Latest news with #JointLegislativeAuditCommittee
CBS News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Newsom announces plans to fast-track California's delta tunnel project
The Delta tunnel project is a plan that's drawing bipartisan backlash. It would take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and move it to Southern California. Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling for "swift" action to start the Delta Conveyance Project, claiming it's essential to avoiding future water disasters. But lawmakers from within his own party are pushing back on this, saying it's not a long-term solution to the water crisis and hasn't gone through the proper channels to determine if Southern California can even store the water they want to take. Democrats like assemblymembers Lori Wilson and Rhodesia Ransom, whose constituents depend on the delta for agriculture and business, are taking a rare stand against the governor, saying this issue is not about political party but equity. Ransom said the project is a transfer of wealth and water from the delta region to be given to the wealthier Southern California region. Ransom said the governor's proposal put out on Wednesday is concerning because it undermines the proper channels to vet the impacts of the project. She is now calling for a complete audit of the California Department of Water Resources and the plan. "This could, like I said, disrupt and threaten farmland productivity. We need to know how that's going to look. We need to know who's going to be hurt by this project, and that is what this audit is about," she said. "The state has the ability to do this, and we want to make sure that when they are telling us that we need to move this water or there's going to be a dire situation there, we wanted them to prove this to us." Ransom says the project violates the Delta Reform Act, requiring water plants to rely less on water from the delta. She is part of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. She has already been in contact with the Senate and says this audit will move forward. The Department of Water Resources says the Delta Conveyance Project would provide clean and affordable water to 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland in the southern part of the state. The water would be transferred via an earthquake-resistant tunnel system that the DWR says would sit up to 130 feet below ground. Newsom's plan to fast-track the project came as the governor outlined his nearly $332 billion state spending plan on Wednesday. The governor revealed that California is facing a $12 billion budget deficit.
Associated Press
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Lawmakers discuss audit that found California was unprepared to help vulnerable people in disasters
Five years ago, as COVID-19 hit the state, legislators cancelled a hearing to discuss a state audit that found the state's office of emergency services and at least three California counties weren't prepared to help vulnerable people during natural disasters. That hearing finally took place Wednesday. It was co-led by Assemblymember John Harabedian, who chairs the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, and whose district includes neighborhoods impacted by the Eaton Fire in Southern California in January. He said a disproportionate number of deaths from that fire were older residents and people with disabilities. Those include the deaths of Altadena residents Anthony Mitchell Sr. and his son Justin, who had cerebral palsy. The two died waiting for assistance to evacuate. Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, a Democrat from Stockton who chairs the emergency management committee and who co-led the hearing, said the goal of having the hearing now was to discuss what had changed since the audit, and what gaps remained. 'Four years ago, the state auditor issued a stark warning: California was not prepared to protect its most vulnerable residents, even in a disaster. That report exposed critical life-threatening gaps,' she said, adding that the Legislature had taken some steps to address them. 'Yet today, we confront the same harsh realities … California is still not protecting the most vulnerable residents from disasters.' The December 2019 audit assessed preparedness for vulnerable populations — older adults, those with disabilities or those with limited English proficiency — in three counties that had seen the most destructive or deadly wildfires in the state's history at that time: Ventura County, where the 2017 Thomas Fire took place; Sonoma County, where the 2017 Sonoma Complex Fires took place; and Butte County, site of the 2018 Camp Fire. Among the findings by then-Auditor Elaine Howle: 1. The three counties didn't have complete or updated plans for alerting residents, evacuating or sheltering them. 2. Butte and Sonoma counties did not use available technology that could have sent warnings to all cellphones. Instead, officials sent alerts to landlines and mobile alerts only to those who pre-registered. 3. In the alerts that were sent, Butte County did not make clear that the message was coming from a credible source, and Sonoma County didn't say what the threat was in the alert. 4. The alerts were only sent in English. 5. Counties hadn't completed assessments of the county's residents to find out who would be most at risk or what resources were available to help them, such as accessible transportation or shelter space. No officials representing the counties named in the audit appeared at the hearing. County officials did not respond to requests for information from CalMatters. And while the state designates local governments as being primarily responsible for emergency responses, the state auditor also noted that the Governor's Office of Emergency Services failed to provide necessary resources to help counties with planning — including some measures required by law. Howle found that the office didn't provide guidance on identifying people with special access needs and did not publish reports on lessons learned from other natural disasters, for example. 'No amount of planning will guarantee success during a disaster, but I think a lack of planning is a contributing factor to failure during a disaster,' Grant Parks, who took over as state auditor in 2022, said at the hearing. Assemblymember Tom Lackey, a Republican from Palmdale who requested the original audit, said he was glad the Legislature was re-upping the discussion. 