County of Orange Positions on Proposed Legislation
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DRAFT A Publication of the County Executive Office/Legislative Affairs November 20, 2018 Item No. 37 County of Orange Positions on Proposed Legislation The Legislative Bulletin provides the Board of Supervisors with analyses of measures pending in Sacramento and Washington that are of interest to the County. Staff provides recommended positions that fall within the range of policies established by the Board. According to the County of Orange Legislative Affairs Procedures adopted by the Board of Supervisors on November 25, 2014, staff recommendations for formal County positions on legislation will be agendized and presented in this document for Board action at regular Board of Supervisors meetings. When the Board takes formal action on a piece of legislation, the CEO will direct the County’s legislative advocates to promote the individual bills as approved by the Board. The Legislative Bulletin also provides the Board of Supervisors with informative updates on State and Federal issues. The 2016-2017 Legislative Platform was adopted by Board of Supervisors’ Minute Order dated November 22, 2016. On November 20, 2018, the Board of Supervisors will consider the following actions: RECOMMENDED ACTIONS 1. Receive and File Legislative Bulletin INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Sacramento Legislative Report 2. Washington DC Legislative Report JMP11142018 INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Sacramento Legislative Report Prepared by Amy Jenkins & Nicole Wordelman As of November 14th, it has been more than one week since the election and some races remain too close to call. Races that are within a 2% margin are listed below, although there are still others that remain quite close. SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION STATEWIDE ORANGE COUNTY Marshall Tuck 49.5% 58% Tony Thurmond 50.5% 42% ASSEMBLY DIST 16 % Catharine Baker (R)* 50.1 Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D) 49.9 ASSEMBLY DIST 38 % Dante Acosta (R)* 49.4 Christy Smith (D) 50.6 ASSEMBLY DIST 60 % Sabrina Cervantes (D)* 50.7 Bill Essayli (R) 49.3 Governor-Elect Gavin Newsom. In preparation for taking the reins in January, Governor-elect Newsom has begun hiring his cabinet and meeting with Governor Brown to allow for a smoother transition. Newsom’s top priorities are housing, homelessness, environmental protection, economic growth, and early childhood education, among others. Last week, Newsom hired Ann O’Leary as his Chief of Staff and Ana Matosantos as his Cabinet Secretary. O’Leary, a lawyer and founding executive director of the Center on Health, Economic, and Family Security and the UC Berkeley School of Law, was the Senior Policy Advisor to the 2016 Clinton presidential campaign. Matosantos served as the Director of the Department of Finance under both Governors Schwarzenegger and Brown, as well as a deputy legislative secretary in the State’s Health and Human Services Agency. Newsom will also need to hire a finance director quickly, as he is required to present his 2019-20 budget proposal by January 10th. Disaster Declarations. President Donald Trump approved an expedited request for California’s declaration of major disasters in Butte, Los Angeles, and Ventura counties as a result of wildfires. The approval means that fire victims will be eligible for grants for home repairs and temporary housing, for low-cost loans to pay for property losses that insurance doesn’t cover, crisis counseling, and unemployment assistance. The State and local governments will also be eligible for the repair and replacement of disaster-damaged facilities and infrastructure, including roads, bridges and utilities. New Assembly Minority Leader. Replacing Assemblyman Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) as the Assembly Republican Leader, Marie Waldron (R-Escondido) was unanimously selected by the Assembly Republican Caucus this week. Waldron is a small business owner who, along with her husband, has owned a screen- printing and clothing company for more than 20 years. She served on the Escondido City Council for 14 years and represents parts of San Diego and Riverside counties. Page 2 of 5 California Supreme Court Justice. Governor Jerry Brown has nominated one of his senior advisors, Joshua Groban to California’s Supreme Court. He was selected to replace Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, who retired in 2017. Groban has overseen the appointment of 600 judges over the last 7 years, and has advised the governor in high-profile litigation and policy issues involving education, the judiciary, criminal justice, national security, and constitutional interpretation. The nomination will have to be approved by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. 