State Legislative 2022

 

Top Priorities
  • Urge innovation and flexibility in transportation funding to meet the growing needs of Inland Southern California’s transportation network.
  • Support strategies to serve individuals with mental health and substance abuse disorders, including the Governor’s Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Teams.
  • Urge transformational investments in K-12, community colleges, and four-year universities to ensure many more Inland Empire students are prepared for college, have the means to afford college, and receive the support services they need to be successful and graduate in a timely way, including AB 1746 (Medina) and SB 851 (Portantino).
  • Support legislation to accelerate projects addressing water infrastructure needs, including SB 991 (Newman) and AB 1845 (Calderon).
  • Support AB 2387 (Garcia) – Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022.

Economic Development
  • Support strategies to serve individuals with mental health and substance abuse disorders, including the Governor’s Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Teams.
  • Support for AB 1288 (Quirk-Silva) which maximizes the number of new affordable homes that can be produced with State Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
  • Urge California legislators to strongly consider the inflationary impact of California bills, taxes, and regulations.
Education
  • Urge significant and transformational investments for our Inland Empire students and educational institutions to ensure the region has the skilled, educated workforce it needs for economic growth and prosperity.
  • Urge transformational investments in K-12, community colleges, and four-year universities to ensure many more Inland Empire students are prepared for college, have the means to afford college, and receive the support services they need to be successful and graduate in a timely way, including AB 1746 (Medina) and SB 851 (Portantino).
  • Support investing the State’s surplus funds in one-time priority capital projects that will transform the educational experience for Inland Empire students
Health Care
  • Oppose AB 1882 (Rivas) unless amended, which would create redundant annual reporting requirements for acute care hospitals related to compliance with State seismic safety building standards.
  • Support Medi-Cal Provider Data Sharing Incentives and Infrastructure Budget Proposal for a $95M General Fund investment which will draw down $160M in federal funding for important date sharing, connectivity, and infrastructure to provide complete, accurate, timely and actionable health data for all MediCal enrollees.
Judicial
  • Support judicial funding at the $5.2 billion level requested in the Governor’s proposed budget for new trial court judgeships and trial court courthouse construction, which will better serve the justice needs of the Inland Empire.
Transportation
  • Urge innovation and flexibility in transportation funding to meet the growing needs of Inland Southern California’s transportation network.
  • Support funding of Inland Empire Transportation Regional Projects as endorsed by the Inland Empire Caucus.
  • Support SB 1410 (Caballero), Vehicle Miles Traveled, which would allow for Vehicle Miles Traveled regulations to be used only in Transit Priority Areas.
Environment

Continued Efforts to Address California’s Wildfire Problem

  • Support AB 2387 (Garcia) – Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022.
  • Support SB 833 (Dodd) – Community Energy Resilience Act of 2022, which would create a technical assistance and grant program administered by the California Energy Commission

Increased Funding for Water Supply, Water Quality, and Water Storage Projects

  • Support the Delta Conveyance
  • Support legislation to accelerate projects addressing water infrastructure needs, including SB 991 (Newman) and AB 1845 (Calderon).
  • Support State funding for the Regional Recycled Water System and the Santa Ana River Enhanced Recharge Phase 1B Project, which are two important regional water infrastructure projects that are shovel ready.
  • Support secure funding for monitoring and remediation of
  • Urge State support for water purveyor consolidation

Management of the Salton Sea

  • Support funding for the continued management of the Salton Sea

Programs That Seek to Achieve California Clean Air and Emissions Goals in an Equitable Manner and with Respect for Local Control

  • Support for SB 1075 (Skinner) – Green Hydrogen which would create the California Clean Hydrogen Hub Fund, making State subsidies available for green hydrogen projects.
  • Support for AB 1640 (Ward) – Regional Climate Planning Initiatives, which would authorize local, regional, tribal, and State governments and other entities (e.g., educational institutions and nonprofits), to jointly establish and participate in a regional climate
  • Oppose any efforts to reduce local representation on the South Coast Air Quality Management Board (SCAQMD).
Reforming the Recall Process for Statewide Officers
  • Support Little Hoover Commission recommendations for reforming the State’s recall process for Statewide officers.

Economic Development

Support strategies to serve individuals with mental health and substance abuse disorders, including the Governor’s Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Teams.  Communities across California, including many in the Inland Empire, are facing increases in the number of individuals who are homeless. Individuals with severe mental health and substance abuse disorders are experiencing this increase acutely. For this population, homelessness can be increasingly unsafe for themselves and, at times, for those around them. For this reason, Inland Action urges support for improved system strategies to address the mental health and substance use issues facing this population, including programs such as Governor Newsom’s proposed CARE Court system. CARE (Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment) Court teams work with individuals who are facing mental health crises. This program aims to provide legal and health care support to allow individuals to take control of their lives.

Through the civil court system, the CARE Court teams work to provide enough support to enable individuals to avoid conservatorship and incarceration and instead work toward stability and healing through delivery of medical care and development of supportive housing. By participating in the CARE Court system, Inland Empire communities can provide support to vulnerable people during a critical time in their lives. Communities can also avoid using already struggling health and legal systems by diverting people from restrictive, involved, costly systems to those that are more personal, less restrictive, self-guided, and designed to deliver the specific care needed.

Our current mental health system clearly does not adequately address the needs of those with serious mental illness, which is a major driver of homelessness. Inland Action urges State legislators to consider new options for addressing the needs of our homeless population with mental illness which effects both the public health and the economy of our State.

