Municipal Bankruptcy:
CSDA opposed Assembly Bill 155 is currently in Senate Appropriations Committee awaiting a procedural ruling. This bill would require local entities, including special districts, to gain the approval of the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC) or request a financial review by the State Auditor prior to filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Template letters of opposition are available on the CSDA Grassroots Action Center.
Public Contracting:
Senate Bill 972, affecting indemnity agreements with design professionals, and AB 2036, affecting contract documents have both been amended to remove CSDA’s opposition. However, CSDA remains strongly opposed to AB 2216, which would prohibit public agencies, including special districts, from retaining more than five percent of proceeds on public contracts. More information, including a sample letter of opposition may be found at CSDA’s Grassroots Action Center.
Water Notifications:
AB 2669, as currently in print, would require public notices regarding compliance with safe drinking water standards be made in English and in the language spoken by any non-English-speaking group that exceeds 1,000 residents, or that exceeds 10 percent of residents in the community served, whichever is less. CSDA, and a coalition of water agencies, oppose this legislation because it would delay urgent safety notices. Water providers are working with the author of AB 2669 in order to develop amendments that will best protect the public’s safety.
Pension Spiking & Limitation on Hiring Retired Annuitants:
CSDA is currently opposed to AB 1987 and SB 1425 unless they are amended to remove or scale down the 180 day prohibition on hiring retired annuitants. This provision limits special districts’ ability to hire quality staff and has the potential of increasing costs if the district is forced to hire a third party contractor to fill the position in cases of emergency. Recent amendments delay the implementation date of this provision for one year. However, this does not alleviate our concerns. Both bills are currently pending on their respective Floors for votes.
Bell Bill Package:
Summaries of all the bills related to the City of Bell abuses: SB 501, AB 192, AB 194, AB 827, AB 900, AB 1955, AB 2064 and their current status can be read on the CSDA website. Go to www.csda.net and login. Then click on “Transparency Resources” under the Legislative Resources section. Any updates on these bills can be found on our website.
More Legislative Information:
For a full list of all the bills CSDA tracks and takes positions on, go to our website, login and click on “Bill Tracking and Reports” under Legislative Resources, or click on the blue Legislative Access Services icon on the right-hand side of the home page.
Quick Budget Update:
The Senate and Assembly have announced their intention of holding a budget drill tomorrow, Tuesday, August 31 on the spending portions of the dueling Democratic and Republican budget proposals. Neither of these plans are expected to receive enough votes for passage.