Special Partnership Board session set to focus on education issues
The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley’s Board of Directors will hold a special meeting on April 10 to consider education issues, particularly challenges and opportunities in the K-12 area. The meeting will be held at West Hills College in Lemoore, Kings County, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Partnership’s K-12 Education Work Group will provide an overview of its efforts, including its work on a college-going culture and work on the English Learner Academy. The work group also will outline its priorities for the coming months.
In addition, the work group and the board are expected to discuss a report recently released by the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence, which includes a number of recommendations to improve the performance of public schools.
Download the Special Partnership Board Session agenda located on the Partnership Web site.
Support for UC Merced medical school picking up steam
Efforts to establish a University of California Merced School of Medicine recently have picked up support from Valley elected officials, county governments, and education officials. The creation of a UC Merced medical school is one of the top priorities of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley.
Two Valley Congressmen, Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced) and Jim Costa (D-Fresno), are mobilizing a coalition of San Joaquin Valley leaders to address the region’s health care shortage by bringing a medical school to UC Merced. Bill Lyons, Jr., former California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary, and Bryn Forhan, principal with The Forhan Company, co-chairs of the committee, are working with the committee to gain approval from the UC Board of Regents for UC Merced to continue development of the medical school.
Valley-elected officials also have written to Richard Blum, chairman of the UC Board of Regents, in support of the UC Merced medical school. The Valley’s Congressional delegation – Congressmen Cardoza, Costa, Jerry McNerney, Kevin McCarthy, Devin Nunes, and George Radanovich – urged the UC Board of Regents to approve continued planning, to provide a reasonable time frame for initiation, and to appoint a task force to devise a financing strategy for the development of the medical school at UC Merced.
Fourteen state senators and Assembly members also sent a similar letter to Chairman Blum. Their letter was signed by Sens. Jeff Denham, Dave Cogdill, Roy Ashburn and Dean Florez and Assembly members Greg Aghazarian, Juan Arambula, Tom Berryhill, Jean Fuller, Cathleen Galgiani, Fiona Ma, Bill Maze, Nicole Parra, Anthony Portantino, and Mike Villines.
Additionally, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium’s executive committee on March 14 signed a resolution indicating the consortium’s support for the medical school. By signing the document, a total of 23 Valley colleges and universities endorsed UC Merced’s plans to establish a medical school.
All eight counties in the San Joaquin Valley have passed resolutions of support for the UC Merced medical school project.
Valley secures $250 million in transportation funding
With assistance from the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley's Air Quality Work Group, the Valley has received $250 million in Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program funding. The California Air Resources Board approved the funding at its February meeting.
In November 2006, California voters approved Proposition 1B which provided $19.9 billion in general obligation bonds to fund state and local transportation improvement projects. Included in that bond was $1 billion to implement a program to "reduce emissions and improve air quality in trade corridors commencing at the state's airports, seaports, and land ports of entry," later titled the Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program.
When the legislature first developed the bond language, it was anticipated that most of the funding would be directed to the ports in northern and southern California, leaving little, if any, funding for the Central Valley trade corridor which is heavily impacted by goods movement along Highway 99 and Interstate 5. In fact, of the four goods movement corridors eligible for funding, approximately 45% of all truck miles traveled and resulting emissions occur in the San Joaquin Valley.
Since the bond's passage, the Air Quality Work Group has worked vigorously in coordination with the San Joaquin Valley Air District, the governor's office, Valley state legislators, the Valley Congressional delegation, CalEPA, and the California Air Resources Board (ARB), to secure a fair share of this funding to mitigate the largest source of emissions in the San Joaquin Valley.
This effort led to the successful acquisition of $250 million, or 25% of the funding, for the Central Valley Corridor. The state's FY 2007-08 budget included the first installment of the total bond funding of $250 million; the Valley's percentage of the funding will be made available through the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to primarily help fund the replacement, repower, or retrofit of heavy-duty diesel trucks traveling along the Central Valley Corridor as determined through the guidelines approved by the ARB on Feb. 28, 2008.