Support for AB 1288 (Quirk-Silva) which maximizes the number of new affordable homes that can be produced with State Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. California is facing a dramatic housing shortage. Estimates place the unmet housing need around 1.8 million homes across the State, with 1.2 million of those that need to be made affordable for households whose incomes are less than the area median. The Inland Empire is estimated to need almost 10% of those homes. In order to fill that need, particularly for low-income housing, developers rely on tax credits and tax-exempt bond funding to finance the necessary building. AB 1288 will extend an increase to the amount California sets aside each year and give the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) and the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC), the organizations that administer the funds, additional flexibility across the various programs through which they distribute funding.

The increase of an additional $500 million initially approved in 2019 for 2020 and 2021 will sunset without an extension. This will diminish funding available to housing developers when the need is enormous but may also lead to situations where California does not have enough projects to maximize the federal funding for developments using these funding programs.

The increased flexibility will allow TCAC and CDLAC to use the funds to augment the tax-exempt bond approvals and both the 4% and 9% tax credit programs. This increased flexibility will allow the State to optimize the subscription for all three programs to maximize the federal funds available to the State for housing development.

AB 1288 is an important part of the toolkit the State must develop to meet the housing needs of Californians across income levels and is very important to the Inland Empire as the Riverside and San Bernardino counties are two of the top ten counties for growth in California this past year.

Urge California legislators to strongly consider the inflationary impact of California bills, taxes, and regulations. The Inland Empire has been negatively impacted by local, State, and national policies that have substantially increased fuel costs and other essential goods, services, and housing. The current direction is not sustainable. Rising gas prices affect both consumers and the business economy adversely, and they are especially harmful to lower- and moderate-income households in the Inland Empire.

Based upon the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, Riverside Area – January 2022 Report, Area prices were up 1.5% over the past two months, and up 8.6% from a year ago. However, some categories that impact the Inland Empire most have risen much greater. For example:

  • At-home food prices rose 2%.
  • Gasoline prices jumped 8% and are among the highest in the nation.
  • Used car and truck prices rose 6%.
  • Household furnishings and operations rose 4%.
  • Rent for a primary residence rose 6%.
  • Household energy costs rose 5% and are among the highest in the nation.

Clearly, inflation is not just a California issue, and national policies play a material part in pricing for the Inland Empire. However, State, and local government policies and regulatory decisions also play a significant part in the cost of goods and services. Examples of this include:

  • Aggressive environmental and green regulations and policies that directly affect the cost of fuel, which flows directly through to the cost of goods and services, including food and energy; i.e.,
    • Fuel taxes
    • California fuel blends that require more expensive fuel, fewer refinery alternatives, and higher dependency on foreign oil.
    • Limiting or decreasing on- and off-shore
  • Food production restrictions that increase food
  • Truck driver work schedule and independent operator regulations increasing labor costs, reducing independent operators, and increasing the costs of labor.
  • AQMD warehouse fees recently implemented and increasing the costs of
  • Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) lawsuits have sharply increased, causing California employers to increase the cost of goods and services. Reform is appropriate.

All these issues have specific impacts upon the Inland Empire. The vast majority of households in the Inland Empire own cars and rely on them to travel to work. The price of gas rose significantly in 2021, going from an average of $2.42 per gallon in January to $3.07 in May. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the price of a gallon of gas in California for the week ending January 24, 2022, was $4.57 per gallon. That’s a 78% increase in California from the national average. The price for diesel fuel is also rising. According to the EIA, the price of diesel fuel in California for the week ending January 31, 2022, was $4.86 a gallon, up by $1.36 over the previous year. Since most products move by truck, the cost of diesel fuel drives a high percentage of our current inflation. A local leader of a leading grocery chain explains that the costs of fuel has had a significant impact on the costs of groceries. By the time the product reaches the consumer, fuel costs have been passed on multiple times resulting in some vendor price increase of 30% to 55%. Transportation, food, and housing are a material percentage of expenses for the lower- to middle-income residents of the Inland Empire.

A study by UC Berkeley Assistant Professor and study co-author Meredith Fowlie analyzed the rates of the three largest investor-owned utilities in California and found rates in the Inland Empire to be as much as 45% more than the national average. “California’s retail prices are out of line with utilities across the country,” said UC Berkeley Assistant Professor Meredith Fowlie citing Hawaii and some New England states among the outliers with even higher rates. “And they’re increasing.”

In an article entitled No Respite for The Weary, Irene L. Peters, CFA, Director and Senior Macro Strategy Analyst with Bank of America, states that “Oil prices have increasingly become burdensome for consumers around the world. If sustained above $120 per barrel, oil will exacerbate an already elevated inflation environment, sharply boosting the share of U.S. consumer spending on energy to the highest since 1985. Combined with surging prices for other commodities, including agricultural commodities, the economic situation is starting to become quite problematic both here and abroad.” Further, according to Ethan Harris, Chief Economist at Bank of America, there are four reasons why the U.S. economy can withstand this surge in inflation and energy prices:

  1. The U.S. exports as much energy as it imports, so a rise in price is a net transfer from U.S. consumers to U.S. producers with little leakage outside of the country. Some, but not all of the drop in consumer spending, will be offset by higher investment in the mining industry.
  2. The S. household comes into this period with a very strong balance sheet: the ratio of net worth to income is at record levels; liquid saving is very high; and debt service payments are at record lows. Middle- and upper-income families can absorb higher prices without a sharp cut in spending.
  3. Pent-up demand for services is high coming out of the pandemic and will occur even with higher prices.
  4. Low-income households do not have excess savings but are experiencing rapid employment and wage growth. For example, leisure and hospitality wages have risen 11.2% in the last twelve months; and, with a longer work week, weekly wages are up 13.4% year over year.

