Carlsbad subcommittee hears state and federal legislative updates, emphasizes housing oversight and regional advocacy

City legislative staff and several state and federal representatives briefed the Carlsbad City Council’s legislative subcommittee on recent lawmaking and advocacy efforts, with members pressing for clearer oversight of locally funded affordable-housing projects and confirming the city’s continued support for regional transportation projects.

The meeting opened with staff reports from Jason Haber and district representatives from federal and state elected offices. Salome Tash, district representative from Congressman Mike Levin’s office, told the subcommittee that Congress is in recess and that lawmakers passed a continuing resolution extending government funding through Dec. 20, 2024. She outlined the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2024, which, she said, would create a single-purpose organization to manage nuclear fuel-cycle issues and use a consent-based siting process for facilities. Tash also described the Securing the Rights Our Veterans Earned (CERV) Act to help veterans discharged under the old "don't ask, don't tell" policy restore VA benefits.

Sharon Gonzales of California Public Policy Group provided a state-level overview and said the governor has signed numerous bills that affect cities. Gonzales noted two city-sponsored bills, referred to in the packet as AB 2234 and AB 2715, were signed by the governor. She also said nine bills relating to land use and local control that the city opposed were chaptered by the governor.

Francine Busby, district director for State Senator Catherine Blakespear, summarized the senator’s recent legislative activity (13 of 14 bills on the desk were enacted, she said) and said her office is escalating inquiries to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) about La Posada and other local housing concerns. Ross Tritt, representing the assembly member’s office, said the assemblymember submitted a letter supporting SANDAG’s Carlsbad trenching/double-track grant application to the U.S. DOT for project development funds and described other signed bills (including AB 2666 and a pilot for postpartum pelvic-floor therapy).

Councilmembers pressed both the senator’s and assemblymember’s offices, and city staff, about oversight of Windsor Point — a project serving veterans and people with severe mental illness. Staff reported they have submitted a public-records request to the county for inspection and monitoring documents, and that HCD told the city the county administers monitoring and reporting for many affected projects; HCD has a financial-audit schedule that may include region-wide audits in 2025 but sampling does not guarantee Windsor Point would be audited.

On federal matters, Laura Morgan Kessler of Carpe & Clay reported that Congress’s continuing resolution preserves federal funding through Dec. 20 and that cosponsorships are growing for a bill to exclude certain VA benefits from HUD income calculations for disabled veterans. She also told the subcommittee that the Environmental Protection Agency issued its final lead-and-copper rule, which requires drinking-water systems to identify and replace lead service lines within 10 years.

The subcommittee asked staff to continue follow-up with the county and HCD on Windsor Point monitoring and requested that the city keep tracking the SANDAG rail project and FAA community-engagement planning. A procedural motion to approve the September minutes was made, seconded and recorded as passed via electronic keypad; the transcript does not record individual vote counts.

The subcommittee said it will continue deep-dive meetings this week with departments and lobbyists to refine the city’s legislative priorities and return recommended revisions to the legislative platform in November.