In addition, it is expected that the funding allocated to modernization of the truck fleet servicing the ports also will bring us some emissions reductions as many of those trucks traverse the Valley. While this allocation is short of the 37% we felt was merited by the Valley, it is a very long way from where we started.
The state's FY 2007-08 budget included the first installment of the total bond funding, $250 million, and the Valley's percentage of the funding will be made available through the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to primarily help fund the replacement, re-powering or retrofit of heavy-duty diesel trucks traveling along the Central Valley Corridor.
Methamphetamine Advisory Council hosts legislative forum
More than 100 people – including Congressman Jerry McNerney, state Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill, and representatives of federal, state, county, and local officials – attended a recent legislative forum sponsored by the Methamphetamine Recovery Project Advisory Council. The event was held at University of the Pacific in Stockton with a videoconference link to West Hills College in Lemoore.
The forum provided an opportunity for the Council and community members from throughout the San Joaquin Valley region to share perspectives about the effects of methamphetamine on communities and establish the relevance of an effective response for the Valley. In addition, attendees participated in roundtable discussions addressing prevention, education, treatment, and long-term recovery efforts related to the abuse of methamphetamine and other substances.
The legislative forum was hosted by Congressman McNerney and featuring Senator Dave Cogdill; Les Spahn, representing Assemblymember Juan Arambula; Josh Franco, representing Lt. Gov. John Garamendi; Richard Woonacott of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. Speakers also included Lisa Mantarro, representing Congressman Dennis Cardoza, who was unable to co-host the event as planned due to last-minute legislative committee schedule changes.
A summary of the forum will be available soon on the Partnership Web site.
Beginning in March, the Council will host community meetings in each of the Valley’s eight counties to solicit public input about substance abuse issues.
Using a $150,000 seed grant from the Partnership, the Central California Social Welfare Evaluation, Research and Training Center is working to support and advocate for expansion of local efforts to identify, plan, fund, implement, and sustain community-specific solutions to abuse of methamphetamine and other addictive substances.
Clean energy organization, housing trust to meet with Valley COG directors
Officials from the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization (SJVCEO) and San Joaquin Valley Housing Trust are reaching out to Valley councils of government to help local jurisdictions achieve their clean energy and housing objectives.
“These organizations have been set up by the Partnership with the understanding that many cities of the Valley, especially the smaller ones, do not often have the staff or other resources to take advantage of the vast growing resources in clean energy use and production and in housing development related to land use planning and preservation that are now becoming available,” Rollie Smith, SJVCEO Chair and advisor to the Housing Trust, wrote in a letter to COG directors. “We want to make sure they have those resources.”
The SJVCEO and Housing Trust will share best practices information on what cities and counties are doing around the Valley and help cities access resources to achieve their housing and clean energy objectives. For example, the groups are working to ensure all Valley cites and counties are aware of and able to access the new energy block grant program recently passed by Congress and signed by President Bush.
The Partnership’s Board of Directors in August established the San Joaquin Valley Clean Energy Organization to lead clean energy efforts throughout the eight-county region. The Partnership Board in February approved the San Joaquin Valley Housing Trust to help Valley jurisdictions achieve their housing goals.
Air District convenes Healthy Air Living summits
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District will hold a series of Healthy Air Living summits to kick off its comprehensive initiative aimed at improving the health and lives of all Valley residents through strategies that clean up the air.
The events will be held March 25 in Bakersfield, March 26 in Fresno, and March 27 in Modesto. Times and locations are listed below in Dates to Know.
The free events will showcase successful strategies that improve air quality in the Valley that have been developed by businesses and individuals. In addition, the summits will provide the opportunity to brainstorm ideas for strengthening the environment and the economy, and also network with stakeholders working to improve the Valley’s air quality.
