Emeryville council backs broadening state and federal platform to add insurance, air pollution and housing cost priorities

Niccolo DeLuca of Townsend Public Affairs presented a draft state and federal legislative platform to the Emeryville City Council on Tuesday that the firm described as “our playbook” for the 2025–26 session. DeLuca said the platform groups priorities into policy and funding categories including homelessness and behavioral health, housing access, economic development, transportation, public safety and climate resiliency.

DeLuca told council Townsend will bring back specific bill recommendations after the legislature’s appropriations hearings, and that the firm will work with city staff to return with a list of specific bills for possible council positions. “Once this is adopted, then I will work with city staff to bring back specific, state legislative bills for you all to take a position on,” DeLuca said.

Councilmembers suggested a set of additions before adoption. Councilmember Solomon asked staff to track housing‑insurance availability and affordability, transit funding and bills such as SB 63, and state measures tied to cap‑and‑trade and polluter‑pay approaches. Vice Mayor Carr and others asked Townsend to add air‑pollution and building‑decarbonization policies to the climate resiliency section and to clarify electricity affordability as a factor that can slow electrification. Councilmember Welch asked staff to include guaranteed‑income pilot programs and workforce development under economic mobility. Several members asked that the platform explicitly prioritize bills that demonstrably lower housing costs for city residents.

DeLuca said he would return soon with a watch list and a narrower set of bills to support, oppose, or monitor; he suggested a June meeting to begin weighing specific bill positions after appropriations committee actions. He also said Townsend will provide both a clean and a tracked‑changes version of the platform showing any edits requested by council.

Councilmembers asked staff to return with sponsors and known supporters and opponents for candidate bills so the council can assess local impacts before taking formal positions. Several members voiced interest in supporting tenant‑protection measures raised in the discussion, including a reference to AB 1157 and other bills mentioned by council; DeLuca agreed to identify specific bill numbers and sponsors when he returns.

DeLuca noted Townsend’s prior work for Emeryville, including securing more than $11 million in state and federal funds for the city since 2008, and said the firm is coordinating a resubmission of a member‑request project for Fortieth Street with Emeryville’s new congressional representative.