Good afternoon and welcome to the Almay County Board of Supervisors Personnel Administration and Legislation Committee meeting for Monday, October the 27th, 2025.

May have roll call, please.

Supervisor Fortanado Bass.

Present.

Supervisor Town.

Present.

Thank you.

Are there any instructions that you need to go over in terms of participation for in-person participation?

The meeting site is open to the public.

If you'd like to speak on an item, can fill out a speaker's card in the front of the room and hand it to the clerk for remote participation follow the teleconferencing guidelines posted.

And use the raise your hand function for speaking.

Thank you.

We will start with the federal legislation update from CJ Lake.

Good afternoon, Supervisor.

You have Emily Bake DeSilva here and John Assini as well.

But you know, we're day 27 of the shutdown.

You know, the House is uh still in recess, subject to uh a 48-hour call.

Um, you know, as we've been reporting, speaker Johnson has continued to say the House has done its work, it's up to the Senate.

Um the Senate uh, you know, we keep seeing the same vote over and over again.

Uh last week, um majority leader phone did uh call a vote on a bill that would uh pay federal workers.

And I think we discussed this at the POLE meeting uh last Monday.

Uh it did end up pulling off two um uh more Democrats, uh the two Democrats from Georgia.

Um, I think some of that is air traffic control at Atlanta.

Um, and John Osoff is in a really tough race.

Uh one of the big changes today that happened this morning that could move the needle.

I know we've been talking about what may move the needle, um, is that AFGE, the union for federal workers, uh, came out with a statement uh basically saying it's time, it's time to pass a clean continuing resolution.

To what end, you know, that may put pressure on Senate Democrats on some of those moderates uh and the retiring members that John and I have talked about.

Um, but up until now, you know, nothing has really moved the needle.

We've talked about SNAP, we've talked about WIC.

Um, John, I don't know if you have kind of anything else to mention.

I mean, it's kind of the same state of play as last Monday.

Uh, not not too much.

Um, same state of play for sure.

The two things that I will mention um is that in conversations with folks at the White House, they have indicated their hope to break the shutdown record.

So right now, the shutdown record was set by the previous Trump administration at 34 days, so it is possible that the White House will try to make it to at least 35 days of a total government shutdown.

Now that is different because last time that it was shut down for 34 days, it was a partial government shutdown with uh the defense laboration bills already passed.

Um we are facing a number of pay cliffs this go-around.

Um, the military is set to miss another.

Well, I guess their first paycheck in this regard on Friday.

Um, and I believe TSA is uh also uh going to miss a paycheck sometime this week.

Um, and then in addition to that, uh President Trump is in Asia all of this week for a number of bilateral meetings, um, which is important because any sort of deal that is reached in Congress is going to need the express sign-off of the president, not even just the White House, but the president himself, largely because Speaker Johnson has ceded his authority um in this negotiation to the White House.

So Senate Democrats are hesitant to come up with a plan or even attempt to come up with the plan, knowing full well that no deal can be reached without Trump's direct involvement, as we've stated in previous weeks, and this remains to be true right now.

Um the president largely seems to be absent from negotiations and does not seem terribly interested in reopening um the government.

Um in that regard, the November one deadline um is quickly coming, um, which means that SNAP benefits are likely to be delayed, as we've covered in previous weeks.

The Trump administration does not have any intention on uh releasing any of the contingency funds that USDA has in its stores.

So we will see likely a benefit delay in SNAP, which is going to cause considerable uh difficulty for beneficiaries.

But we will are ever hopeful that they will come up with some sort of agreement, but it does not seem likely this week.

And real quick, the other thing I would note, you know, we keep talking about this.

I mean, they keep bringing up this continuing resolution that the House passed, and it runs through November 21st.

And so we are getting closer and closer to November 21st.

And so the idea is we're gonna need another continuing resolution.

So I think when a deal is reached, and again, Tom can talk about this, but I think the House Republicans will end up putting together some sort of um CR that goes beyond November 21st.

And so the talk is does it go to the end of the calendar year?

Does it go to some point early next year?

I think that remains to be seen, but this November 21st kind of artificial deadline that we have will not um we're gonna have to go beyond that simply because it's not going to be enough time for negotiations to really get underfoot um in terms of uh, you know, finishing up FY26 bills.

Thank you.

Doesn't sound like great news, but uh supervisor fortune out of us.

Questions or comments?

Um just one quick question, and I may have more questions after we hear from Rev Simon's um office.

Are can you remind me what the status is of WIC and how long that is funded?

John, correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't think we have a like a clear picture on how long it will be funded.

We just know that they're using tariff revenues to currently keep the program funded.

Is that accurate?

Yep.

