
first house, pending consideration from the
Appropriations Committee.
The City Council supported
similar legislation in 2022. As
of Fall 2022, the City of Palo
Alto switched routine Palo
Alto Police radio
transmissions to now be
broadcast on an unencrypted
channel. This bill in it’s
current form should not affect
Palo Alto operations.
City Position:
Support
2. Bills With Recommended Action
The following chart features four measures that TPA advocates have identified with
recommendations for the City to take a formal position on, pending Council consideration and
approval. These measures are not as clearly covered by the City’s Legislative Guidelines.
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BILL SUMMARY/STATUS CITY IMPACT POSITION/
RECOMMENDATION
AB 12
(Haney)
Prohibits tenants from having to pay more than one
month's rent as a security deposit for furnished or
unfurnished rental property.
This measure adds another
tool in protecting renters
against unreasonable housing
costs. This could benefit
residents in Palo Alto who
utilize rental housing.
Recommendation:
Support
AB 1598
(Berman)
Requires DOJ to prepare a firearm-safety-certificate
study guide, separate from the current instruction
manual, explaining information covered on the
firearm safety certificate test, and to develop a new
pamphlet on the risk and benefits of firearm
ownership.
Status: Pending consideration from
Appropriations Committee.
Could improve public safety
related to gun violence. City
support demonstrates
continued support for
Assembly Member Berman’s
legislative agenda.
Recommendation:
Support
AB 1637
(Irwin)
Requires cities to switch to a .gov domain if they
have not already done so. Switching to a .gov
domain is free of cost to qualified public agencies
and incorporates additional cyber security
protections. While free of cost, the update could
create additional work for City IT departments.
Amended to allow local governments until 2026 to
comply.
Status: Pending consideration from
Appropriations Committee.
This could present a long and
costly process for the City to
comply and could impact
constituents’ ability to
communicate with the City.
Further, the bill is without
state compliance support or
tangible security benefits.
Recommendation:
Oppose
ACA 1
(Aguiar-
Curry)
Lowers the necessary voter threshold from a two-
thirds supermajority to 55 percent to approve local
general obligation (GO) bonds and special taxes for
affordable housing and public infrastructure
projects.
Status: Pending policy committee
consideration. Not required to adhere to typical
deadlines because it is a constitutional
amendment.
This bill creates another
optional tool for infrastructure
financing and levels the
threshold between other
public agencies that already
enjoy a 55% voter threshold,
such as school boards.
Recommendation:
Support
3. Notable bills with Recommendations to Monitor Progress
The following chart encompasses priority legislation TPA advocates are monitoring on behalf of
the City. Positions noted in the “Recommendation” column reflect the suggested position of
“monitoring” from TPA advocates and are subject to change, pending a review of each bill’s impact
on the City. Should the City Council or staff note any additional pieces of legislation to incorporate
into this chart, TPA advocates will gladly accommodate.
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BILL SUBJECT SUMMARY STATUS RECOMMENDATION
AB 309 (Lee)
Housing and
Land Use
Creates the California Housing Authority, as an
independent state body, the mission of which
would be to ensure that social housing
developments that are produced and acquired
align with the goals of eliminating the gap
between housing production and regional
housing needs assessment targets and
preserving affordable housing.
Pending
consideration
from the
Assembly
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
AB 557
(Hart)
Open
Meetings
Extends modified teleconferencing provisions
under the Brown Act when a declared state of
emergency is in effect, or in other situations
related to public health, indefinitely.
Pending
consideration
on Assembly
Floor.
Monitoring
AB 817
(Pacheco)
Open
Meetings
Allows subsidiary bodies of a local agency to
use alternative teleconferencing provisions
under the Brown Act, without the need of a
State of Emergency.
Rescheduled
to a later
policy
committee
date at the
request of the
author.
Monitoring
AB 894
(Friedman)
Housing and
Land Use
Requires public agencies to allow proposed and
existing developments to count underutilized
and shared parking spaces toward a parking
requirement imposed by the agency.