Based upon reports prepared by Manfred W. Keil, Chief Economist at Inland Empire Economic Partnership, Director, Lowe Institute of Political Economy, Claremont McKenna College, and Robert Kleinhenz, CEO Kleinhenz Economics, Inland Empire Economic Council, Cal State Long Beach, unemployment is 5.1% (even with pre-pandemic levels and better than Los Angeles and Orange Counties due to our logistics industry). The inflation rate was 7.9% in November 2021, higher than Los Angeles County and the nation. In addition, wage gains were 5% to 6% resulting in a loss of buying power. For these reasons, Inland Action urges California legislators to strongly consider the inflationary impact of California bills, taxes, and regulations.

 

EDUCATION

Urge significant and transformational investments for our Inland Empire students and educational institutions to ensure the region has the skilled, educated workforce it needs for economic growth and prosperity. California and the Inland Empire need more college graduates to fill and attract knowledge-based, high-paying jobs. According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), about 40 percent of jobs in the State will require at least a bachelor’s degree by 2030. Further, PPIC projects California will be short more than one million college graduates by the time the decade draws to a close.

The Inland Empire is expected to play a critical role in addressing this projected shortfall, and to do so, the region will need to produce twice as many college graduates as it currently does to fill employer demand. Boosting graduation rates for those already in college will have the greatest impact but enrolling more freshmen and transfer students – as many as 20,000 more in the Inland Empire – and graduating them in a timely way, is also crucial. More college graduates would mean higher incomes, greater economic mobility, more tax revenue, and less demand for social services.

Collaboration across the Inland Empire’s educational segments has helped to increase baccalaureate degree attainment in the two-county region, from 19% in 2015 to 22% in 2020. Still, the region lags behind the statewide college degree attainment rate of 34%, and it has the lowest baccalaureate attainment rate in the country for metropolitan areas with populations of one million or more residents.

Urge transformational investments in K-12, community colleges, and four-year universities to ensure many more Inland Empire students are prepared for college, have the means to afford college, and receive the support services they need to be successful and graduate in a timely way. Inland Action supports expanding access to higher education and ensuring the success of all Inland Empire students by:

  • Fully funding pre-K – 12 school districts that serve high populations of underserved students, such as low-income, first-generation, Latino, and African American students.
  • Directing funds to hire dedicated dual enrollment counselors to ensure dual enrollment outreach and education is equitable among all student populations and specifically targets populations currently under-represented in dual enrollment participation.
  • Fully funding the Inland Empire’s only four-year public universities – UC Riverside and CSU San Bernardino – by supporting the UC Board of Regents and CSU Board of Trustees budget augmentation requests:
    • UC Board of Regents – $342.8 million ongoing, which includes $31.5 million for targeted student services and $4 million for cancer research
    • CSU Board of Trustees – $715 million baseline funding to grow enrollment by 9,500 students across the 23 campuses (600 additional students for CSUSB and its Palm Desert Campus) and support the system’s Graduation Initiative 2025 to close equity gaps and graduate students in less time
  • Endorsing legislation that removes barriers to Cal Grant eligibility for nontraditional community college students and expands eligibility for supplemental Cal Grant programs to students attending independent colleges and universities
    • AB 1746 (Medina), the Cal Grant Reform Act, expands support for nontraditional community college students who otherwise would not qualify for these grants, as well as simplifies the grant program
    • SB 81 (Portantino) proposes several changes to the Cal Grant program, each of which is designed to ensure low-income California students attending independent nonprofit California colleges and universities have equitable access to need-based grant aid. Specifically, the legislation would:
      (1) Replace a potential 13% trigger cut to the Cal Grant award amount for new recipients attending these institutions with a stable baseline amount and provide a pathway for the award amount to increase in specified instances.
      (2) Expand eligibility for supplemental $6,000 Cal Grant awards for former and current foster youth and students with dependent children to include those who attend an independent California college or university. Currently, students are only eligible for these supplemental awards if they attend a public university.
      (3) Allow California Community College students who gained Cal Grant eligibility via last year’s budget actions to use remaining entitlement program eligibility upon transfer to an independent California college or Current law states that these students may only utilize remaining Cal Grant transfer entitlement eligibility if they transfer to a University of California or California State University campus.
  • Increasing investment in supporting the whole student – both inside and outside the classroom – to ensure student well-being and success, including expanding mental health services and the delivery and availability of reliable, affordable high-speed broadband in rural and low-income communities.

Support investing the State’s surplus funds in one-time priority capital projects that will transform the educational experience for Inland Empire students.

  • Riverside Community College District Inland Empire Technical Trade Center, a technical trade training program that will address poverty, equity, and accessibility by providing a way for underserved populations to gain skills directly applicable to the workforce ($1 million).
  • UC Riverside acute care teaching hospital to train UCR School of Medicine medical students, medical residents, and medical fellows, SB 1199 (Roth) authorizing expenditures.
  • CSU San Bernardino interdisciplinary STEM laboratory facility to dramatically improve and expand much-needed teaching and research lab space so the university is well positioned to produce more graduates in Science, Technology and Engineering fields ($150 million).
  • CSUSB Palm Desert Student Services Center, which will provide amenities and student spaces expected of a college experience but lacking at CSUSB Palm Desert, to help attract and graduate more students from Coachella Valley communities ($80 million).

 

HEALTH CARE

Oppose AB 1882 (Rivas) unless amended, which would create redundant annual requirements for acute care hospitals related to compliance with State seismic safety building standards. California’s hospitals are deeply committed to maintaining the highest state of readiness ahead of, during, and after an emergency. They are equally committed to the transparent, regular, and accurate communication among key disaster response partners and the public that is critical to delivering aid during and after a crisis.

