2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
State Legislation Committee
March 27, 2008
2pm
City Hall, Room 288
Meeting Minutes
MEMBERS Present:
Mayor’s Office (Chair) – Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez
Supervisor Peskin – David Noyola
Supervisor Alioto-Pier – Catherine Stefani
City Attorney’s Office – MaryJane Winslow
Treasurer’s Office – David Augustine
Assessor’s Office – Alissa Pines
Controller’s Office – Peg Stevenson
MEMBERS Absent:
None
AGENDA
I . ROLL CALL – All Members present
II. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
The Committee approved the minutes of the March 12, 2007 meeting of the State Legislation Committee.
IV. PROPOSED LEGISLATION
The Committee voted to take the recommended City position for the following Bills affecting the City and County of San Francisco, at the March 27, 2008 State Legislation Committee:
(Lynn Suter, Suter & Associates, has been notified of the status of these Bills)
SF PORT Submitted by: Brad Benson – (415) 274-0498
AB 2646 Leno
Pending amendment into existing bill
Support
Would allow the Port of San Francisco to capture the State's share of property tax increment in a local Infrastructure Financing District on Port property to fund parks, shoreline access, and environmental remediation and fill removal.
SB 1582 Simitian
Senate Public Safety on April 4
Oppose
Would require cruise lines to have a Department of Justice ocean ranger who is a licensed marine engineer and on board while the vessel is operating in the State's marine waters to monitor the vessel’s
compliance with the existing prohibition against dumping specified wastes in State waters and other applicable federal laws and regulations on waste discharge and to investigate potential criminal activities onboard while in the marine waters of the state, and to evaluate and respond to risks related to homeland.
Dept. Of Emergency Management: Submitted by: Amiee Albertson-Alden: (415) 558-3803
AB 2031 Hancock
Pending in Committee on Natural Resources
Support
Would require OSPR to provide training and certification of a local emergency responder that would serve as the local spill response manager, and to authorize the manager to train and certify volunteers. This bill would also require State OES to notify the appropriate local government agencies in the area surrounding the spill.
AB 2547 Leno
Pending in Committee on Natural Resources
Support
Would require a report every 5 years that evaluates emerging technologies that aid in the prevention, response and cleanup of oil spills. Requires the response plans to include a mandated minimum response on all spills that occur during low visibility, and require mandated response for all groundings, collisions, and allisions. Allows fee revenue to be spent to reimburse mutual aid responders.
The bill also creates the Oil Spill Prevention and Cleanup Technology Grants program, which would be funded by the fee revenue. The program would provide up to $5 million annually in competitive grants for research, testing, and capital matching grants that bring emerging technologies to market. Eligible recipients include state agencies, universities, and nonprofits among other; however, local governments are not listed as eligible recipients of these grant funds.
AB 2935
Huffman
Pending in Committee on Natural Resources
Support
Would require OSPR to develop a hazardous materials training program, no more than 4 hours in length, for volunteers. In addition, this bill would require the administrator to solicit the cooperation, and maintain a list, of local agencies responsible for emergency response and management of public lands that may be impacted by oil spills. These local agencies would be required to have available at least one trainer capable of presenting the hazardous materials training program to the volunteers and facilities for the training.
Treasurer and Tax CollectorSubmitted by: David Augustine (415) 554-7601
We'd like the City to support programs related to asset building and financial empowerment, especially given the Mayor's support for Baby bank accounts in his inaugural address. Here are four bills that we support in this realm.
In addition, we'd like to support a bill to amend state law to allow a municipality to vote for a local income tax. There are a lot of tax reform proposals going around, and this would expand the discussion and include an income tax, which we think is fair, easy to administer, and progressive. Plus San Franciscans would still have to vote for it before it was implemented. This income tax would not be on individuals, only businesses.
AB 2123
Ted Lieu
First Policy Hearing April 7 in the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee
Support
Will commit the state to start addressing the root causes of personal and state economic struggles precipitated by a lack of financial education. Through the establishment of a dedicated Financial Literacy Advocate and a Financial Literacy Advisory Committee, this bill will codify the state’s financial interest in reducing consumer debt, bolstering savings, and deterring financial predicaments like those evident in the current foreclosure crisis. AB 2123 will create an information warehouse where Californians can turn to for answers on basic financial questions and for referral to other, more specific resources closer to home. Finally, the bill establishes the Financial Services Corps, designed to be a dedicated cadre of financial planner volunteers committed to helping low and middle-income Californians make sound financial decisions.
AB 2368
Felipe Fuentes
Human Services Committee April 15 has not passed the Senate yet
Support
The CalWORKs Mobility Initiative repeals the vehicle asset limit on CalWORKs applicants and recipients to encourage low-income families become employed and self-sufficient by building the savings they need to permanently exit CalWORKs. California is currently tied with Texas and Idaho in having the most restrictive asset test for vehicles of any state in the country. Twelve states exclude all vehicles owned by the household; another 15 exclude at least one vehicle per household. The rest have substantially increased the value of the vehicle exclusion. California, however, continues to employ an overly restrictive vehicle asset test – one that undermines a workers ability to gain and maintain employment, thereby encouraging continued reliance on public assistance. A recent report by the County of Los Angeles on the transportation barriers faced by low-income families concludes that “car ownership is strongly correlated with employment status, and increases the likelihood of employment.”
AB 2845
Dave Jones
Karen Bass
Mike Feuer
First Policy Hearing in Banking and Finance Committee
Support
The Pay Day Loan Reform Act caps the loan rates on ‘pay day loans’ at 36% which typically bear interest rates of 400 percent and traps low-income families in a cycle of indebtedness.