Pending
consideration
from the
Assembly
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
AB 1317
(Carrillo)
Housing and
Land Use
Adopts a pilot program that requires property
owners of new multi-family residential properties
in certain counties to unbundle the cost of
parking from the cost of the housing unit.
Includes Santa Clara County.
Pending
consideration
from the
Assembly
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
AB 1319
(Wicks)
Housing and
Land Use
Modifies how the Bay Area Housing Finance
Authority (BAHFA) may collect and expend
revenue. Provides that actions taken by BAHFA
to raise, administer, or allocate funding for
tenant protection, affordable housing
preservation, or new affordable housing
production, or to provide technical assistance
consistent with BAHFA’s purpose is exempt
from the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA).
Pending
consideration
from the
Assembly
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
AB 1469
(Kalra) Homelessness
Authorizes the Santa Clara Valley Water District
to assist unsheltered people living along
streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise
within the district’s jurisdiction, in consultation
with a city or the County of Santa Clara, to
provide solutions or improve outcomes for the
unsheltered individuals.
Pending
consideration
from the
Assembly
floor.
Monitoring
AB 1476
(Alvarez)
Revenue,
Taxation, and
Economic
Development
Authorizes a city or local governments acting
jointly to form a community and affordable
housing reinvestment agency for the purposes
of financing infrastructure and housing projects,
purchasing and leasing property within the
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
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BILL SUBJECT SUMMARY STATUS RECOMMENDATION
redevelopment project area, and other powers
similar to those previously granted to
redevelopment agencies.
AB 1484
(Zbur)
Labor
Relations and
Retirement
Requires temporary employees of cities and
counties to join existing bargaining units
accessible to permanent employees. Imposes
requirements on employers with temporary
employees hired to do the same or similar work
performed by permanent employees. Requires
complaints alleging a violation of its provisions
to be processed as unfair practice charges
under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act.
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
AB 1633
(Ting)
Housing and
Land Use
Specifies that a local agency has disapproved a
housing project in violation of the Housing
Accountability Act (HAA) if it fails to make a
determination that a project is exempt from the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), or
fails to adopt, certify, or approve certain
environmental documents under specified
circumstances.
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee
Monitoring
AB 1637
(Irwin)
Informational
Technology
(IT)
Requires cities to switch to a .gov domain if they
have not already done so. Switching to a .gov
domain is free of cost to qualified public
agencies, and incorporates additional cyber
security protections. While free of cost, the
update could create additional work for City IT
departments. Amended to allow local
governments until 2026 to comply.
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
ACA 1
(Aguiar-
Curry)
Revenue and
Taxation
Lowers the necessary voter threshold from a
two-thirds supermajority to 55 percent to
approve local general obligation (GO) bonds
and special taxes for affordable housing and
public infrastructure projects.
Not required
to adhere to
typical
deadlines
because it is a
constitutional
amendment.
Monitoring
SB 2
(Portantino) Public Safety
Creates a new issuing process for concealed
carry weapons (CCW) licenses following the
U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York Rifle
and Pistol Association v. Bruen from June of
2022.
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
SB 50
(Bradford) Public Safety
Prohibits peace officers from initiating a traffic
stop for specified low-level infractions unless a
separate, independent basis for a stop exists.
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
SB 252
(Gonzalez)
Labor
Relations and
Retirement
Requires CalPERS to divest existing fossil fuel
company investments on or before July 1, 2030.
Passed
Judiciary
Committee.
Referred to
Appropriations
Committee for
assessment of
fiscal impact.
Monitoring
6
BILL SUBJECT SUMMARY STATUS RECOMMENDATION
SB 321
(Ashby)
Community
Services
Establishes the Local Public Library Partnership
Program in which the State Librarian would
coordinate with each local public library to
ensure each student is issued a student
success card by 3rd grade and increase their
access to a library.