Uh currently the administration to Emily's point, currently the administration is using tariff funding to support the WIC program.

Unlike the SNAP program, it does not have a contingency fund that's as robust.

So the funding is a lot less predictable than um then the SNAP funding pots are.

So this has enabled the Trump administration to turn the spigot on or off basically at will, and they have not been forthcoming in how much money is in the accounts for WIC.

Beneficiaries have continued to receive payments, but it's not as transparent or predictable as I think a lot of folks would have hoped.

Um it's just a very sort of unpredictable situation for that program.

Thank you.

And actually, one more question in terms of SNAP, um, do we know how much money is available with the USDA if the federal government were to release some funding to keep it going beyond Saturday?

I've had reports that somewhere between six and eight billion dollars in contingency funding um for the SNAP program, which is not enough to pay total benefits or complete benefits for the month of November.

The difficulty is if USDA does tap into that fund, which is not supposed to be used throughout the entire country all at once, they would have to pro rata the benefits to each of the individuals that receive or each of the states that receive those benefits, which is a considerable amount of work.

Um, for the uh administration to undergo the FNS Food and Nutrition Service um assistant administrator actually departed today, ahead of uh this pending cliff.

Um so the agency that's responsible for providing those funds um lacks a clear leader.

Um so the administration is in a bit of a riff rough spot um and has decided as a matter of policy and also for a political purpose um to just withhold that contingency funding.

You know, you know.

They want to be able to pin the lack of SNAP benefits um on Senate Democrats as a pressure point to get them to the table and accept a clean CR.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Among those slides.

Um I know that Representative Licardo had also talked about the reserves or the USDA contingency funds.

Um, do you know whether or not those funds were tapped into during the last time we had a shutdown?

Um and obviously these funds are supposed to be used for an emergency in like a natural disaster, but if it's sort of a man-made disaster, I don't know where that falls into that category.

Well, all government shutdowns are man-made disasters, that's uh that's for sure.

But um, no, from my recollection, the SNAP contingency fund was created in the bill that reopened the government in 2019, um, because this was a prime concern.

Um, primarily the democrat, I mean, everyone across the board cared about this, which is why I passed on a bipartisan basis.

But um, the long story short is they created this contingency fund in the event of a future shutdown after the last one um was reopened.

So it didn't it just didn't it did it did exist, but it didn't exist to the extent that it does now.

Okay, thank you.

Um we will uh go to the update from our federal government um representative uh Mr.

Clancy on the government shutdown and then call for public comments.

Great.

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone.

It's all that's a pleasure to be joining you all here today.

And and like John Mellon said, I wish I had some better updates and news to report.

I think you know, by and large, what you've heard from each of them is this the state of play as we know it.

Um I don't think you know, Democrats are certainly not involved with at least Democrats at our level are not involved with these conversations um with leadership, but it doesn't seem to me that they're really at all.

Anyway, um just another thing I would note is that the ACAA open enrollment begins, I believe on November 1st, which is when you know families will first start to see their health insurance premiums and those numbers for 2026, they'll get the same.

That's another reason we wanted them to be many reasons to open up the government as well as to make some headway in these negotiations.

I'd say as for our part, you know, Congresswoman Simon has been um the district over the past few weeks, longer since the beginning of the shutdown meeting with mayors, local elected officials as well as just residents in the area or remain open um and essential.

So, you know, we're here to help and support and be a resource and answer any questions.

It's probably the best place for me to leave it at this point.

More substantive updates.

I think you know John will memorial if we're able to proposed.

I'm happy to take any questions and supports from the office's perspective.

Okay, thank you.

Uh Mr.

Clancy, I definitely appreciate you coming and uh the collaboration with uh Congresswoman Simon.

It's just unfortunate there isn't more to share in terms of movement forward.

Um could you just clarify whether there is any other activity happening with the House?

Are the representatives still at home or are have they been called back to DC yet?

Yeah, so there that's a good question.

Um, it's the answer is is no, they have not been called back.

There are no plans to um legislate right now from the House's perspective.

Speaker Johnson, I believe has said repeatedly and as recently as today that the house remains on 48 or notice to return to DC.

So I I think at this point, uh the guidance is really kind of lacking.

Members are typically, I would say, at least for most Democrats are back in their districts, for Congresswoman.

Um, but I think you know, it brings up a good point that I believe Emily mentioned um with the CR that the house did have six firing in about three weeks.

There's going to need there's there's a real need for a new CR.

So I think I would hope that in the next week, maybe not this week, but perhaps next, the house can begin operating and functioning again like it should be.

There's really no reason for the house to not be in in DC, much like the Senate is.

Um, you know, we're still able to pass bills and work and negotiate.

