Advocacy is also about
making sure Stockton is
not competing at a
disadvantage.
Value
Overview
Your State Legislative Advocates
California Public Policy Group
A Sacramento lobbying, grant writing, and consulting firm located one block from the State Capitol, representing roughly 42 California cities, utilities, and public agencies. Kyra Ross has represented the City of Stockton continuously since 2012, when the City retained her during the bankruptcy, first with Emanuels Jones & Associates and now with CPPG following EJA's integration into the firm. Same advocate, same institutional knowledge, same Capitol relationships.
2012
Year the City first
retained Kyra Ross
42 California local
agency
clients firmwide
$500M+
State and federal
funding
secured for CPPG
clients
The team behind the City's account
Kyra Ross
Senior Legislative Advocate
Principal in Charge, day-to-day lead
Sharon Gonsalves
Managing Director
State budget, water, transportation
Dan Carrigg
Senior Advisor
Local government, econ. development
Kindra Begley
Legislative Aide
Bill tracking, research, reporting
California Public Policy Group | City of Stockton | September 2026 7
WH AT THE CI TY RECEI VE S
A standing reporting cadence, all year long
WEEKLY State Legislative Report Every Friday during session. State actions, notable bills by policy area with position and location, and an updated bill tracking list for City staff.
EVERY TWO WEEKS Agenda, priority bill list, and
check-in call
A biweekly agenda and priority bill list to City staff, followed by a standing CPPG and City of Stockton check-in call.
MONTHLY Monthly Activity Report (MAR) A dated, line-by-line record of every action taken on the City's behalf:
calls, meetings, letters, coalition attendance, and documents sent.
ANNUALLY
End-of-year report and Council
presentation
A comprehensive year-in-review covering legislative outcomes, funding, and a forecast of next session, plus an on-site visit to present the legislative program to Council.
Plus ongoing coalition representation on the City's behalf: Big City Mayors, the League of California Cities City Caucus, and the Public Works, PRA, and PEA working groups. 8
BEYOND T HE WEEKLY REPORT
In-depth analysis when the City needs it
THE STATE BUDGET CYCLE
Governor's Budget
January proposal, with City-specific funding
opportunities identified.
May Revision
Revised revenue picture and what it means for
City priorities.
June Adopted Budget
Final appropriations and trailer bill outcomes.
Suspense File Results
Which fiscal bills advanced and which were
quietly held, with amendments noted.
ISSUE AND MEASURE REPORTS
Statewide ballot measures
Analysis of the Cal Chamber 2026 measure
and other measures on the ballot.
Climate Bond 2026 primer
Opportunity Zones 2.0 memo
Data center legislation memo
AB 179 housing budget trailer bill
E-Bike State of Play
FUNDING ALERTS
Monthly grant opportunity alerts
Program-by-program alerts routed to the
responsible City departments, such as Extreme
Heat and Community Resilience and the Active
Transportation Program.
Municipal Funding Outlook
A monthly look at current and cyclical federal,
state, and regional grant programs.
Provided at no additional cost, outside
the contracted legislative scope.
Every report includes bill numbers, code sections, and links to the authoritative source City staff can trace any recommendation back to the bill text on leginfo, the agency docket, or the committee analysis. Where a figure comes from an advocacy coalition or a proponent rather than a neutral source, the report says so. Where something is uncertain, the report says that too.
California Public Policy Group | City of Stockton | September 2026 9 RESULTS: 2025 AND 2026 SESSI ONS
Protecting the City's authority, water, and revenue
2,500+ bills tracked in
2025 146 flagged to the City in 2025 2,000+ bills tracked in 2026 80 flagged to the City in 2026
STOPPED, NARROWED, OR DEFEATED
Delta Conveyance Project. Stopped budget trailer bill language to expedite the project (2025) and AB 2215 (2026), which the author pulled in July. Worked through a coalition including San Joaquin County, the City of Sacramento, and the Delta Counties Coalition.
High-Speed Rail preemption. Stopped SB 445 (2025), which would have overridden local permitting decisions, and stopped 2026 trailer bill language creating state-controlled tax increment financing districts within a half mile of proposed stations.
SB 634 (2025). Stopped language limiting the City's ability to enforce health and safety rules in shared spaces.
AB 339 (2025). Significantly narrowed contracting-out labor requirements the City opposed.