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
SB 405
(Cortese)
Housing and
Land Use
Requires local planning agencies to submit to
HCD an electronic copy of its housing inventory
and post it on their website. The inventory
posting must include a notice describing how
property owners can submit information to the
planning agency indicating interest in adding a
site to the land inventory and developing the
site for housing. Also requires HCD to launch a
pilot program to develop a methodology to
analyze if the inventory of suitable land has
identified adequate sites to accommodate a
city's RHNA goals.
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
SB 429
(Bradford)
Energy and
Utilities
Requires natural gas corporations to credit
customers all revenues, including accrued
interest, received as a result of the greenhouse
gas cap and trade program. Requires those
credits to be distributed during the February
billing cycle, so as to coincide with the highest
usage gas utility bill during the year.
Pending
consideration
on Senate
Floor.
Monitoring
SB 450
(Atkins)
Housing and
Land Use
Identified as the SB 9 (Atkins, Statutes of 2022)
"Clean-up bill." Among other things, prevents
local agencies from creating zoning,
subdivision, and design rules that do not apply
equally to all development within a particular
area.
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
SB 537
(Becker)
Governance
and
Transparency
Allows for members to teleconference in cases
where a board, commission, or advisory body
encompasses a multi-jurisdictional service area.
Pending
consideration
from Senate
Judiciary
Committee.
Monitoring.
SB 567
(Durazo)
Housing and
Land Use
Provides renter protections including expanding
the population of protected tenants, limiting
allowable rent increases, and closing loopholes
related to the no-fault just cause for eviction.
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
SB 572
(Stern)
Energy and
Utilities
Requires the PUC, Energy Commission, and
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to
each consider imposing additional requirements
to protect ratepayers from price spikes,
stranded assets, duplication of services, and the
risk of windfall profiteering and market
manipulation in wholesale and retail markets.
Pending
consideration
from
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
SB 634
(Becker) Homelessness
Creates a new type of low-barrier navigation
centers called “opportunity housing,” and
expands the by-right approval for low-barrier
navigation centers to include opportunity
housing projects.
Pending
consideration
from the
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
7
BILL SUBJECT SUMMARY STATUS RECOMMENDATION
SB 834
(Portantino) Housing
Enacts the California Family Home Construction
and Homeownership Bond Act of 2023 (bond
act), which, if adopted, would authorize the
issuance of bonds in the amount of
$25,000,000,000.
Pending
consideration
from the
Appropriations
Committee.
Monitoring
State Budget Update
During the last week of April, the Senate Democratic Caucus released its revised budget priorities
document, in preparation for the Governor’s release of the May Revision of the budget. Beginning
in January of each year, the Governor releases a preliminary budget proposal, which kicks off the
call-and-response process between the Administration and the Legislature on how best to spend
taxpayer dollars. The budget process is in a unique position this year, with the extension of the
tax filing deadline for individuals and businesses as a result of the severe winter storms. This
extension will impact the delivery of returns data the Department of Finance will need to compile
an accurate and comprehensive spending plan.
One of the fundamental differences between the Governor’s and the Legislature’s spending plans
is whether or not to draw on reserve funds to mitigate issues associated with the anticipated
deficit, which was projected to be close to $22 billion in January. The Governor proposed spending
cuts and deferrals to programs to protect the over $37 billion in reserve funds, citing concerns
with a looming recession and the need for cash on hand should the state experience an economic
downturn. The Legislature, on the other hand, has proposed using reserve funds to keep key
spending programs funded at current levels, which points to the name of their counter-budget
proposal – “Protect our Progress.”
However, other budget experts caution against the use of reserve funds. For instance, in Mid-
April, the State’s Legislative Analyst Gabe Petek released an article overviewing the state’s
anticipated fiscal condition, its causes, and the implications of drawing from reserve funds to offset
revenue losses. Petek iterated that the revenue construction is not an outright downturn, but
rather the other side of its recent revenue boom. The extraordinary General Fund revenue growth
was allocated toward massive one-time and multi-year spending programs that are too high
relative to revenue performance typical of historic norms.