It's it's it seems just from a personal level, it seems very strange that you know the house is kind of fully out of this equation, um, and is decided to kind of wash their hands of their duty on keeping the government open since the bill was passed.

Um, thank you.

Um, are there any public comments on the federal legislative update, uh, both from our um from CJ Lake and also from Representative Latifah Simon's office?

I have no speakers for anyone.

Okay, thank you very much for that update.

Um, let's go to the state legislative legislative update from Full Moon Strategies.

Good afternoon, Supervisors Gyal Dentas here with Fill Minute Strategies.

One more deadline on the horizon.

California is now just eight days away from its November special election, where voters will decide whether to approve the new proposed US congressional district maps.

On the campaigns for Prop 50, the yes side has largely uh raised and outspanned uh its opponents with uh close to 97 million dollars.

Uh more than double of the no campaign side with uh 42 million dollars.

Uh this past week we also saw the past uh President Trump canceled a planned immigration enforcement surge in San Francisco.

The move came after an intense night of a protest with demonstrators blocking the coastal guard island in Alameda, where federal agency had gathered uh for operation.

Gavin Gavin uh Governor Gavin Newsom uh had prepared a sue over a possible National Guard deployment while officials condemn uh the play as a politically motivated and dangerous on CalFresh, millions of Californians are facing uncertainty as the impacts of the federal government shutdowns, uh repo across the nation.

Uh approximately 5.5 million Californians rely on the federal funded benefits uh as such.

Uh CalFresh, this is a serious concern for families and communities across our state.

Uh the program play vital role in California safety net helping to reduce poverty and promote economic stability.

Uh any delay of this uh case, uh, you know, the suspension of benefits would not only impact food security and uh vulnerable households, but also harm local economies.

The California Department of Social Services DS uh C DSS incorporates recipients to take several important steps uh during this time.

Individuals with remaining balances on their EBT cards from October, they can continue using those funds throughout November for individuals not in the program yet.

Uh CDSS recommends to keep applying for CalFresh as eligible applicant uh applicants will receive their benefits after federal operations resume.

In response to the federal shutdown, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the deployment of the California National Guard and the California volunteers who support food banks as the federal shutdown delays uh food benefits for millions of families.

The governor is also expecting $80 million dollars in food bank support to help offset federal funding gaps.

Uh it's worth to to mention that a national guard will not serve in a law enforcement capacity.

It will be there just to provide logistical aid.

Would the staff benefits at risk with the ongoing federal shutdown?

The California Attorney General Robonta called the 23 Attorneys General Coalition demanding answer from the Trump's administration.

And the latter mentioned earlier from our federal colleagues to USDA.

The coalition raised concerns over the October 10th directive hunting November's NAP payments for over 42 million Americans.

The attorneys general said that USDA has at least six billion dollars in reserve funds that could have covered some benefits and is demanding clarity by October 27 today on its legal authority, available resources, and the plans to restore the payments.

On the state perspective, it's very important for us to note that the state's ability to address the SNAP crisis right now is pretty limited.

The EPT cards are programmed with the federal funds by a third party vendor.

The state is not involved on the programming of discards at all.

Jumping for some updates on Medical, in a recent uh report, the legislative analyst office warns that California faces major Medical challenges as the new federal Medical cutbacks take effect while the state takes uh while the state faces a very big uh fiscal uncertainty.

Uh in this report, the LEO points out that the state lacks the fiscal capacity to backfill at all uh all the loss caused by the the block on the federal federal revenues.

Uh billions in costs could have fall into the general fund as uh the federal support declines.

Uh Medicao is now serving over one-third of California's and uh is exceeding 197 billion dollars in the larger state program funded by uh mostly by the federal government.

Uh as we are still uh waiting for guidance from the federal government uh on this cutbacks, uh we're keeping communications with the county staff, uh county staff, and uh any updates uh coming on our way, we will ensure to share with the county.

Uh, still on Medical, uh, we had a few conversations with the um, you know, uh the community up here in Sacramento, and it's clear that the counties will bear with the greater administrative admin cost and the service burdens, right?

Uh especially on the behavioral health care and the indigen care.

The LEO on this uh last report they urge the lawmakers to rethink the medical structure in California, strengthen uh the local uh safety networks and uh sorry, uh local safety nets, and to revisit some of the policies, such as the California health care coverage penalty.

Without any strategies or funding sources, the report concludes that more Californians will lose uh coverage or face a higher out-of-pocket costs uh to access uh health care.

With that, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you so much for that update.

Supervisor Fortunatabas.

Thank you.

So my office has been working very closely with our food bank and uh regarding the National Guard and the Cal volunteers.

My understanding is that they are not going to be requesting that assistance.