Healthy Air Living aims to reduce emissions through a variety of ways, including: reducing the number of vehicle miles traveled each day throughout the Valley, reducing emissions created by equipment and processes, and encouraging higher energy efficiency and the development of cleaner energy technologies.
For more information on the program, visit www.valleyair.org.
Meet the Board:
Barry Hibbard, competing for Valley's future
Barry Hibbard is competitive according to his colleagues at Tejon Ranch. He’s a competitive swimmer and in June 2007 came in second place overall in San Francisco Bay’s annual Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim.
But Hibbard also is competitive when it comes to Tejon Ranch, a 270,000-acre working ranch located on Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and Bakersfield which strives to preserve California’s legacy and to provide for California’s future.
Hibbard is immersed in this vision as vice president for commercial and industrial development. He’s responsible for the development, marketing, sales and leasing of the 1,450-acre Tejon Industrial Complex. The complex, located at the north-south connection of Interstate 5 and Highway 99, is a logical spot IKEA, the first occupant, to set up its warehouse between the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.
Hibbard, who lives with his wife, Casey, and their 3½-year-old daughter, Logan in Bakersfield, is following his own vision for the future of the San Joaquin Valley.
“There will be a master transportation plan that connects San Joaquin Valley residents with one another and with the state,” Hibbard says. “Transportation corridors will be firmly established with cluster development taking place along the corridors as population demands are met.”
Hibbard is an active member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. In addition, he serves on the Los Angeles Economic Development Board of Governors and on the California Economic Strategy Panel as appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
He is a board member for the Bakersfield Museum of Art and supports children's charities through the Police Activities League.
In May 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Hibbard to the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley Board of Directors.
“The most important Partnership initiative, to me, is land use,” Hibbard says, “how we are going to embrace the growth projections through the design of quality industrial, office, retail and residential communities for California’s future generations.
“The challenge will be to develop world-class communities while preserving private property rights.”
Learning from his fellow board members and working with them today for the future greater good of the Valley and California is rewarding, he says.
“My hope is the success of the Partnership and the proven power of a cohesive Valley Voice in Sacramento,” Hibbard says, “will result in collaboration among community, government and business leaders in the Valley.”
Legislative Update
Legislation Consistent with the Partnership Strategic Action Plan
State Issues
AB 1455 (Arambula, Villines) - Air Quality Zones
The bill as most recently amended would authorize the State Air Resources Board to designate “California Air Quality Zones” for the purpose of providing incentives for owners of mobile and stationary sources of air pollution to invest in air pollution control equipment that produce surplus emission reductions, and for owners of stationary sources of air pollution to invest in the production and utilization of renewable energy technologies. Areas eligible include those that: 1) have been in nonattainment for PM 2.5 and in serious, severe, or extreme nonattainment for ozone using the 8-hour rule, and 2) have countywide unemployment rate at least 50% higher than the statewide average for at least two of the last three years.
The bill's goal is to improve air quality in the state's dirtiest air basins and generate jobs in the most disadvantaged communities.
Status: Placed on the Suspense File in Senate Appropriations, and did not pass out of committee in 2007
AB 1223 (Arambula) - Net Energy Metering
A bill to permit an agricultural customer who uses solar or wind generation to offset the customer's own electrical needs to aggregate the electricity use of properties adjacent or contiguous to the generator that are under the same ownership to its full electricity usage over a 12-month cycle at the retail rate.
The Partnership Board and Executive Committee have sent letters in support of the bill.
Status: Held in Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications.
AB 1129 (Arambula) - Housing Trust Fund
This bill would establish the San Joaquin Valley Regional Affordable Housing Trust as a voluntary organization for the purposes of fostering the regional collaboration of San Joaquin Valley cities, counties, developers, financial institutions, and community-based organizations to meet affordable housing needs in the region.
Status: Bill was amended and passed the Assembly on January 24, 2008.