AB 1383 (2025-2026). Stopped a PEPRA change that would have raised pensionable compensation and cost cities hundreds of millions (2025).
In 2026 Governor Newsom Vetoed AB 1383 citing cost impacts.
ADVANCED OR SUPPORTED
SB 692. Tools to address homeless residents living in recreational vehicles, and options for abandoned RVs.
AB 1903. Construction defect litigation reform to incentivize condominium and townhouse construction.
SB 454. Ban on the use of PFAS.
AB 330. Protected and extended City revenues from prepaid wireless users.
AB 476 and AB 379. Enhanced penalties for metal theft and for human trafficking of 16 and 17 year olds.
SB 456. Allows local artists to paint murals without a contractor's license.
10 RESULTS: FUNDI NG
Dollars brought back to Stockton
$37M+
in direct state funding secured
for the City to date
$8M+
secured under the current
contract since 2022
$500M
statewide HHAP round 7, held whole with the
Big City Mayors coalition. Stockton draws
from this pool.
STATE FUNDING SECURED FOR THE CITY
2023 $3,000,000 Morelli Park bubbler system and trash boom 2023 $3,100,000 Miracle Mile redevelopment: public safety substation 2023 $1,000,000 Vocational opportunities, adults with intellectual disabilities 2022 $20,000,000 Miracle Mile development grant
2022 $4,000,000 Aquatics and parks facilities
2022 $1,000,000 Homeless shelter navigation project
2021 $27,000,000 Hunter House, Cap and Trade
2021 $5,400,000 Aquatic facilities
2021 $2,000,000 Police equipment
2018 $3,000,000 Public safety helicopter
2016 $8,941,370 Hunter Street affordable housing
2015 $5,857,096 Anchor Village, Cap and Trade
2015 $4,000,000 Water hyacinth eradication
Also: $250,000 for Dentoni Park (2021). The 2018 helicopter remains the only local helicopter funded by the State.
THE BUDGET PICTURE, 2024 TO 2026
2024 and 2025. The State's deficit meant no
district requests were granted in either year, for Stockton or for any other city. 2026. Working through the Big City Mayors coalition, CPPG helped hold HHAP funding whole. That is the pool the City's homelessness dollars come from.
Looking to 2027. The next district request
cycle opens this fall. Getting City projects scoped and ready before January is key, and CPPG will lead that work with staff.
California Public Policy Group | City of Stockton | September 2026 11
PROTECTING WHAT IS ALREADY AWARDED
Winning the money is half the job
State awards carry expiration dates. Funding that is not encumbered or spent in time reverts to the State, and the City loses it without anyone ever voting to take it away. CPPG tracks those deadlines alongside City staff and moves early, while there is still time to act.
PROTEC TED
$1 million
2023 state award
August 2026. CPPG pushed the City to run a full review of expiration dates across its existing state awards. That review surfaced a lapse date on the City's 2023 $1 million award that was sooner than the City had understood.
CPPG advised City staff on how to approach the administering agency, secured the meeting, and the award is now protected.
AC TIVE N OW
$5 million
DTSC award, expires February 2027
In progress. CPPG is working with Senator McNerney's office to protect the City's $5 million Department of Toxic Substances Control award ahead of the February deadline.
This one is not resolved. CPPG will report progress through the weekly report and the biweekly check-in call until it is.
$1 million protected and $5 million actively defended, from work that started in the last two months. A dollar kept is worth the same as a dollar won, and it does not require a new appropriation, a new application, or a competitive process.
California Public Policy Group | City of Stockton | September 2026 12
WH ERE THIN GS S TAND T ODAY
September 2026, and the work ahead
Through September 30 The session ended August 31 and more than 900 bills sit on the Governor's desk. CPPG is converting the City's support and opposition letters into letters to the Governor and submitting them on the City's behalf.
October to December End-of-year report to the City, meetings with the Administration on pending bills, and a working session with City staff and Council to set the 2027 legislative program and funding priorities.
January 2027 Governor's Budget analysis, a legislative tracking matrix tailored to Stockton, and the start of the new bill cycle.
New Administration, new opportunities
A new Governor, Cabinet, and department directors in areas key to the City give Stockton the chance to build new relationships and advance its priorities.
13 Questions / Thank You
Kyra Ross | Senior Legislative Advocate | California Public Policy Group [email protected] | (916) 974-9270 | 1127 11th Street, Suite 300, Sacramento 14 15