The foundation of effective disaster response is clear, coordinated communication, based on a common vocabulary. As we have learned from the pandemic, it is critical the designated entities have the right information to assess available emergency response resources. And without a clear delineation of responsibility, confusion among partners, needless alarm among the public, and unintended consequences from regulations that do not factor in the complexities of disaster response planning and implementation can occur.

Looming over all these concerns is a 2030 deadline for hospitals to meet additional seismic standards. Hospitals have already spent billions to ensure their buildings do not jeopardize the patients and employees within them during an earthquake. The 2030 standards will require all hospital buildings to have every service available at all times. Modernizing these standards to prioritize the needed services is a more prudent use of health care resources.

Prior to the pandemic, the staggering $100 billion cost statewide of the 2030 seismic requirements was challenging for most hospitals. Today, with 45% of California hospitals operating with negative margins and another 15% barely above break-even, meeting these requirements is simply impossible. As of this year, nearly two-thirds (64%) of California hospitals are required to meet the 2030 requirements. As a result, most find themselves in a position where high-quality, equitable care for all within their communities is in jeopardy.

To reiterate, compliance with 2030 would have been highly challenging before the pandemic and is now even more difficult given the grave financial blows hospitals have endured over the past two years. Unless amended to minimize redundant annual requirements and a clear definition on what “emergency response readiness” should really be for hospitals, Inland Action opposes AB 1882.

Support Medi-Cal Provider Data Sharing Incentives and Infrastructure Budget Proposal for a $95M General Fund investment which will draw down $160M in federal funding for important date sharing, connectivity, and infrastructure to provide complete, accurate, timely and actionable health data for all MediCal enrollees. In the Inland Empire over 1.8 million individuals access their healthcare through the Medi-Cal program. As the State is implementing the bold transformational goals of the Medi-Cal CalAIM program, quality and equity improvements to the healthcare delivery systems are imperative. The Inland Empire, through managed care health plans like the Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP), have embraced the State’s California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) program and are building up robust whole person systems of care that will rely on data from a broadly connected Health Information Exchange (HIE).

The State’s CalAIM initiative and Medi-Cal quality efforts are built from the same premise. They are ambitious efforts to improve prevention and quality, address social determinants of health, integrate behavioral health, and manage population health for 12 million people who are covered by Medi-Cal across the State. To deliver on these promises, healthcare providers must have the ability to share and use complete, accurate, and timely health data for all Medi-Cal enrollees—especially for the most vulnerable patients experiencing chronic conditions, behavioral health needs, homelessness, and justice involvement. In the Inland Empire and across the State, nonprofit HIEs connect health data from Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and other sources and ensure it is clean, unified, and ready for analysis and action by care teams.

However, many small practices, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), behavioral health clinics, county health and human service agencies, long-term care facilities, and other organizations are unable to share data through HIEs due to the lack of resources to support the initial and ongoing integration of their EHR systems with those exchanges. Additionally, HIEs also face ongoing costs to connect, secure, and manage data to support CalAIM and other Medi-Cal priorities. Regrettably, unlike other states, California has not provided public and federally matched financial support for HIEs as critical data infrastructure for Medicaid.

With additional funding, technology would advance. Plans and providers would be attracted to participate in these networks, sharing necessary data so that whole care teams across delivery systems will have the information they need to deliver quality care to all patients. Locally, this requested funding will help address equity concerns in the region, allocating new dollars to build the infrastructure and connections needed. The value of the HIE will further increase as more providers connect to share and act on available data.

Inland Action urges Legislators and the Governor to invest $95M from the General Fund in FY 2022-2023, which will draw down $160M in federal matching funds, to spur greater health information sharing and support the essential data infrastructure needed for Medi-Cal transformation.

 

JUDICIAL

Support judicial funding at the $5.2 billion level requested in the Governor’s proposed budget for new trial court judgeships and trial court courthouse construction, which will better serve the justice needs of the Inland Empire.  Superior Courts serving the Inland Empire (both San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) have historically been underfunded. While recent adjustments to the formula for allocation of judicial funding among Superior Courts has addressed some of this structural inequity, the COVID-19 pandemic erased much of that progress due to the sudden and substantial anticipated decreases in State revenues.  Fortunately, the Governor’s FY 2022-2023 budget proposes to provide increased funding necessary for the Courts to improve their core service – access to justice for the people of our region.

Growth of the Inland Empire also requires increased capital investment to provide the physical space and facilities for the Court to do its work in the places where people are increasing choosing to live. Our region is not only short of the number of judges1 we need to deliver justice in a timely and effective manner, but also places for those judges actually to sit and hear cases. Adequate funding for court construction must also be included in Legislative appropriations.

Inland Action supports funding for the judicial branch at the $5.2 billion level proposed by the Governor. This represents $890.6 million in new monies for the courts statewide. The increased funding, along with the recently improved funding formula the Judicial Council employs to allocate funding among the Superior Courts, will not only restore funding to the Courts of the Inland Empire to pre-pandemic levels, but the new money provided will also allow them to keep up with the increased cost of doing business and invest in technology to provide greater access to justice.

The Inland Empire is comprised of two of the largest and fastest-growing counties in the State – San Bernardino and Riverside. San Bernardino County is the largest in the State (in fact, the largest in the contiguous 48 states), while Riverside is the fourth largest in the State. The combined population in the region exceeds 4.5 million. According to the Judicial Council, San Bernardino County has experienced a 13% growth in population in the last decade, and Riverside County has experienced a 30% growth in population in recent years.