'Fires are going to continue to blaze, and we need to be making sure that we're not letting people die when we could have protected them through public policy and through processes,' he told CalMatters. 'We need to make sure that we're having these discussions so that we can continue to protect our people.' Have emergency evacuations improved? While the Legislature hasn't revisited the report in five years, the state and the selected counties have taken some steps to fulfill the auditor's recommendations. The Legislature passed a law in 2020 requiring the Office of Emergency Services to review at least 10 county plans each year to ensure that local governments were prepared to protect those most at risk during natural disasters. The agency reported that it has since done 32 reviews. And in 2020, the agency created a task force that includes people with access and functional needs, and has since created training programs and published guidance documents for local governments, according to Vance Taylor, head of the emergency services department's Office of Access and Functional Needs. The agency also developed a program called Listos California that created fliers and videos in different languages, and partnered with local communities to distribute information on emergency preparedness. Still, the storms that flooded parts of the Central Valley in 2023 showed there's more work to be done, including having enough staff who are competent in different languages, said Noé Páramo, project director with the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. Legislators flagged other areas they felt still needed more work. Harabedian said that while 32 counties' emergency plans had been reviewed, that leaves 26 counties outstanding. 'That's hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of folks with vulnerabilities who still may be in harm's way,' he said. Ransom noted that while the state agency created resources such as training courses, there was no requirement that counties participate, and no consequences for those that don't have up-to-date or adequate emergency plans. 'I know you all keep mentioning you're not a regulatory agency. I totally get that,' she said to representatives from the Office of Emergency Services. 'But there's still an opportunity to provide some oversight.' According to the state auditor's tracker of recommendations completed by counties, Butte and Ventura counties partially implemented its recommendation to update emergency plans and Sonoma County fully implemented it. Sonoma County also adopted an ordinance that emergency plans be reviewed at least once every five years. Butte and Ventura counties declined to adopt that recommendation. All three counties declined to commit to following the best practices from state and federal emergency offices. Still, while progress has been made, Harabedian flagged that similar issues arose in the recent fires. Taylor, with the Office of Access and Functional Needs, said counties have made considerable improvements over the last decade and California now leads the nation in preparedness for vulnerable people. 'We're not ready to hang the mission accomplished banner,' he said. 'We've done a lot, but a lot still needs to be done.'
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Welaka leaders authorize investigation into failure to complete mandatory audits
Welaka, a town in Putnam County, could lose its town charter depending on the results of an investigation town leaders just authorized. At a town council meeting on Tuesday, leaders announced they have until Friday to respond to Florida about years of failing to submit an audit with the state. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Each Florida municipality has to file an audit with the state showing how it spends its money to ensure accountability, improve financial management, and maintain public trust. However, Welaka didn't. 'We all hope we had more time early on. Could've seen this coming, but here we are,' Town Attorney Jeremiah Blocker said in a meeting Tuesday night. Internal emails show all of this happened under the watch of then-mayor Jamie Watts. Action News Jax previously reported Watts was involved in a sexting scandal that put the town on shaky legal ground. There were allegations of harassment and revenge porn. RELATED: Investigates: Troubling accusations against mayor of Welaka RELATED: INVESTIGATES: Town of Welaka addresses sexting mayor accusations, Action News Jax coverage Now, state records indicate Watts put the town's funding at risk. 'We had been warned several times and none of us knew anything about it,' Councilwoman Kimberly Dugger said at Tuesday's meeting. Starting in 2023 the Joint Legislative Audit Committee made Watts aware the town was out of compliance and the consequences of that. The committee followed up multiple times, finally instructing the Department of Revenue to withhold funds from the town until the required audits were completed. That finally happened at the end of 2024. The town council said they only learned about this on Tuesday. They were told they have until Friday to respond and 45 days after that before the state can take action against them. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] 'She said it doesn't look good that you've been in this situation for three years and we didn't get a response,' Interim Mayor Jessica Finch said. The former mayor spoke at Tuesday's meeting, putting the blame on a city employee. Watts said it wasn't his fault, because town leaders pushed him out. 'Fact of the matter is, we hired a clerk who was green, she came in, had no training... There was no malicious intent here,' Watts said On Tuesday, the council agreed to hire an outside group to investigate the issue while they try to get in compliance with the state. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] 'My recommendation is to notify the state of Florida that this is what we're doing and hopefully that buys us some time,' Blocker said. The council also wants to meet every month until this is fixed. With two town council members and the interim mayor leaving soon, much of that work will fall on the next leaders. 'This is very very very very bad. We have our next meeting, new mayor sitting here, two new council members. They're coming into a mess,' a town resident said at the meeting. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
