City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: OCTOBER 17, 2023 FROM: CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: 2023 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE SESSION UPDATE PROVIDED BY ARC STRATEGIES ISSUE:
Receive an update from Arc Strategies on the California Legislature’s 2023 session.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the City Council receive and file an update from Arc Strategies on the first year (2023) of the two year (2023-24) legislative session.
BACKGROUND:
On July 26, 2023, City Manager, Mike Futrell, requested a post-legislative session report be presented to the full City Council, highlighting relevant items which passed and noting legislative items the City tracked which failed.
To allow for the most up-to-date information following the California Legislature’s final weeks of session, September 5 – 14, and the Governor’s deadline to sign or veto bills, October 14, 2023, it was agreed that the presentation would be made on October 17, 2023.
DISCUSSION:
The 2023-24 legislative session was the first for a wave of 31 new lawmakers and saw changes in top leadership: A new Speaker, Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), took over in the Assembly and Senate Democrats voted to make Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) their leader next year. During this first year of session, lawmakers introduced an unprecedented number of bills, totaling more than 2,600 pieces of legislation. There were 1,771 Assembly bills introduced and 891 Senate bills.
Throughout the spring, legislative policy and fiscal committees heard thousands of bills and going into the final month of session, there were approximately 1000 bills in the Assembly and 700 bills in the Senate that needed to be heard and reconciled. This year, more than 1,100 bills were sent to the Governor’s desk. As of the date of this report, 451 bills have been signed into law and 335 are pending the Governor’s review and action.
Arc Strategies, the City’s contract State lobbying firm, tracks, and monitors hundreds of bills each year that may impact City operations and services while providing effective representation in Sacramento on behalf of the City. Team members with Arc Strategies will provide an end-of-session update highlighting legislation on which the City took positions, particular bills of interest to the City of Riverside that may affect or change the way the City provides certain local services, and a summary of the State Budget for FY 2023/24 pertaining to local government revenue as well as specific allocations to the City and the surrounding region.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
Because this is a presentation from Arc Strategies, LLC it is not required to align with the City’s strategic plan. The intent of this report is to present information regarding the topic in a neutral fashion for review.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.
Prepared by: Chekesha Gilliam, Intergovernmental Relations Officer Certified as to
availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
Report
Professional Consultant Services Agreement - Federal Advocacy Services ● Page 2