Attachment B
2026/2027 Draft Legislative Platform Mark Up
State Capitol Office • 925 L Street, Suite 1404 • Sacramento, California 95814 • Phone (916) 447-4086 • Fax (916) 444-2063 Federal Office • 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Suite 207 • Washington, DC • Phone (202) 546-8696 • Fax (202) 546-4555 Northern California Office • 300 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Suite 204 • Oakland, California 94612 • Phone (510) 835-9050 • Fax (510) 835-9030 Southern California Office • 1601 Dove Road• Newport Beach, California 92660 • Phone (949) 399-9050 • Fax (949) 476-8215
M E M O R A N D U M
To: The Honorable Naomi SotoRon deHarte and Members of the Palm Springs City Council
CC: Scott Stiles, City Manager
Teresa Gallavan, Assistant City Manager
From:Niccolo De Luca, Vice President, Townsend Public Affairs, Inc.
Ben Goldeen, Federal Advocacy Director
Carlin Shelby, Deputy DirectorSenior Associate
Kerri West, Senior Associate
Anastasia Heaton, Senior Associate
Date: June 30, 20265
Subject: 20265/20276 State and Federal Legislative Agenda Townsend Public Affairs, Inc. (TPA), in coordination with City staff, has prepared a draft legislative platform for the City of Palm Springs for discussion and adoption. The 20265/20276 legislative platform serves as a strategic policy document that outlines the priorities, goals, and opportunities for the City.
The adopted legislative platform will communicate a clear set of values and policy goals. The final document will also function as a roadmap for legislative and funding efforts and reflect the priorities of the City Council. The legislative agenda will be fluid as some issues will be addressed with introduced legislation and new issues may arise.
Once adopted, this document will be shared with key stakeholders in the State Legislature, Governor’s Administration, Members of Congress, and Federal Administration.
Proposed Legislative Priorities for 20265
The State Legislature in 2026 has continued to focus on key priorities, including responding to federal actions, addressing homelessness and behavioral health, expanding housing access, enhancing public safety, and advancing transportation and infrastructure initiatives. As this marks Governor Newsom’s final year in office, legislative activity remains robust. The Legislature is currently in the House of Origin phase, with bills continuing to advance through amendments before moving to the second house in the coming weeks.
In Washington, D.C., Congressional leaders and the White House have largely concentrated on broader national issues, though opportunities remain in infrastructure, transportation, housing, and public safety.
Many federal funding programs and grant opportunities are resuming operations following widespread federal workforce reductions and administrative restructuring. In addition, the recent federal government shut down significantly delayed legislative activity earlier this year, with more substantive actions now ramping up.
Proposed 20265 Legislative Platform Page 3 of 6 The State Legislature has maintained its focus on its recent priorities including Climate Resiliency, Homelessness and Behavioral Health, Housing and Greater Access, Public Safety, and Transportation and Infrastructure. In addition, the Governor, his Administration, and the State Legislature is focused on stopping and pushing back on the various proposals coming from the White House and President Trump.
In 2025, the Trump administration and Congress have prioritized tax cuts, deregulation, and spending reductions.
Key focuses include border security, military funding, energy production, and strict immigration policies, such as large-scale deportations. The administration is also advancing efforts aimed to shrink the federal workforce and restructuring agencies.
Federal and State Legislative Monitoring and Potential Action The following legislative priorities are recommended for monitoring, analysis, and potential action. The City may choose to take a position on a piece of legislation, continue to monitor without a position, or determine if any further response is required. Additionally, the City Attorney is authorized to participate in amicus briefing in litigation that furthers the goals of this legislative platform.
TPA will maintain a constantly updated matrix of state legislation and may also present strategic recommendations and provide rolling updates. TPA will monitor legislative activity in the following areas.
Homelessness and Behavioral Health
Policy Priorities:
1) Enhance emergency, transitional, and permanent housing opportunities. 2) Support legislative efforts that will require regional collaboration when receiving direct allocation of homeless funds.
3) Support legislative efforts that have a focus on keeping people in housing, once placed, for many years.
4) Support legislative efforts that will require counties to partner with cities relating to unspent Prop 63 mental health funds, HHAP funds, unspent Proposition 1 Behavioral Health Services Act and other funding sources.
5) Support legislative efforts that increase services such as mental health, substance abuse, treatment beds and other services for people living in encampments and in unsheltered settings.
Funding Priorities:
1) Funding for operation of the Palm Springs Navigation Center. 2) Funding for homeless services (e.g., the wrap around services necessary for transitional and permanent housing), non-congregate shelters and emergency shelters, as well as operating costs for shelters, navigation centers and permanent housing. 3) Reduce restrictions on homeless services funding to allow more flexible spending within spectrum of homeless support services . such as Encampment Resolution Funds (ERF) 4) Remove restrictions limiting (HHAP) funding to just cities with populations greater than 300,000. 5) Funding for permanent housing interventions that reduce and prevent homelessness. 6) Support funding efforts relating to mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, and other related services.
7) Support funding of healthcare services that will reduce the homeless’ and shelter residents’ reliance on 911 (e.g. telecare programs).
Housing
Policy Priorities:
1) Prevent displacement (including by creating funding for eviction protections for low to moderate income residents).
Proposed 20265 Legislative Platform Page 4 of 6 2)
2)3)
3)4) Support legislation that advances the creation or funding of below market rate housing projects (including reductions: in permitting time, requirements for Affordable Housing Tax Credit applications).