Unfortunately, our Courts have been historically underfunded. For example, the San Bernardino Superior Court as recently as FY 2013-2014 was funded at only 47.6% of its need. Recent adjustments to the formula for allocation of judicial funding among the Superior Courts has gradually improved the situation in the years since, and by FY 2018-2019, the Court was funded at 82.9% of need, leaving “only” a gap of 17.1% between the judicial needs of the people of the County and the funding provided to service those needs.

Our region is also in severe need of increased courthouse space, not only to deliver timely and effective justice, but to deliver it closer to where the people in need of those services.  In San Bernardino County, for example, the Judicial Council has determined that there is an “immediate need” to add two courtrooms to the Juvenile Dependency Courthouse in San Bernardino. The Judicial Council has also determined that there is a “critical need” to construct a new, much-larger, courthouse in Victorville to serve the needs of the High Desert region. Presently the small courthouse there can handle only juvenile, family-law, and criminal matters. All civil matters are heard in San Bernardino. Thus, civil litigants in Victorville cannot go to their local courthouse, they must commute at least 40 miles over the Cajon Pass to downtown San Bernardino. Litigants farther to the north or east must travel even farther, often for several hours, and pass by the Victorville courthouse, to have their day in court in San Bernardino. As the population of the High Desert continues to expand, the situation will only worsen unless this “critical need” for new courthouse facilities in Victorville are met.

The Governor’s FY 2022-2023 budget is beneficial to our Superior Courts in the Inland Empire in that it provides a historic level of funding for the judiciary, which includes new monies that will help the courts keep up with the increased costs of doing their business and invest in technology to provide greater access to justice. In particular, the new monies (statewide) include $39.9 million for new trial court judgeships (funding for 23 additional trial court judgeships) and $282.4 million for trial court courthouse construction and modification (to be allocated by the Judicial Council pursuant to the improved formula that is fairer to the Inland Empire.

Inland Action supports the Governor’s budget proposal for the judiciary in order to provide needed financial resources so that our courts can serve the justice needs of the Inland Empire.

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1 In addition to the number of new judgeships needed, San Bernardino County is facing a critical need to fill existing judicial vacancies. Currently, there are eight openings, with an additional three judges leaving by the end of April, leaving the county with 11 judicial vacancies.

 

Transportation

Urge innovation and flexibility in transportation funding to meet the growing needs of Inland Southern California’s transportation network. Inland Southern California’s transportation networks cannot survive in a one-size-fits all framework. As our region continues year-over-year to be one of the fastest-growing in the nation, our system of systems must grow and adapt with it. These systems require funding in order to continue to improve, upgrade, and keep our communities and the goods that serve them moving safely and efficiently.

Support funding of Inland Empire Transportation Regional Projects. Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) and the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) received unanimous support from the Inland Empire Caucus on a suite of important Inland Empire transportation projects, each of which can be advanced quickly and efficiently. Supporting innovation, transit, mobility, and expedited project delivery is direly needed now more than ever as the supply chain crisis impacts our region more than most. This suite of regional but connected infrastructure projects are explained further in the attached letter from the Inland Empire Caucus along with details on the projects that we know can truly move the Inland Region and our State forward. (See Appendix.)

Support SB 1410 (Caballero), Vehicle Miles Traveled, which would allow for Vehicles Miles Traveled regulations to be used only in Transit Priority Areas. SB 1410 modifies the Vehicle Miles Traveled regulation to limit its use to Transit Priority Areas. In areas outside of Transit Priority Areas, Levels of Service would be used to assess transportation impacts on the environment for projects subject to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review. This bill modifies the Vehicle Miles Traveled regulation to help the State meet its ambitious climate change goals by focusing its applicability only in Urbanized Transit Priority Areas, also not penalizing much needed new, energy efficient housing. The bill is currently in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

 

Environment

CONTINUED EFFORTS TO ADDRESS CALIFORNIA’S WILDFIRE PROBLEM

Inland Action supports legislation and funding designed to reduce and mitigate the impact of wildfires. Wildfire trends in recent years suggest an increasing number of acres affected by fire, an increasing number of structures (and homes) burned and increasing fire-suppression costs for governments. The problems are particularly acute in California. The Inland Empire’s mountain and foothill communities are susceptible to this problem. There is no greater threat to the environment in California, and the economic impacts to tourism, health and safety are just as catastrophic. Accordingly, Inland Action encourages our State legislators to take historic action to address the causes and effects of wildfire. This includes the following positions.

Support AB 2387 (Garcia) – Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022AB 2387 is a comprehensive bond measure to be submitted to the voters for approval on November 8, 2022. This bill touches on the most immediate and severe environmental issues facing the State and includes a much-needed urgency provision.

The largest component of this bond measure will fund drought resilience for California’s water supplies, reduce flood risk from extreme events and provide safe drinking water. This Act includes grant opportunities for local agencies in various climate resilience projects, as well as local and regional fire suppression infrastructure and risk reduction programs. Underserved communities are prioritized for receiving benefits of a portion of the bond proceeds, including technical assistance (and additional funding) to help those communities develop climate resilience.

Support SB 833 (Dodd) – Community Energy Resilience Act of 2022, which would create a technical assistance and grant program administered by the California Energy Commission.  (CEC) to help local governments develop clean energy resilience plans, leveraging the substantial related investments that have already been made by the CEC. It would enable local governments to collaborate with utilities in planning community-scale energy infrastructure such as solar panels and battery storage so that communities are deciding what facilities remain energized during a crisis. Funding for resilience plans will increase our region’s potential for success in seeking funding for community energy resilience projects, which is particularly important in light of the recently passed federal infrastructure package.