AB 1403 (Arambula) - Education
A bill to establish an innovative, five-year Central Valley School District Improvement Pilot Program. This legislation is consistent with the goals and objectives of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley toward the implementation of “a school and school district support system through the County Offices of Education.” Specifically, this bill would allow two County Superintendents (Fresno and Tulare) to opt to assume additional responsibility for ensuring the academic success of those struggling school districts within their jurisdiction that are both identified for program improvement or corrective action under the federal No Child Left Behind and have 50 percent of more of their schools ranked in deciles 1 and 2 of the state Academic Performance Index.
The Partnership Board and Executive Committee have sent letters in support of the bill.
Status: Placed on the Suspense File in Senate Appropriates and did not pass out of committee in 2007.
Sustainability of the Partnership
AB 2342(Parra), formerly AB 27 - California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley
AB 2342 is a bill to authorize the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley. The bill sets the structure and duties of the Partnerhsip.
The current board of the Partnership directed staff to work with the author on the language of this bill as well as maintain ongoing discussion regarding all approaches for sustainability of the Partnership.
Status: AB 27 was last amended on Jan. 17. The first hearing was held on Jan. 8, 2008, in the Assembly Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Committee, and passed by a unanimous vote. The next hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee was held on Thursday, January 24, and was placed on suspense due to the minimal projected cost of the bill. As a result, it did not meet the final deadline (January 25) for all committees to report out to the floor bills introduced in their house in 2007.
Assemblymember Parra introduced a new bill, AB 2342, with slightly different language. The new legislation must meet the following short-term deadlines in the Assembly to remain viable:
April 18 – Deadline must pass Assembly Jobs Committee.
May 23 – Deadline must pass out of Assembly Appropriations Committee.
May 30 – Deadline must pass the Assembly and move to the Senate.
The first hearing is scheduled for April 8 at 9 a.m. in the Assembly Jobs Committee.
FEDERAL ISSUES
Farm Bill
On March 11, the House and Senate voted to extend the 2002 farm bill until April 18 while negotiators continue to work on a new law.
The Omnibus Appropriation Act enacted in December included a three-month extension, which expires March 15, for programs authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. The House passed its version of the farm bill (HR 2419) in July by a vote of 231 to 191; the Senate passed its version in December by a vote of 79 to 14. The two chambers and the administration, however, have been unable to agree on a compromise that would extend the programs for another five years.
FY09 Federal Budget
The House and Senate passed the budget resolutions (HConRes 312 and SConRes 70). These bills set the funding levels by which appropriations will be contained.
The resolutions are very similar. The House resolution calls for nondefense discretionary budget authority of $482 billion in FY 2009, $22.4 billion (5%) more than the administration's request.
The resolution permits an additional $27.6 billion in advance FY 2010 appropriations that would be available for appropriation in FY 2009, resulting in a total nondefense discretionary total of $509.6 billion. These advance appropriations are $2 billion more than requested in the President’s budget. In addition, the resolution permits the allocations to the Appropriations Committee to be increased by $968 million if certain specified funding levels are provided for "program integrity initiatives." Including the advance appropriations and additional program integrity funding, the budget resolution's nondefense discretionary funding would exceed the president's request by approximately $25.4 billion.
For more information, go to Legislative Updates on the Partnership Web site.
Dates to Know
March 26
Partnership Transportation Work Group
10 a.m. to noon
Madera County Government Center
200 West 4th Street
Madera
March 26
Healthy Air Living summit
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Radisson Hotel and Conference Center
2233 Ventura Street
Fresno
Information: www.valleyair.org
March 27
Healthy Air Living summit
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Doubletree Hotel
1150 Ninth Street
Modesto
Information: www.valleyair.org
April 3
Partnership Advanced Communications Services Work Group
1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Great Valley Center
201 Needham Street
Modesto
April 10
California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley Board of Directors
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Special meeting on K-12 Education issues
West Hills Community College
Lemoore
May 16
California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley Board of Directors
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Quarterly Meeting
State Center Community College District
Madera Campus