Palo Alto staff brief committee on end-of‑session state bills, federal grants and rule changes

City staff and legislative consultants gave the Palo Alto Policy and Services Committee an overview of major state and federal developments that staff say could affect the city if they advance in the coming months.

The presentation, led by Carly Shelby, senior associate at Townsend Public Affairs, and Joseph Mello, who delivered a federal briefing remotely from Washington, D.C., covered the remainder of California’s 2025 legislative calendar, high‑priority bills (including SB 79 on transit‑oriented zoning), two competing $10 billion housing bond vehicles, cap‑and‑trade reauthorization, and recent federal actions affecting grant administration.

Shelby told the committee the Legislature reconvened Aug. 18 for a final “sprint” with a series of fiscal deadlines, and that many “ticket items” — budget cleanup language, implementation language for homelessness funding rounds and Prop 4 climate bond programs — will move quickly in the next three weeks. She said cap‑and‑trade reauthorization remains a major unresolved item and that the state’s greenhouse gas reduction fund currently generates roughly $3 billion to $4 billion annually.

On housing, Shelby…