SB 833 complements a June 2020 California Public Utilities Commission decision which required investor-owned utilities to share information with and engage local governments in energy resilience planning, but which did not allocate resources to local governments to enable completion of energy resilience planning.

Local governments receiving planning grants would partner with utilities to identify areas most likely to experience a loss of electrical service and develop plans to help ensure that a reliable electricity supply is maintained at identified critical facilities, while also providing grid benefits under normal operating conditions.

The bill provides resources to empower local governments to strategically determine how and where to site local energy resilience infrastructure, rather than having crucial planning decisions imposed upon them by utilities or regulators.

 

INCREASED FUNDING FOR WATER SUPPLY, WATER QUALITY, AND WATER STORAGE PROJECTS

Support the Delta Conveyance Project.  Water reliability is a vital issue for inland Southern California, including for major local state water contractors such as the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, and Mojave Water Agency. Inland Action supports upgrading the State’s infrastructure to improve conveyance in the Delta and ensure more reliable long-term water deliveries for the State Water Project, which provides 30% of Southern California’s water. Inland Action also supports continued federal funding for scientific research and habitation restoration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to advance ecosystem improvements in support of California’s coequal goals of water supply reliability and Delta ecosystem restoration.

ENHANCE RELIABILITY OF LONG-TERM SUPPLIES, STORAGE, AND DROUGHT RESILIENCY FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

Diverse sources of water supplies, increased water storage capacity and enhanced resilience to drought are high priorities to maintain and grow California’s economy. Inland Action supports actions to implement measures that improve California’s water reliability and drought preparedness, including support for budget proposals for water infrastructure and drought response investments. As California heads into another serious period of drought, Inland Action recognizes the tremendous investment the State and local water purveyors have made in infrastructure to build capacity and resilience. Southern California is well positioned but still requires investment in its water infrastructure. Inland Action supports State efforts to fund water and wastewater infrastructure, water reliability projects, and water conveyance projects. In addition, it supports additional funding for habitat restoration projects that are essential to balancing the need for continued economic development with preservation of natural spaces.

Support legislation to accelerate projects addressing water infrastructure needs, including SB 991 (Newman) and AB 1845 (Calderon).   Delivery of alternative sources of water is needed to meet demand, and this requires improvements to water distribution infrastructure needs. As Southern California adapts to a changing climate, legislative and funding support for accelerating needed water infrastructure projects will help ensure that this region is better prepared for drought conditions in the future.

SB 911 and AB 1845 would authorize local agencies, defined as any city, county, city and county, or special district, authorized by law to provide for the production, storage, supply, treatment, or distribution of any water from any source, to use the progressive design-build process for public works projects in excess of $5,000,000. The bills would define “design-build” to mean a project delivery process in which both the design and construction of a project are procured from a single entity. New contracting methods, like those authorized in these bills, would accelerate project delivery and allow local agencies to advance these important water infrastructure projects in a more expeditious and efficient manner. The efficient and timely delivery of these infrastructure projects is critically important to Southern California’s water agencies to provide reliable and high-quality water. Design-build methods have the potential to lower overall design and construction costs and develop earlier cost certainty, which could potentially save Southern California ratepayers money.

Support State funding for the following two important regional water infrastructure projects, which are both shovel ready.

Regional Recycled Water System (RRWS) – This project includes a new conveyance pipeline (Regional Recycled Water Pipeline) and recharge basins (Weaver Basins) that will serve as a regional facility to facilitate recharge of recycled water in the local groundwater basin to augment the groundwater supply with drought-proof recycled water. East Valley Water District’s Sterling Natural Resource Center and the San Bernardino Municipal Water Department’s Tertiary Treatment System will treat wastewater generated in their service areas and convey approximately 11,600 acre- feet per year (AFY) of the tertiary-treated water initially to the Weaver Basins; a new regional facility being built by the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District to accept recycled water from various sources for groundwater replenishment. The discharged water will percolate into the groundwater basin, augmenting local water supplies pursuant to Title 22 regulations governing indirect potable reuse projects. A portion of the Weaver Basins site is suitable habitat for the federally listed San Bernardino kangaroo rat. Habitat will be enhanced and conserved for the benefit of the species.

Santa Ana River Enhanced Recharge Phase 1B Project (SARER) – This project consists of improving existing facilities and constructing new facilities to increase the amount of stormwater from the Santa Ana River that can be captured and recharged. The project involves modifying an existing intake structure, improvements to an area disturbed as part of the construction of Seven Oaks Dam, modifying an existing canal to accommodate increased flow, and constructing 337.4 acres of new recharge basins. When complete, the improvements will accommodate the diversion of up to 500 cubic feet per second and the recharge of an average of 15,412 AFY and up to a maximum of 80,000 acre-feet in a single wet year. The storm water captured by this project and recharged into the San Bernardino Basin will benefit the approximately 400,000 persons that overlie and benefit from the groundwater source. The project is the result of regional collaboration and has been developed in concert with State agencies, including the Department of Water Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Support secure funding for monitoring and remediation of PFAS.  Ensuring safe drinking water is a fundamental requirement for healthy communities and economies. With growing concerns about the presence in some water supplies of a family of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS), water agencies are working to ensure inland Southern California has a safe and reliable drinking water supply. Inland Action supports administrative and legislative actions to secure funding to help public water agencies defray the cost of monitoring and/or remediation of constituents (including PFAS) in drinking water supplies, including full cost-recovery by drinking water and wastewater providers. Inland Action supports legislation that accomplishes the above goals while protecting public water and wastewater agencies (and, therefore, their ratepayers) from third-party liability associated with new standards. We urge caution with respect to any bills which impose additional burdens on water providers and wastewater systems without addressing the funding necessary to cover associated costs.