A lot of it, especially on the heels of last week's potential ICE and border patrol surges about security and whether or not that would uh cause some issues with people feeling comfortable coming to the food bank.

Um, I would also like to have a little bit more clarity if if it exists on the $80 million dollars from the state to our food banks.

My understanding is that that money was already allocated in the budget, so it's not necessarily additional funding, it's sort of an advance of funding that's already approved.

Is that right?

Yeah, that's correct.

Supervisor, we are also in touch with the department just to get more clarity on this spending.

And uh hopefully by today or tomorrow we will have a clear guidance to share with the county.

But your information is correct.

Okay, so my understanding is given the imminence of Saturday's um deadline, the food bank is procuring more food and working with SSA to ensure you know more distribution as well as home delivery.

Um is there anyone here from SSA who could speak to a little bit more of what's happening on the ground and what the plans are leading up to Saturday?

Oh, there is somebody to hand raise.

Okay.

Can you all hear me?

Yes, okay, thank you very much.

Good afternoon.

This is Caroline Burroughs from the Alameda County Social Services Agency to provide a little bit of an update.

So Social Services is exploring a collaboration with the food bank for food distribution pop-ups at our offices.

Um we are in this effort to hopefully mitigate some of the negative impacts from the federal government shutdown and the delay in November fresh benefits, as we've heard um in these presentations.

The food bank will be conducting site visits to our offices today, October 27th, and tomorrow, October 28th, to assess the spaces to determine the feasibility and the best method and setup for food distribution.

These site visits will be conducted at our offices in Hayward, Enterprise, North Oakland, and Eastmont.

The services, the food distribution services, however, will be extended countywide, Livermore and Fremont included.

That concludes my report out at this time.

Happy to take any questions back.

Uh just one more question.

I know that the food bank also has a web page that um is assisting with people who need food now and taking um uh input in terms of people who were seeking home delivery.

I know there's a big uh request, uh, an increase in request for home delivery um to our staff from SSA.

Do you have any more information on how potential home delivery will work?

I do not have any information at this time, but I'm happy to bring it back and uh follow up.

Jessica.

Thank you.

Um just following up on some of those um updates.

I I know that um the social service agency director had sent out um an email uh last week about partnering with the food bank uh both for uh distribution and delivery.

And so they're also she also mentioned that the food bank um expressed some concern regarding security uh at these sites.

Do you know what the issues are around security and is that something that uh the National Guard can help out with?

I mean, the California National Guard.

Yes, yes, I'm not aware of this concerns, but uh as I said, we're in contact with the food banks right now and uh with the agencies, just to get more clarity, but I'm happy just to circle back with this this question with them supervisor and a return to you.

Okay, that's helpful.

Um, I understand the concerns uh regarding some of the immigration um surges that we had last week, but this one seemed like it was more about um securing the site rather than um trying to uh create any sort of additional concerns with our immigrant community, right?

Okay, thank you.

Um I don't have any other questions.

Are there public comments?

I think I'm sorry.

Jessica, do you have a comment?

Hi, yeah.

Sorry, I think I muted myself.

I think you could hear me now.

Yes.

Okay, perfect.

Thank you.

This is Jessica Montes' uh government affairs officer with the food bank, actually.

Uh, thank you, Caroline, for providing that overview.

So I was part of those conversations last week with SSA.

Um, and yeah, so we're providing or we're visiting two sites today and tomorrow to hopefully get this running uh starting next week already.

Um, in terms of security, I believe it was um Supervisor Tim or or maybe Supervisor Nikki that uh mentioned about security, and that's correct.

What we meant about regarding security was something that SSA actually brought up, and basically the overview is that that's going to depend on the sites, I believe.

Like the actual their actual security team may have questions on more of like the logistical side of it, how we're gonna do the pop-up or distribution.

Um so that's sort of what um was brought up in terms of security and logistics.

Um, but yeah, I'm here to answer any questions as much as I can help, but the plan is definitely still unfolding right now.

We're still in the midst of those conversations, but hoping to get them running to um next week.

Thank you.

Um Jessica, are you the point person that uh the pressure contact?

Because we've been getting some calls uh at least as even today from some of the newspapers asking specifically about our plans.

That would be our director Mike, who's um our marketing director, but if it's easier to, you know, connect through me, I can do that.

I'm the point person for our federal agencies, uh, but with SSA right now, I'm part of the planning conversation.

So I can either connect with Mike.

Um I believe our head strategy Allison is also connecting SSA with Mike for um for media purposes.

Okay, thank you so much.

Are there any uh public comments on our state legislative update?

I have no speakers on item two.

Thank you.

Are there any public comments on non agenda items today?

No speakers for public comment.

Thank you.

So the PAL committee for October 27th is adjourned.