Petek warned that recent turmoil in the banking sector, tech industry losses, and inflation and
unemployment trends point to a looming recession that could send revenue estimates below
baseline levels. To preserve mid-range financial security within the state, he favors the
preservation of reserve funds and the cut and deferral of existing spending programs. While not
the final decision maker on the matter, the Legislative Analyst’s Office offers critical insight into
the state’s fiscal condition to be incorporated into spending practices. This insight could influence
the state’s final spending strategy.
Key spending priorities within the Senate Democrat’s budget plan include the following:
• Rejects proposed cuts and delays to key infrastructure investments, such as broadband,
transit, student housing, climate package investments, libraries, and more.
• Accelerates previously budgeted Transit Infrastructure funds, and provides local flexibility
to enable the funds to be used for operations as a bridge until a permanent operations fix
can be established.
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• Creates a $10 billion Housing and Infrastructure Fund to fund one-time projects and
programs that the Governor proposes to cut or delay. This includes Funding affordable
housing, Transit infrastructure, Broadband, Clean energy, Student housing, School
facilities, and more.
• Turns current one-time funding for the HHAP program into $1 billion of ongoing funding to
provide local governments.
• Provides $4.3 billion in tax relief by slashing tax rates by 25 percent for small businesses,
improving the Renters Tax Credit and CalEITC, and implementing the Workers Tax
Fairness Tax Credit.
The Governor will release his May revision to the budget next month, which will guide ongoing
negotiations between his Administration and the Legislature. However, due to the delay in tax
return data, a comprehensive budget plan may not be fully realized until later this summer.
FEDERAL UPDATES
Update on Congressionally Directed Spending Submittal
The City/TPA team worked in partnership to draft, fine-tune, and submit a congressionally directed
spending request for infrastructure funding to help redevelop the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park.
The Park, a locally significant affordable housing resource, is in desperate need of sustainable
redevelopment, including 100% electrification. An award would assist the predominantly Latinx
and very low-income residents who call it home. This application was in partnership with the Santa
Clara County Housing Authority and the requested amount was $2 million. The request was
submitted to Senator Padilla, Senator Feinstein, and Congresswoman Eshoo.
Senator Feinstein and Congresswoman Eshoo have chosen the project as one of their priorities
to submit to the Appropriations Committee. While there is still a long road ahead and many
upcoming negotiations between the two parties on how to proceed with the FY24 Appropriations
Process, the support from both members increases the chances of the Buena Vista Mobile Home
Park being incorporated into the final budget agreement.
Federal Budget Update
On April 26, the House voted 217-215 to approve a bill (H.R. 2811) that would raise the nation’s
debt limit for one year and scale back federal spending. The legislation – dubbed the Limit, Save,
Grow Act of 2023 – would suspend the nation’s borrowing limit, currently set at $31.4 trillion,
through March 31, 2024, or until the federal debt increases by another $1.5 trillion, whichever
comes first. The bill also would freeze fiscal year 2024 discretionary spending at 2022 levels (a
reduction of approximately $130 billion) and limit the growth of spending over the next decade to
one percent annually.
The proposed plan also includes structural changes to social safety net programs like the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) program and Medicaid. These include new work and income threshold
requirements for benefit recipients at specific ages.
The Biden Administration has stood in strong opposition to the spending plan, with the President
threatening to veto it. Should it pass over to the Senate, the measure will be dead on arrival in
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the Democratic-led Chambers. Without action by Congress to raise the debt limit, which is
projected to be reached as early as this summer, the U.S. government faces a potentially
catastrophic default. Despite political concerns about its feasibility, GOP members say that it is a
crucial step to strengthen their negotiating position against President Biden amid questions about
whether Speaker McCarthy would be able to unite his fractious conference to pass any fiscal
outline at all.