Urge State support for water purveyor consolidation efforts.  In recent years, the State of California has looked for mechanisms to address significant infrastructure and water quality issues associated with small, typically private, water systems. This is a significant problem in rural areas, particularly the Central Valley, but it is also a problem in our region. Most stakeholders agree that consolidation of these water systems is one mechanism to address this. Unfortunately, efforts to address the issues have thus far focused on the prospect of a universal water tax, paid by all customers on a per unit or per person basis. This is not the way to go. Instead, Inland Action supports funding to incentivize consolidation of water systems, ideally into public bodies with local accountability and decision-making. Incentivizing consolidation requires significant funds to address infrastructure needs and address water quality problems (see above).

MANAGEMENT OF THE SALTON SEA.

Support funding for continued management of the Salton Sea.  Although the Salton Sea is located in Riverside County, few projects in our region come anywhere near the Salton Sea in terms of the potential for calamity or, conversely, enormous gain.

The Salton Sea is impacted by rising salinity of the Sea as well as changes in runoff from irrigated agriculture (supplied by Colorado River water). Reduced water flows to the Sea could result in the exposure of nearly 100 square miles of dry lakebed, resulting in diminished habitat, significant air quality problems, and a damaged economy. A key issue at the Salton Sea is exposure of previously submerged lakebed, known as playa, as the lake surface shrinks. This playa exposure is subject to wind erosion and can be a source of fine airborne dust smaller than 10 micrometers, known as particulate matter 10, or PM10: as well as a source of PM 2.5. The dust is a significant health hazard and can contribute to respiratory illness in humans. It can also damage agricultural crops and wildlife and harm the region’s tourism industry. Areas downwind from the Sea are already suffering from severe non-attainment for PM 10 under the Clean Air Act. These areas suffer the highest rates of childhood asthma in California, with emergency room admissions for children under four years of age roughly twice the State average. In the near future, tens of millions of citizens downwind from the Sea could be impacted by dust blown from the playa into densely urbanized areas throughout Southern California.

In recent years, local, State, tribal, and federal governments have achieved significant progress in addressing the long-term management of the Salton Sea. These efforts have resulted in the development of the Salton Fee Funding and Feasibility Action Plan, a living document and framework for the future management of the Salton Sea, and Phase I of the Salton Sea Management Program 10-Year Plan, which guides investments at the Salton Sea in line with an MOU between the United States Department of the Interior and the California Natural Resources Agency. Current efforts are designed to address playa exposure by developing habitat or dust suppression projects on exposed playa.

With a plan in place, and funding generally available to the projects through the 2018 Farm Bill at the federal level and through the passage of Proposition 68 at the State level, it is critical that funding be delivered to these projects in a timely and efficient manner. At the State level, the following steps are suggested:

  • Salton Sea Management Program – Support efforts by the Salton Sea Management Program implemented by the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Department of Water Resources and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Their work includes a 10-year plan that aims to improve conditions by constructing 30,000 acres of habitat and dust suppression projects around the Sea, while also establishing a long-term pathway for the Salton Sea beyond the next decade, including work to evaluate the feasibility of water importation as a strategy for restoration of the Salton Sea.
  • Species Conservation Habitat Project – Currently under construction, this $206.5 million plan will build ponds and wetlands along the small delta to provide wildlife habitat and suppress dust. The final design includes 340 additional acres of coverage as compared to older projections and is expected to be finished by 2024. The project is estimated to create as many as 3,000 jobs. Inland Action urges the State to continue support for this
  • Budget Surplus Funding for Salton Sea Restoration – Inland Action supports the $50 million set aside in the May Revise from the 2021-2022 budget to provide immediate economic relief to the community, support the State in leveraging federal funds, and support efforts to meet (restoration) acreage milestones in a State water board order to restore California’s largest body of water. In addition, the Department of Natural Resources has proposed $170M in the current year’s revise. Inland Action encourages the legislature to stand firm on these financing commitments.

PROGRAMS THAT SEEK TO ACHIEVE CALIFORNIA CLEAN AIR AND EMISSIONS GOALS IN AN EQUITABLE MANNER AND WITH RESPECT FOR LOCAL CONTROL

Inland Action supports legislation designed to help California achieve clean air and greenhouse gas emissions goals in a manner that is equitable, does not unnecessarily impact economic growth, and that respects the right to local self-determination. This includes the following positions.

Support for SB 1075 (Skinner) – Green Hydrogen which would create the California Clean Hydrogen Hub Fund, making State subsidies available for green hydrogen projects.  In addition, SB 1075 would revise the definition of an “eligible renewable energy resource” for the purposes of the California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program to include facilities that use biomass, solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, fuel cells using renewable fuels, small hydroelectric generation of 30 megawatts or less, digester gas, municipal solid waste conversion, landfill gas, ocean wave, ocean thermal, or tidal current, and any additions or enhancements to the facility using that technology (and meet certain other criteria). However, a facility engaged in the combustion of municipal solid waste would not be considered an eligible renewable energy resource.

The bill also enables the State to take advantage of federal funding for green hydrogen projects included in President Biden’s infrastructure law. The federal Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act includes $8 billion to support at least four regional clean hydrogen hubs across the United States. The hubs must demonstrate a diversity of hydrogen end uses, including in electric power generation, industrial operations, residential heating, and transportation. The infrastructure law allocates another $1 billion to support research, development, and deployment across multiple electrolysis technologies. The United States Department of Energy has subsequently identified nine regional clean hydrogen clusters, including California.

