Board adopts 2025 legislative platform, adds land and water stewardship priority

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 28 adopted its 2025 legislative platform after a staff presentation and state-and-federal advocacy briefing. The platform organizes county asks into policy areas such as housing, land use, transportation, public health and natural resources and lists priority areas the county wants consultants and staff to emphasize in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Deputy County Administrative Officer Sean Quincy summarized edits to the platform and said staff had redlined changes in the draft. County consultants briefed the board on federal developments: Hassan Sarsour of Paragon Government Relations said the new administration is acting quickly, warned that a recent Office of Management and Budget memo could temporarily restrict some federal financial assistance, and said reconciliation and federal budget fights will be priorities for the year. Karen Lang of Shaw Yoder summarized state issues including the special session and wildfire-related appropriations, cap-and-trade discussion, and items affecting rural counties.

Board members discussed priorities and asked staff to add land-and-water stewardship incentives to the top-priority list. The final motion adopted staff's recommendations with that addition and a correction in language on the Trinity River water item. The board also reviewed four budget requests for federal and state grant advocacy, including a major request tied to Garberville infrastructure and other local projects.

The board voted unanimously to adopt the platform as amended and directed staff to pursue the prioritized advocacy actions during the legislative session. Supervisors said they want continued regular updates from county advocates and staff so the public and board members can track federal and state actions that could affect county operations and funding.