Sept 27th, 2022

We are days away from our Annual Fall Leadership Conference! It is an exciting time to be a part of ACC-OC and benefit from gaining insight and education on issues most pressing to Orange County. From panels on Housing and Homelessness, timely trainings, and inspirational speakers, there is something for everyone on the 30^th to further develop yourself as a leader.

ACC-OC is the perfect vehicle for launching the next generation of elected officials for the betterment of Orange County as we believe in education that empowers, policy development that is collaborative, and advocacy that is service-oriented. I look forward to seeing you on September 30^th at our Fall Leadership Conference!

ACC-OC 2^nd Vice President

Each month, the Association recognizes one of our Affiliate Members for the important job they provide to the Orange County region. This month, we are proud to recognize Crown Castle.

Technology is changing the way we live, work and interact with the world around us. We don't go online anymore. We exist there. Our smartphones and tablets are connected, of course, but soon things like traffic lights, machines, appliances and autonomous cars will all be online. These connections are all made possible by a unique network of communications infrastructure—towers, small cells and fiber. They all work together to set the stage for new innovation—to bring the world's biggest ideas and possibilities to people and businesses who need them. New advancements like 5G, edge computing, CBRS and more are on the horizon—and in some cases, already here. As businesses and communities move into the future, Crown Castle is a reliable partner you can count on to help stay connected and take advantage of this digital transformation.

This possibility is brought to life through Partnership, Foresight and Commitment. Crown Castle works closely with community members, government officials and their customers to design and build solutions that meet their unique connectivity needs—from wireless coverage to smart city solutions to custom fiber optic networks. Their solutions are built with the future in mind and play an important role in tomorrow's smarter, better-connected communities, while paving the way for new innovations in the way we live, work and stay safe. Finally, Crown Castle has been building and operating shared communications infrastructure for more than 25 years, and will continue that commitment for many years to come. As demand for connectivity grows, they are building the solutions that deliver long-term value for our customers, communities and investors.

“Our work to protect local water supplies and remove PFAS detected in the Orange County Groundwater Basin remains a top priority,” said OCWD President Steve Sheldon. “Thank you to the Groundwater Resources Association for recognizing our proactive and swift efforts to address PFAS in Orange County.”

OCWD was recognized for its comprehensive efforts to remove PFAS from local groundwater including launching the nation’s largest pilot treatment project in December 2019 to constructing PFAS treatment facilities to restore the impacted drinking water supply. Today, five treatment plants for the cities of Fullerton and Garden Grove and the Serrano and Yorba Linda water districts are operational, including the nation’s largest ion exchange PFAS treatment plant at the Yorba Linda Water District headquarters. Over the next two years, 31 additional treatment facilities will be built and brought online.

The award was presented to OCWD at the GRA’s Western Groundwater Congress during the Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon on September 20 in Sacramento, California. A video shown during the luncheon is available here.

At this month’s Legislative and Regulatory Committee meeting, the committee received updates on major bills of interest from Tony Cardenas from the League of California Cities and ACC-OC’s Legislative Director Wendy Strack. At this meeting, the committee also voted to support AB 1938 by Assembly Member Friedman which modifies existing law related to the lowering of speed limits on highways.

With just a few days left before the Governor’s September 30^th deadline to sign or veto the bills on his desk, a lot of activity is happening around our major bills of interest. Below is a quick highlight of a few bills of interest for ACC-OC.

AB 2011 by Assembly member Wicks and SB 6 by Senator Caballero both seek to make major changes to land use guidelines in local jurisdictions. AB 2011 establishes by right authority to build affordable housing on sites currently zoned for office, retail or parking. SB 6 is a similar bill that would allow the development of housing on office, retail or parking sites as an allowable use. ACCOC previously sent an Action Alert on AB 2011 and there is still time to get letters in if your agency has not already done so. ACC-OC has an oppose position on both bills.

AB 2449 by Assembly Member Rubio provides a longer-term option for members of a local elected body to participate in meetings remotely. Through January 1, 2026, local agencies would be allowed to operate under these provisions as long as a quorum was present in person, votes must be taken by rollcall, the meeting must be broadcast to the public, and members of the public must also be provided an opportunity to participate remotely. If the public broadcast or remote participation option fails during the meeting, the meeting cannot continue until that service is restored.

In order to participate remotely, the member must notify the legislative body of their need to participate remotely under one of two paths. The first is for “just cause” which can only be used two times per year. The second is the need to participate remotely due to emergency circumstances. Under this path, remote participation would be limited to no more than three consecutive months or 20% of the regular meetings of the local agency in calendar year.

SB 1338 by Senator Umberg establishes the CARE Court system. Under the final bill language, a first cohort of CARE Courts would be established by October 1, 2023 in Glenn, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne Counties. The second cohort of all remaining counties would follow by December 1, 2024. This program is also contingent upon an allocation of funding to implement the CARE Court program through the Department of Health Care Services.

SCA 2 was approved by the Legislature for the 2024 ballot. This measure repeals Article 34 of the California Constitution, which currently requires development, construction, or acquisition of publicly-funded low-rent housing projects to be approved by a majority of voters in a city or county.

For more information about ACC-OC’s positions on major bills of interest, go to: http://www.accoc.org/advocacy/current-legislation/.

ACC-OC has added Capitol Track to our website as a resource for members! View, track, and see positions that the Legislative & Regulatory Committee has taken as well as any letters or action alerts that have been sent out.

CLICK HERE to view!

Click HERE for full event flyer and sponsorship opportunities. 

Click HERE for event registration.