Santa Clara County's Office of Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) and County Counsel on Oct. 15 presented proposed edits to the county's 2026 legislative policy platform for the Public Safety and Justice (PSJ) chapter and provided a semiannual summary of the county's 2025 legislative work. Staff said the policies document gives IGR authority to take positions on bills and regulatory matters on the county's behalf and serves as a roadmap for state and federal engagement.

Deputy County Executive David Campos introduced the presentation and thanked departments that reviewed the red‑lined edits. Monica Tong and Elaine Trinh from IGR explained that the platform consists of the policies document, bill ideas, priorities and funding positions. Monica Tong reported that the county‑sponsored bill AB 243 by Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens had been signed by the governor over the weekend; staff also said AB 1258, SB 59 (Sen. Wiener) and SB 258 (Sen. Wahab) had been signed by the governor.

Staff described the annual timeline for policy updates and said the board policy committees are being asked to review chapter edits ahead of a planned Nov. 4 full Board of Supervisors vote on the complete legislative platform. The red‑lined edits in the packet reflect additions for new or emerging issues, clarifications and deletions where language was out of date, staff said.

Committee members and external stakeholders praised the IGR team's outreach and engagement. Public defenders, court representatives and other speakers noted frequent communication with IGR during the platform review and welcomed the team's work to coordinate across departments and with community partners.

Committee members voted to receive the report and staff said they will return with the full legislative platform to the full board on Nov. 4 for adoption.

Ending

IGR will continue agency and departmental consultations and return the complete legislative policies document and platform to the full Board of Supervisors on Nov. 4, 2025, for final action.