Attachment B:
Letters Submitted to Date (aligned with Legislative Guidelines)
AB 1505, SB 43, SB 363, and SB 719
CITY OF PALO ALTO | 250 HAMILTON AVENUE, PALO ALTO, CA. 94301 | 650-329-2100
May 4, 2023
The Honorable Freddie Rodriguez
California State Assembly, District 53
1021 O Street, Room 1200
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 1505 (Rodriguez) Seismic Retrofitting: Soft Story Multifamily Housing
City of Palo Alto - Notice of Support
Dear Assembly Member Rodriguez,
On behalf of the City of Palo Alto, I write in support of your legislation AB 1505, which would grant
$250,000,000 from the General Fund in the 2023–24 Budget Act to the Seismic Retrofitting
Program for Soft Story Multifamily Housing Fund. This critical funding provides for matching
grants for seismic retrofit engineering and construction to protect affordable multifamily housing
developments from earthquakes.
With California’s historic vulnerability to earthquakes, it is urgent and imperative to provide funding
for seismic retrofitting. Funding for this program was originally included in budget trailer legislation
and signed into law by the Governor in 2022. However, the funding was proposed to be omitted
from the 2023 preliminary budget submitted to the Legislature. AB 1505 will work to restore this
funding on an urgency basis.
To keep our community safe from future earthquake damage and fatalities, it is pertinent to
comply with seismic building standards, and provide adequate funding to ensure public safety
and disaster preparedness needs are met. California has historically been a hub of major
earthquake disasters, given its position along the tectonic plate boundaries including the San
Andreas, San Gregorio-Hosgri, and Hayward-Rodgers Creek fault zones.
AB 1505 will help protect our State and local communities from earthquake damage and
devastation by ensuring compliance with seismic retrofitting to proactively prepare for future
disasters. By submitting this letter, we express our support for the inclusion of the pre-dedicated
$250 million for seismic retrofitting support in the upcoming iteration of the State’s budget,
whether catalyzed by this legislation or similar budget trailer legislation.
For these reasons, the City of Palo Alto supports AB 1505.
Sincerely,
Lydia Kou
Mayor
City of Palo Alto
CITY OF PALO ALTO | 250 HAMILTON AVENUE, PALO ALTO, CA. 94301 | 650-329-2100
May 4, 2023
The Honorable Susan Eggman
California State Senate
1021 O Street, Room 8530
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 43 (Eggman) Behavioral Health.
City of Palo Alto – Notice of Support
Dear Senator Eggman,
On behalf of the City of Palo Alto, I write in support of your SB 43, which modernizes portions of
California's behavioral health treatment system and social safety net system to ensure that
vulnerable individuals with the most acute needs receive access to the care they need.
SB 43 modernizes the definition of "gravely disabled" within the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act to
include conditions that result in a substantial risk of serious harm to an individual's physical or
mental health. This includes the inability to seek medical care, adequate shelter, or self-protection
and safety. Updating this definition better reflects the contemporary realities present in our
communities, ensuring that individuals at risk of significant harm receive the help they need.
Additionally, this measure allows relevant medical history to be considered by the court in a
uniform manner across the state by creating a hearsay exemption for information contained in a
medical record so all relevant information can be presented and considered by the court. This
would ensure that a complete and accurate picture is presented in court when considering the
very serious step of conservatorship.
Cities are on the front lines of addressing homelessness and need additional tools and resources
to end this crisis in our state. We recognize that for unsheltered individuals with severe behavioral
health needs, access to a comprehensive care system can be essential to addressing their
homelessness. That is why The City of Palo Alto is eager to support legislation such as SB 43,
which takes a comprehensive look at our existing system and makes targeted improvements.
For these reasons, the City of Palo Alto is pleased to support your SB 43.
