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Board adopts 2025 legislative platform; adds battery-storage safety priority and opposes HR 32
Summary
The Board of Supervisors adopted the county's 2025 legislative platform, authorized state/federal funding request preparations and approved the legislative workshop agenda; members added a battery-storage safety priority related to Moss Landing incidents and directed staff to oppose HR 32 ("no bailout for sanctuary cities").
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 28 adopted the county'recommended legislative platform for 2025, approved the agenda for a Feb. 7 legislative workshop with the county''s state and federal delegation, and authorized staff to prepare potential state budget and federal appropriation requests for priority projects.
Annette Diagamo of the County Administrative Office summarized five recommended priorities that carry over from 2024, and described a new priority titled "protecting Monterey County values" that would direct advocacy around immigrant safety, data privacy, reproductive rights, climate impacts and related issues. She told the board, "The first is a new priority titled protecting Monterey County values..." and described the county's intent to advocate for those objectives in Sacramento and Washington.
Board members added an additional request to include language addressing battery-storage facilities in the legislative platform after recent incidents near Moss Landing. Members also directed staff to oppose HR 32 (a House measure to define and withhold some federal funding from "sanctuary" jurisdictions). The board approved the platform, the workshop plan and the authority for staff to develop state and federal funding requests, all by voice vote; supervisors recorded a 5-0 vote on the motion.
The platform lists the San Lucas drinking-water project and Nacimiento and San Antonio dam/reservoir safety as top priorities for state and federal funding, and authorizes staff to prepare applications if federal and state submission windows open. Staff also presented the county's Strategic Grant Services program and annual reports from the county's federal and state lobbyists. Supervisor discussions stressed the need to maintain rapid response capacity as new issues arise.
The board directed staff to incorporate suggested edits on battery-storage safety and to return with any statutory or budget requests as the legislative season progresses.
