Solano County officials warned of state budget risks, backed federal earmarks and FEMA reforms in June briefing

County staff and the county’s state and federal advocates briefed the Solano County Board of Supervisors on June 2, 2026, saying the state’s budget process and federal appropriations could materially affect county services and projects.

Karen Lang, the county’s state legislative advocate, told the board the Legislature has moved bills to the second house and that counties are watching the budget closely as negotiators — the governor, the Senate pro tem and the Assembly speaker — work on compromises. Lang said counties remain concerned about the administration’s handling of HR 1 and related health-care funding changes, and described a compromise the Assembly advanced that would fund emergency-scope Medi‑Cal for some populations as an interim step that counties favored over shifting full financial responsibility to counties.

"The assembly wants to fund emergency scope only medical for this population, which is actually a huge help to you, because it means that they're not coming back to you," Lang said, summarizing the Assembly’s position. Lang called the Assembly’s approach the PATH proposal and said it would keep people in a state network that could transition to full scope if federal subsidies return.

Lang also warned about budget timing: the Legislature must have a main budget in print by June 12 and pass it by June 15, but negotiations could continue through August. She flagged items counties are following closely, including proposed trailer bills on housing and fee restrictions and a possible extension of sales tax to software that could shift revenues to cities rather than counties.

At the federal level, Paragon Government Relations representatives Rachel Mackey and Hassan Sarsour reported that congressional action on large reconciliation packages remains uncertain and that, despite that, Solano County has active community project funding requests in the appropriations process. Mackey said the county has three requests in play: a $772,000 request for an Office of Emergency Services mobile command center, a $772,000 request for stormwater design work, and a $2.3 million request tied to a community resource building. "I just cannot emphasize enough how awesome it is that Solano County has 3 requests in play right now in the house and senate," Mackey said.

Paragon also outlined House committee action on a transportation bill the presenters called the Build America 250 Act (committee version). Hassan Sarsour said the bill would increase formula support for locally owned bridges and expand the Surface Transportation Block Grant program — provisions county officials view as important for local infrastructure. He cautioned the proposal contains controversial items, such as an EV annual registration fee and changes to grant programs for charging stations, that could slow final passage.

Paragon briefed the board on FEMA-related developments: the FEMA review council had recommended reforms to make disaster funding decisions more parametric and faster, and Congress is considering a public dashboard to track public assistance project status and reimbursements. The firm described those reforms as potentially helpful for county cash-flow and transparency but stressed that details remain to be worked out.

Board members asked about whether federal appropriations or FEMA decisions could fund local bridge or FEMA projects (for example, replacement of a Highway 12 bridge in Rio Vista). Paragon said formula funding would flow through the state and counties could compete for funds; it did not promise a specific project award.

The briefing also included shorter notes about federal agriculture assistance (a USDA specialty-crops program with an expanded fund), possible ballot measures on the November ballot (including ACA 13 and voter‑ID initiatives), and a small state-level gas tax increase the presenters said would take effect July 1.

What’s next: staff and advocates will continue to track the budget, pursue the county’s earmark and HUD requests, monitor transportation legislation, and follow FEMA rulemaking; the board was asked to remain engaged with county legislative delegations and advocacy organizations.

Provenance: This article is based on the state-budget briefing by Karen Lang and the Paragon Government Relations presentation to the Solano County Board of Supervisors (transcript segments beginning SEG 1010 through SEG 2369).