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State legislative advocate: California budget signed; county‑backed SB 617 and AB 1261 to be heard
Summary
Amy Costa of Full Moon Strategies told supervisors California’s budget package is final, highlighted AB 1261 (would provide legal counsel to unaccompanied undocumented minors) and county‑sponsored SB 617 (upcoming hearing), and noted the California AG joined an amicus brief challenging ICE/Border Patrol raids in a Los Angeles case.
Amy Costa of Full Moon Strategies presented the state legislative update to the Alameda County Personnel Administration and Legislation Committee on July 7, reporting that Governor Newsom signed the final trailer bills and county staff are tracking several measures that will affect county services.
Costa said the budget package is complete and that the county will include links to trailer bills in a power report to supervisors. She described AB 1261, authored by Assemblymember Bonta, which would require the state to provide legal counsel to each unaccompanied undocumented minor in the physical custody of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement who is present in California or residing with a family or sponsor in California; the bill would direct the California Department of Social Services to contract with qualified nonprofit legal services organizations or public defenders to provide representation. “AB 1261 requires the state to provide legal counsel to each unaccompanied undocumented minor…,” Costa said, noting Alameda County began supporting the bill after the Board approved that position on April 29, 2025.
Costa also noted a county‑sponsored bill, SB 617, which county staff will testify on at a committee hearing later in the week. She told supervisors that California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 17 other state attorneys general submitted an amicus brief in Vasquez Perdermo v. Nome urging the court to block immigration enforcement actions they described as unconstitutional and racially motivated.
Supervisor Fortunato Bass asked whether the state’s SNAP payment error rate exceeds a 6% threshold that could require states to provide matching funds in 2028; Costa said she did not have that figure on hand but would check with state departments and could provide county‑level data. Bass also asked whether the state has estimates of how many Medi‑Cal recipients might lose coverage under recent changes and about effects of premium changes; Costa said state modeling exists from prior redetermination cycles and that staff can provide projections and prior outcome data, noting certain subgroups (including people experiencing homelessness) may be disproportionately affected.
Next steps: county staff will provide supervisors with links to trailer bills, the AB 1261 analysis, and any available state projections on SNAP error rates and Medi‑Cal coverage changes; SB 617 testimony is scheduled for the committee on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