SF Planning Department: Presented by: Elaine Forbes - San Francisco Planning Department (415)558-6547
AB 2604
Torrico
Oppose
Development impact fees are typically collected when building permits are issued. These fees can be very expensive and difficult to deliver in current market conditions. AB 2604 offers some relief. If passed, the bill would allow residential developers to defer payment of fees used to finance public infrastructure until issuance of a certificate of occupancy or even the close of escrow on units, when cash is more readily available. As proposed, the bill would sunset January 1, 2014.
The Department is concerned about this bill for two primary reasons. First, this change would mean that impact fees would be paid to the City potentially years later than is currently the case, resulting in the City's inability to appropriately build and fund capital projects. Second, it is administratively difficult to collect impact fees at certificate of occupancy, and over the years the City has missed significant revenues because of this.
DYCF Submitted by: September Jarrett, September@dcyf.org
For more information contact: Mardi Lucich, Citywide Child Care Administrator regarding AB 659 or SB 1304 or Sandra Naughton, Senior Planner regarding SB 1674.
AB 659 Fiona Ma
Re-referred to Senate Committee on Education
City-sponsored (by HSA & DCYF) and support Adds “locally funded” to the types of child care (in addition to state or federally funded) to which a contractor is allowed, under certain circumstances, to transfer a family who no longer meet eligibility or need requirements of the program they’re in. The legislation would allow families/children receiving local child care and development subsidies to be afforded the same continuity of services provision as state and federal programs are allowed. Specifically, AB 659 prevents an eligible family from losing access to a child care and development services when it is necessary for them to transfer from a local subsidy into a state or federal subsidy program.
SF has nearly $11 M in local child care subsidies serving thousands of children (infants/toddlers, homeless children and foster children), and without the continuity of care provision allowable between local and sate/federal subsidies, children’s care is being disrupted when they time-out of the local subsidy as they are forced to return to the Centralized Eligibility List to wait for another child care subsidy to become available.
SB 1304
Simitian
Set for hearing April 2 nd in Senate Committee on Education
Support
Extends San Mateo’s individualized subsidized child care pilot for 5 more years. SF has the same individualized subsidized child care pilot (SB 701) that was modeled exactly after San Mateo’s original legislation authorizing their pilot. These pilots are much needed in our two high cost counties to help us maximize reimbursement rates for child care and development services to come closer to covering the cost of doing business, as well as ensures the retention of the child care and development resources allocated by the state to the city/county. SF’s pilot will sunset in 2011, and we will be looking in 2009 to sponsor similar legislation that will extend our pilot, and will need support in our effort when we do so. ‘
SB 1674
Torlakson
Referred to Senate Committee on Education on 3/13/08
Hearing set for 4/9/08
Sponsored by Bay Area Partnership for Children & Youth, LA’s BEST, League of California After school Providers
Support
Aims to broaden and diversify the teacher credential applicant pool and address the teacher shortage by creating a career ladder for after school program instructors through the existing California Paraprofessional Teacher Training Program (PTTP). The bill also makes various program improvements to the state’s After School Education & Safety (ASES) Program.
SFUSD has participated in the PTTP program and could benefit from this legislation which would enable the after school program staff of community-based organizations that partner with the schools to participate in the PTTP program. (Note: The majority of SFUSD’s after school programs are operated by community-based organizations.) This proposed pilot would help enhance recruitment and retention of high-quality after school staff in SFUSD’s after school programs, as well as diversify and enhance the local teacher credential applicant pool. SF receives about $11 M in ASES funding to provide after school programming for children in kindergarten through grade 8. This bill clarifies that ASES programs may operate on weekends and requires that any subcontracts to organizations must contain overhead allowances for necessary subcontract administrative costs. Both of these issues will help ensure that ASES funds used in SF can: a) meet parents’ and youths’ needs in terms of when programming is offered, and b) support the infrastructure of after school programs operated by community-based organizations so they operate effectively, and therefore enhance their long-term sustainability. These three bills will help maximize resources and efficiency in our child care and after school systems.
Department of Human Services Submitted by: Noelle Simmons 557-5753
SB 1160
Alquist
Senate Human Services hearing on 3/25/08
Support
CWDA-sponsored bill that would exempt adult caregivers in CalWORKs child only cases from having to be re-fingerimaged or re-interviewed by CalWORKs or Food Stamps when changing county of residence. Streamlines administrative procedures for county welfare agencies and families.
SB 1341
Padilla
Senate Human Services hearing on 3/25/08
Support
CWDA sponsored bill that would allow CalWORKs clients to retain income-exempt savings and interest for purposes of covering costs associated with securing or maintaining permanent rental housing. Would particularly benefit welfare recipients in high cost housing markets like San Francisco.
AB 2389
Benoit and Emmerson
Assembly Human Services hearing on 4/1/08
Oppose
Would require random drug testing of CalWORKs recipients as a condition of continued eligibility for benefits. This bill would result in unfunded increased administrative workload for county welfare agencies and would inappropriately charge such agencies with a punitive law enforcement function.
AB 2399
Portantino
Assigned to Assembly Human Services
Support
CWDA sponsored bill requiring that Independent Living Program services be provided to former juvenile dependents placed with non-related legal guardians. ILP services are already available to former foster youth placed with related guardians. This bill would create parity for similarly situated former foster youth in San Francisco.
V. SET REGULAR SCHEDULE FOR FUTURE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Next meeting: Thursday, April 10, 2008, 1:00pm - Room 288, City Hall
VI. SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
The State Legislation Committee on April 10th will hear and vote on the following:
A. Departmental State Legislation Plans
B. SFPD Bills
C. PUC Bill
D. Treasure Island & High Speed Rail Bills
E. Human Rights Commission Bills
F. City Attorney’s Office Bill
G. Treasurer’s Office Bill
H. Light Brown Apple Moth, Mayor’s Office
VII. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
No members of the public requested to comment
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