Sincerely,
Lydia Kou
Mayor
City of Palo Alto
CITY OF PALO ALTO | 250 HAMILTON AVENUE, PALO ALTO, CA. 94301 | 650-329-2100
May 4, 2023
The Honorable Susan Eggman
Chair, Senate Health Committee
State Capitol, Room 3310
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 363 (Eggman) Facilities for inpatient and residential mental health and
substance use disorder: database.
City of Palo Alto – Notice of Support
Dear Senator Eggman,
On behalf of the City of Palo Alto, I write in support of your SB 363, which would establish a real-
time behavioral health bed database.
Specifically, this measure would require the State Department of Health Care Services to develop
a database by 2025 to collect, aggregate, and display information about beds in inpatient
psychiatric facilities, crisis stabilization units, community care facilities, and licensed residential
alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities. This information would help provide
timely access to care and increase coordination between service settings.
SB 363 would additionally require this database to include data related to the facility, including if
a bed is available, the services provided, diagnoses, and the age range for which the bed is
appropriate. This data would streamline access to care and be a valuable tool for local leaders
and policymakers in directing funding and resources based on bed capacity and utilization.
Mental illness and substance use, like many other health conditions, when treated early and with
appropriate supports and services, will be less disabling and result in fewer adverse outcomes.
SB 363 would provide easily accessible bed availability data that would connect individuals to
care more quickly, and also help cut down on extended emergency room stays. As a City we have
prioritized community health and safety and believe that mental health support is a vital part of
health and safety.
We believe SB 363 is a step in the right direction, providing critical data to help assess the capacity
of our system.
For these reasons, the City of Palo Alto is pleased to support your SB 363.
Sincerely,
Lydia Kou
Mayor
City of Palo Alto
CITY OF PALO ALTO | 250 HAMILTON AVENUE, PALO ALTO, CA. 94301 | 650-329-2100
May 4, 2023
The Honorable Josh Becker
California State Senate, District 53
1021 O Street, Room 7250
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 719 (Becker) Law enforcement agencies: radio communications
City of Palo Alto - Notice of Support
Dear Senator Becker,
On behalf of the City of Palo Alto, I write in support of your SB 719, which requires a law
enforcement agency (LEA) to ensure any non-confidential radio communications are accessible
to the public, in real time. Specifically, this bill allows an LEA to choose one of the following
options to provide public access to certain radio communications: (a) provide unencrypted radio
communications that may be accessed on a scanner or is available on-line, or (b) provide
encrypted communications, if requested. The bill does not require access to channels used for
confidential information or other communications that would unreasonably jeopardize public
safety or the safety of officers if made public.
In October of 2020, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) sent out a bulletin to all law
enforcement agencies regarding radio encryption. This bulletin stemmed from an order by the
Federal Bureau of Investigations to restrict all criminal justice information (CJI) and personal
identifiable information (PII) to authorized personnel. The bulletin stated all transmission of such
information must be encrypted and provided agencies two options: 1) move to full encryption of
radio communications, or 2) establish a policy to restrict dissemination of CJI and PII, or data
elements that meet those definitions.
The City agrees that access to police activity, while still ensuring safeguards for the public’s
sensitive and confidential information, is important. This information helps local news outlets
provide real time updates for major news events such as wildfires and other public safety
concerns.
The City of Palo Alto is proud to support your efforts to increase visibility for the public and the
media into police calls for service. Palo Alto last year unencrypted the police department's
primary dispatch channel thus providing real-time radio access to police communications while
protecting personal information. Your bill would encourage other police departments to seek
solutions to protect data while also providing public access.
Existing law does not guarantee public access to police radio communications, nor does it prohibit
public access to unencrypted police radio channels. Existing law does, however, make it a crime
to use any intercepted public safety radio communication to assist in the commission of a crime
or evade capture by law enforcement. This bill provides much needed clarity for how the public
may access and utilize police communications to ensure the public’s safety, police safety, and
confidentiality.
For these reasons, the City of Palo Alto is pleased to support your SB 719.
Sincerely,
Lydia Kou
Mayor
City of Palo Alto