2. Washington DC Legislative Report Prepared by Potomac Partners DC This week the House and Senate returned to session for the first time since the midterm elections. Despite some election results yet to be determined with races too close to call, the House and Senate began holding leadership elections for the next session of congress beginning in January 2019. Consequently, Senate Democratic Leader-elect Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday the Senate Democratic Leadership for the 116th Congress: Senate Democratic Leader and Chair of the Conference: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) Democratic Whip: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) Assistant Democratic Leader: Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee: Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Vice Chair of the Conference: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Vice Chair of the Conference: Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) Chair of Steering Committee: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Chair of Outreach: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Vice Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) Senate Democratic Conference Secretary: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Senate Republicans also announced their leadership team for the 116th session on Wednesday: Senate Majority Leader: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Republican Whip: Sen. John Thune (R-SD) Republican Conference Chairman: Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) Policy Committee Chairman: Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) Republican Conference Vice Chairman: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) With Senator John Thune (R-SD) taking the role of GOP Whip, previously held by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), he will likely vacate his Chairmanship on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. A likely candidate to head the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in the next Congress is Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS). House Republicans also held elections for their leadership positions. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R- CA) was elected as Minority Leader, after easily beating back a challenge from conservative hard-liner Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) by a vote of 159-43. With the Minority Leader position finalized other leadership positions will likely be finalized with the following candidates: House Minority Whip: Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) House Minority Chief Deputy Whip: Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) o (NOTE: this is an appointed position and Rep. McHenry may choose to forgo a leadership position for the top GOP position on the House Financial Services Committee. That decision likely will be Page 3 of 5 made the week of November 26th when the House GOP steering committee meets to consider committee leadership posts.) Chair, House Republican Conference: Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) Vice-Chair, House Republican Conference: Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) Secretary, House Republican Conference: Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) Chair, National Republican Congressional Committee: Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) Next week the House and Senate will be in recess for Thanksgiving. When Congress returns on the week of November 26th, House Democrats will begin holding elections for their leadership positions. Current House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is running for Speaker of the House and is currently unopposed at the time of this report. The final vote for Speaker will not likely be finalized until the first day of the new Congress in early January. Rep. Pelosi only needs a simple majority of the House Democratic Caucus to be her party’s nominee for Speaker. However, she needs a majority of the whole House (218 votes) to become Speaker. There are a number of other Democrats running for additional leadership positions that include the following House Majority Leader: Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) House Majority Whip Candidates: o Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) o Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) Assistant Democratic Leader Candidates: o Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) o Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) House Democratic Caucus, Chairman Candidates: o Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) o Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) House Democratic Caucus, Vice Chair Candidates: o Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) o Rep. Pete Aguillar (D-CA) Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Chairman Candidates: o Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) o Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) o Rep. Denny Heck (D-WA) o Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) After the Thanksgiving break, Congress also hopes to make progress on the remaining seven appropriations bills. The agencies and departments covered by the seven remaining appropriations bills are currently being funded at FY18 levels by a Continuing Resolution that is set to expire on December 7th. President Trump’s insistence on funding for a southern border wall could have a major impact on the negotiations and possibly lead to another stop-gap spending measure if a compromise cannot be reached before the deadline. Legislation Tracking Bill # Short Title & Description Latest Action FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 Authorizes Congress to appropriated funds for Federal Signed into Law HR 302 Aviation Administration (FAA) programs, equipment, and 09/05/18 operations. Water Resources Development Act of 2018 (WRDA) Authorizes Congress to appropriate funds for Army Corps of Signed into Law S. 3021 Engineers projects and other various environmental, 10/23/18 navigational, flood, and hydrology programs/projects. Page 4 of 5 SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act Signed into law H.R. 6 Legislative package to address the opioid epidemic. 10/24/18 Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act Passed House, H.R. Re-starts the permitting process for Yucca Mountain Awaiting Senate 3053 Permanent Nuclear Waste Repository and interim nuclear Action waste storage.