4)5) Modify affordable housing formulas to create more equity for smaller regions like the Coachella Valley.
5)6) Reasonable reform to CEQA to streamline development and housing opportunities, especially for infill and affordable housing developments. 6)7) Support legislative and funding efforts relating to housing preservation and acquisition. 7)8) Support legislation that reduces the cost of housing. 8)9) Support legislation that helps reduce the cost of rent (e.g., reduces the percentage rent can increase on an annual basis).
9)10) Support legislation that reduces the cost of home insurance . which includes multi-family affordable housing insurance.
Funding Priorities:
1) Funding for innovative programs to prevent displacement and address hazardous housing conditions.
2) Enhance funding opportunities for existing state programs to help support bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in connection to housing.
3) Support funding for remediation of hazardous sites (to make viable for housing).
Economic Development
Policy Priorities:
1) Support for arts and cultural spaces, arts education, and similar programs. 2) Cannabis Tax reform which includes lowering taxes and tax simplification. 3) Support efforts to address the digital divide.
4) Support legislative and other efforts for programs that create education and workforce pathways for economic development targeted industries, especially in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. 5) Support new and existing businesses throughout the City. 6) Support tech sector and tech industry cluster growth that aligns with the workforce pathways developed in conjunction with the City’s Economic Development Strategic Plan.
Funding Priorities:
1) Support for small business recovery, tourism/visitor recovery and other business sectors deeply impacted tariffs, natural disasters and other events.
2) Support priorities and initiatives identified in the Palm Springs Economic Development Strategic Plan.
3) Support efforts and funding to incentivize and attract community services to low/moderate resource areas, including incentives for grocery stores, banks and shopping centers. 4) Support funding to assist low-income communities with building wealth and creating income producing assets (e.g. home ownership and entrepreneurship).
Infrastructure and Facilities
Policy Priorities:
1) Support measures affecting funding for roads, transit, “last mile” projects and goods movement as well as alternative modes of transportation (bikes, ebikes, escooters, etc.), and support the needs of the disabled community.
2) Support efforts to help commuters and increase public transportation which includes efforts to ensure transit agencies continue to deliver services.
Proposed 20265 Legislative Platform Page 5 of 6 3) Support regional transportation projects that would provide a benefit to the City and surrounding communities.
4) Increase resiliency of public infrastructure from threats of climate change.
Funding Priorities:
1) Funding for construction of Fire Station 1 and the expansion and modernization of other Palm Springs Fire Stations.
2) Funding for the modernization of the Convention Center. 3) Funding for the seamless connection to downtown.
4) Funding for the modernization of the airport.
5) Funding to address major infrastructure and facility upgrades and renovations. 6) Increased funding for bicycle and pedestrian safety improvements.
Public Safety and Community Services
Policy Priorities:
1) Support disaster preparedness, training, response, and resilience efforts especially related to our vulnerable communities.
2) Support additional efforts to help prevent violence such as mental health services, supporting street outreach teams, focusing on other individuals before they are at risk.
Funding Priorities:
1) Support funding opportunities to train personnel and modernize facilities and equipment. 2) Support funding opportunities for alternative traffic enforcement efforts. 3) Support funding opportunities for emergency services staffing, facilities, apparatus, and infrastructure to support future growth.
2)
Climate Resiliency
Policy Priorities:
1) Support legislative efforts to enhance electric vehicle infrastructure. 2) Support legislative efforts the help bring down the cost of electricity and other utilities. 3) Support legislative efforts to create funding streams to address climate change and to help reduce air pollution.
4) Support the extension and reauthorization of the Cap and InvestTrade program.
Funding Priorities:
1) Support funding for Zero Waste efforts.
2) Support funding for more EV charging stations at residential and commercial locations. 2)3)Support funding for compliance and implementation of state environmental mandates, including SB 1383 (organics recycling and edible food recovery), SB 54 (plastic pollution prevention and producer responsibility), and AB 1592 (elimination of potable water use for irrigating nonfunctional turf).
Miscellaneous
Policy Priorities:
1) Support legislative efforts to amend the Brown Act to help encourage greater public participation and further encourage online meetings.
2) Support legislative efforts to address the way ballot measures are formulated, worded, and advertised.
Proposed 20265 Legislative Platform Page 6 of 6 One Time State and Federal Funding Priorities for “Member Request” Consideration As we have seen at both the Federal and State level, new initiatives and various funding opportunities have taken form over the last few years. This also includes both legislative provisions that direct approved funds to be spent on specific projects, sometimes referred to as “Member Requests” or “Congressionally Directed Spending.”
As it relates to state and federal “Member Requests” / “Congressionally Directed Spending,” our recommended strategy is for the adopted Legislative Platform to include a handful of funding buckets that capture various project themes. This provides the City with the highest amount of flexibility as it is important to not only reflect the priorities of the state and federal lawmakers who sponsor these requests, but also to ensure that the City’s projects fit the eligibility requirements of the various state and federal funding pots.
Process for Reporting/Next Steps
In addition to weekly legislative updates and other communications we send to the City Team, TPA suggests verbal reports to the City Council when the State Legislature is on recess. For example, we may report out in April while they are on Spring Recess and in November or December when Session has concluded.
Due to the ever-changing nature of legislation in Sacramento and Washington, TPA can also provide monthly updates which can be shared with the City Council.