2025-26 State
Legislative Platform
Jason Nutt, Assistant City Manager
Dane Hutchings , California Public Policy Group
Presented by:
City Council Meeting
January 28, 2025
Purpose of State
Legislative Platform
• Outlines the City’s state policy and project priorities to the public, state legislative delegation, and state
agencies.
• Provides guidance and direction to City staff and state representatives regarding City’s state funding and policy priorities.
2024 Highlights
• 1,870 Pieces Of Legislation Tracked On Behalf Of The City In 2024.
• Desired Outcome On 64% Of Legislation Engaged
• 590 Individual Touchpoints
• 470k Secured Grant Dollars In 2024
Note:
$22M In State and Federal Grants Secured (2022-2024)
Looking Ahead 2025
• 23 New Assembly Members (Out Of 80)
Note: One delegation change with the addition of
Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D, Santa Rosa)
• 12 New Senators (Out Of 40)
• Continuing State Budget Deficits (but not as bad as
originally projected)
• Hundreds of measures already introduced touching on
• Emergency Response and Disaster Preparedness
• Fire Insurance
• Governmental Transparency
• Housing, Land Use and Planning
• Energy, Utilities, Water and Solid Waste
• Public Safety and EMS
Proposed 2025
State Priorities
Wildfire Prevention and Recovery,
Hazard Mitigation & Resiliency
• Support policy and funding need outlined in the City’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan and General Plan.
• Support efforts to minimize the frequency and impact of electric utility power shutoffs intended to reduce
wildfire risk.
• To fund hazard mitigation projects, such as wildfire
hardening, seismic upgrade, and flood protection
measures, including those identified in a FEMA-
approved Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.
• To address the State Insurance Commissioner’s
cancellation of fire insurance and rates for those living near or in the Wildland Urban Interface. Support efforts to ensure a fair market cost to fire insurancefor the
City’s residents.
6 • Support legislation and policies promoting efforts to advance workplace diversity, equity, inclusion, and
belonging.
• Advocate for efforts to maintain fiscal solvency
concerning unfunded pension and retiree healthcare
liability.
• Monitor proposed policies related to the use of artificial intelligence technology pertaining to ethical
considerations, privacy, and emerging technologies,
with an emphasis on use in government operations.
Administration, Human Resources
and Risk Management
7 Governmental Transparency
and Public Access
• Support funding that assists with enhanced public
access to public meetings for community members.
• Support legislation to permit the City to provide
electronic copies of documents to satisfy the California Public Records Act requirements.
• Support efforts to empower local jurisdictions to
eliminate hate speech at public meetings.
8 Economic Development
• Support funding mechanisms for economic
development tools, including infrastructure investment, housing, childcare, and other needs critical to a
foundation of equitable economic resiliency.
• Support equitable program for the continued
disbursement of sales and use taxes, which reflect local impacts on various communities.
• Support economic development initiatives that preserve and enhance a favorable business climate and maintain
and grow the business tax base
9 Environment, Climate Change
& Sustainability
• Enact mitigation measures to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions to limit the effects of climate change and
enhance local and regional planning for climate
resilience, including wildfire mitigation and water
conservation
• Increase funding for municipal, residential, and
commercial electric vehicle charging stations, electrical infrastructure upgrades, and the purchase of clean fleet vehicles.
• Advocate for funding opportunities focused on
coordinating sustainable planning in transportation,
housing, and economic development.
10 Water Quality and Water Supply
• Increase the availability of, and funding for, water
infrastructure improvements (including seismic
upgrades, flood protection, and fire hardening)
• Continue to provide funding for Groundwater
Sustainable Agencies and implementation of
Groundwater Sustainability Plans
• Advocate for funding and support to continue the
operation of the diversion facilities at the Potter Valley Project to protect water supply resiliency and fisheries. • Support legislation that creates clear regulatory
standards, holds manufacturers accountable for PFOA
and PFAS contamination including remediation costs,
and provides funding to address increased operating
costs to water supplier.
11 Land-Use Planning and Housing
• Support legislation and housing measures to preserve
and rehabilitate existing affordable housing.
• Support efforts to create funding opportunities that are provided to local jurisdictions for affordable housing, including through statewide or regional bond efforts.
• Support legislation that minimizes CEQA review of
environmental impacts related to additional density for housing projects that involve density bonus consistent
with State law.
12 Homelessness
• Sustain and increase funding for the development and
ongoing operations of permanent supportive housing,
including resources to finance the development of new
units and resources to provide long-term sustainability for supportive services.
• Increase state funding to prevent and reduce
homelessness in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County.
• Provide resources to address the mental health and
alcohol/substance use needs of persons experiencing
homelessness.
• Allow local flexibility and/ or state funding mechanisms for safe parking programs to transition the City’s most vulnerable residents to permanent housing.
13 • Advocate for non-competitive per capita funding
measures offered through the Natural Resources
Agency, State Parks and Recreation to benefit the City’s parks and recreation capital improvement projects.
• Fund the Housing Related Parks Program offered
through the Department of Housing and Community
Development.
• Oppose policies that will erode funding for vital regional and community services that negatively impact
Californian's access to parks, open space, bike lanes,
after-school programming, youth services, senior
services, food programs, and facilities that promote
physical activity, protect natural resources, and
strengthen safety and security.
Recreation and Parks
14 Public Safety
• Strengthen community-oriented public safety policies, including funding for hiring police officers, violence
prevention programs and gun violence prevention
funding/initiatives, such as policies addressing growing issues surrounding 3D printing and selling of ghost guns. • Increase funding that will help local governments with improving community policing and rebuilding community
trust through officer training and mental health first
response for crises involving mental illness, homelessness, and addiction, such as the inRESPONSE program; and
support programs like the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.
• Support policies to increase accountability and
transparency of law enforcement agencies and personnel. 15 Fire and Emergency Services
• Encourage regional collaboration and deployment of
resources to maximize firefighting efforts, including
hiring firefighters, emergency operations personnel and paramedics.
• Support policies and regulatory efforts to improve the coordination when public safety shut-off (PSPS) events
occur between customers, regulators, government
officials, and public safety partners.
• Advocate for local control of emergency medical and
ambulance services, including pre-hospital care and
transport.
16 Transportation, Public Works
and Utilities
• Increase funding for local transportation projects,
including road resurfacing projects, local transit operating and capital projects, transit fare subsidy programs, zero- emissions buses and charging infrastructure, adding
bicycle lanes, sidewalks and trails throughout the city where appropriate, programs that facilitate development- oriented transit and transit-oriented development and
enhancing bicycle and pedestrian safety.
• Advocate for policies aimed at equitable access for
transportation system users and equitable transportation funding for disadvantaged communities.
• Support policies and regulatory efforts to preserve net neutrality and increase the funding for broadband,
including middle and last-mile expenditures.
17 Recommendation
The Communications & Intergovernmental
Relations Office recommends that the Council, by
two resolutions, adopt the 2025 State Legislative
Platform:
1. Resolution adopting the specific policy
proposal related to wildfire insurance; and
2. Resolution adopting the balance of the 2025
State Legislative Platform.
18 Questions?