The California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, in the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, would subsidize new start-up technologies and projects by making loans, issuing bonds, and providing financial assistance for qualifying projects that “demonstrate and scale the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end use of clean hydrogen” and “advance progress toward a goal to produce or use 15,000 tons per day of clean hydrogen in California by 2030.” These grants would be required to align with the requirements of the federal infrastructure law.

The bill also requires the following steps to ensure the State is at the cutting edge of green hydrogen development:

  • The Bank to develop criteria, priorities, and guidelines for the provision of grants under the Hydrogen Fund in line with specified priorities and requirements of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
  • The Governor to appoint, by April 1, 2023, a Clean Hydrogen Hub Director to coordinate efforts related to clean hydrogen production, processing, delivery, storage, and end use.
  • The State Air Resource Board, by December 31, 2023, to identify the role of hydrogen, and particularly green hydrogen, in helping California achieve the goals of the act and the state’s other climate goals.
  • The State Board, in consultation with the California Energy Commission and Public Utilities Commission, by June 1, 2024, to evaluate what steps are necessary to the efficient deployment, development, and use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel.
  • The Energy Commission, as part of the 2023 and 2025 editions of the State’s integrated energy policy report, to study and model potential growth for hydrogen and its role in decarbonizing, as defined, the electrical and transportation sectors of the economy, and helping to achieve specified
  • The State Board, by June 1, 2024, in conjunction with the Energy Commission and the PUC, to jointly develop recommendations to the Legislature on definitions for different categories of hydrogen, and potential end uses for those categories of hydrogen and would authorize the use of the recommendations to the Legislature to inform the oversight and administration of their respective hydrogen programs and eligibility rules; and
  • The State Board, by June 1, 2024, to (among other things): jointly develop prohibitions against double counting (e.g., emission offsets) of environmental attributes associated with production, distribution, and use of hydrogen; and calculate life-cycle carbon dioxide intensity values for hydrogen pathways that reflect the fuels, feedstocks, and production processes used for their production.

Support for AB 1640 (Ward) – Regional Climate Planning Initiatives, which would authorize local, regional, tribal, and State governments and other entities (e.g., educational institutions and nonprofits), to jointly establish and participate in a regional climate network.  The regional networks would be authorized to take action to address climate change, including: the development of a regional climate adaptation and resilience action plan; applying for and administering State and federal grants; supporting the implementation of regional climate plans; facilitating best practices; conducting educational activities; and conducting capacity building.

If passed, the Office of Planning and Research, on or before July 1, 2023, would be required to develop and publish on its internet website guidelines on how eligible entities may establish regional climate networks and how governing boards may be established within regional climate networks. The bill would require the office, through the program, to provide technical assistance to regions seeking to establish a regional climate network, facilitate coordination between regions, and encourage regions to incorporate as many eligible entities into one network as feasible.

Oppose any efforts to reduce local representation on the South Coast Air Quality Management Board (SCAQMD).  In prior years, legislative efforts have been made to amend the composition of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Board. Inland Action opposes any efforts to diminish local representation and supports efforts to empower locally elected officials, who are accountable to their constituents. At present, board members are selected through a transparent city selection process involving a diverse pool of 20 county supervisors and 848 mayors and city council members. The SCAQMD was established with local control in mind and the elected officials serving on the SCAQMD Board have a responsibility to their voters. This obligation would be weakened by adding more appointees who are not accountable to the public.

 

REFORMING THE RECALL PROCESS FOR STATEWIDE OFFICERS

Support Little Hoover Commission recommendations for reforming the State’s recall process for statewide officers.  The California Little Hoover Commission recommends adjustments to the signature requirement for recalling statewide officeholders and to the procedure for recalling and replacing State officials. The Commission also identifies procedural changes that would improve the recall process. The Legislature should refer constitutional amendments to the voters in November 2022.

The Little Hoover Commission launched a study to review California’s system for recalling State officials in the fall of 2021. Critiques of the recall system focus around two issues: the ease of qualifying a recall for the ballot and the potential for undemocratic outcomes. The recall allows voters to discharge an officeholder for any reason. It is, however, a last resort that should be reserved for exceptional circumstances. Multiple gubernatorial recall elections indicate that California’s existing signature requirement for recalling statewide officeholders (12% of the vote in the last election for the office) no longer provides an adequate barrier against potential abuse or overuse of the recall. It also creates an unnecessarily unstable threshold for triggering a recall election. Setting the signature threshold for statewide recalls at 10% of registered voters would provide greater consistency. It would also help deter overuse of the recall by increasing the number of signatures required to initiate a recall election.

Inland Action supports the recommendations of the Little Hoover Commission, with one note of caution:

Recommendation 1: The Legislature should refer a constitutional amendment to the voters in November 2022 raising the signature requirement for triggering a recall election involving a statewide officer to 10% of the number of registered voters.

Recommendation 2: Inland Action cautiously supports having the Legislature refer Senate Constitutional Amendment 3 to the voters in November 2022. This proposed amendment would replace the existing recall process with a “snap” recall election. We believe that there should be support of over 50% of the votes to select a Governor but recognize the challenges of time and expense that this could create.

Recommendation 3: The Legislature should refer a constitutional amendment to the voters in November 2022, extending the timeframe for conducting recall elections to no less than 88 days and no more than 125 days.

Recommendation 4: The Legislature should refer a constitutional amendment to the voters to prohibit the initiation of recall proceedings against State officeholders during the first 90 days and the last six months of their term of office.

Recommendation 5: The Legislature should refer constitutional amendments relating to recall reform to the voters as separate propositions.

Recommendation 6: The Legislature should clarify the nomination standard for recall replacement candidates.