Kings County studies 2025 state and federal legislative platform; board debates water language and adding immigration priority

Kings County administration presented a draft state and federal legislative platform on Feb. 4 that retains water, unfunded mandates, homelessness, high‑speed rail and broadband as top priorities and adds more detailed language across public health, behavioral health, public safety and workforce sections.

Alex Walker, county administrator analyst, told the Board the platform was developed with input from department heads and the county’s state and federal lobbyists. He said the draft integrates updates including metering agricultural wells, support for invasive pest management, restoration of library e‑resources, broadband completion and language seeking stable funding for probation and public health responsibilities.

During the study session several supervisors asked to keep federal water language generic and avoid naming any administration by person. The draft included a sentence that explicitly referenced “the biological opinions developed under the Trump administration for the Delta” as a point of support; some board members and county lobbyists said that language had been in earlier iterations of the platform but recommended more generic wording that signals support for federal policies or actions that increase water deliveries south of the Delta without naming a particular administration.

Paragon Government Relations (federal lobbyist) and a county lobbyist on the Webex recommended more general phrasing. One outside adviser said, “for purposes of a legislative platform, ... to keep language more generic … support federal policies that will help Kings County,” noting the complexity of water policy and the administrative variability across federal administrations.

Board members also discussed adding an explicit immigration priority on the federal side. Supervisors described local concerns about farmworker availability and public safety cooperation, and asked staff to draft possible language that would support farmworker programs (including references to the H‑2A guest worker program) while recognizing law enforcement impacts. Several supervisors asked staff to coordinate with the Kings County Farm Bureau and other stakeholders before returning a proposed immigration section for board consideration.

Walker said the platform will be revised per the board’s direction and returned for adoption on Feb. 25. No final edits were adopted at the Feb. 4 study session because the item was agendized as a study session; the board and lobbyists will incorporate suggested language and bring the document back for a formal vote at a future meeting.

Ending: Staff and the county’s lobbyists will revise the draft platform to reflect the board’s guidance — notably to consider more generic federal water language and to draft potential immigration language for board review; the revised platform is expected to return for adoption on Feb. 25.