Alameda County PAL Committee Meeting – January 5, 2026
Alameda County Board of Supervisors Personnel Administration and Legislation Committee Meeting – January 5, 2026
The Personnel Administration and Legislation (PAL) Committee of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors met on Monday, January 5, 2026, at 1:30 PM. The meeting featured federal and state legislative updates, an action item on proposed amendments to the Health and Safety Code regarding governance of the Alameda Health System (AHS), and public comments.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar items were listed or discussed.
Public Comments & Testimony
- John Lizzie Pulland (public commenter) expressed concern that the proposal for AHS governance reform lacks detail. He noted that over 300 AHS staff have been laid off and questioned the intent of the reform, particularly whether the county would use its finances to meet its obligation to provide health care. He urged the committee to share more about the intent and how the reform would address short- and long-term problems.
- Casey (AHS employee) spoke extemporaneously after their written comment was not read aloud. They expressed deep concern about preemptive layoffs at AHS, which they stated were budgeted through June 2026 but feel "shaky" and poorly communicated to managers. They warned that cuts to outpatient services (speech, behavioral, and physical therapy) would severely reduce patient care. They encouraged the Board of Supervisors to delay layoffs until after June, hoping that a potential takeover by the Board could spare over 300 jobs.
Federal Legislative Update (presented by CJ Lake and Emily)
- Congressional schedule: The Senate returned January 5; the House returns January 6 for the second session of the 119th Congress.
- FY26 appropriations: The continuing resolution expires January 30, leaving 3.5 weeks for Congress to pass remaining FY26 appropriations bills or another CR. Three additional bills (Interior/Environment, Commerce/Justice/Science, Energy/Water) were released January 5; the House will likely vote Thursday, Senate next week. Six bills remain, including Labor/HHS/Defense. The defense bill was previously close to agreement, but operations in Venezuela last weekend may complicate passage.
- FY27 appropriations: Members have started opening portals for programmatic and congressionally directed spending requests.
- Local earmark: Congressman Swalwell included $1 million for the county's Livermore Sewer Extension Project in the House bill; the full amount was included in the final package. Public Works has been notified.
- Enhanced premium tax credits: Expired January 1, 2026. The House passed a discharge petition seeking a straight three-year extension (retroactive) with every Democrat and a few moderate Republicans. Passage is expected in the House but not the Senate (a similar three-year extension failed there in December). This creates potential legislative pathways for broader health care policy.
- 340B drug pilot program: A federal judge ruled officials did not sufficiently consider the impact on safety net hospitals; the program (scheduled to take effect January 1) has been paused. Emily noted she has been in conversation with Health Care Services on this.
- Child care funding freeze: Supervisor Fortunato Bass asked about a freeze on child care money to states due to alleged abuse in Minnesota. CJ Lake had no new information but noted HHS paused federal funding to child care centers, which has been part of a "right‑wing environment." The California Department of Social Services believes the county is fine until March.
- ACA subsidy impacts: Supervisor Fortunato Bass noted that even if extended, premiums are already affected as of January 1. CJ Lake said there is no certainty on timing; he noted that a bipartisan approach (e.g., Licardo legislation) would be difficult to pass with a Republican majority, though moderate Republicans in purple districts may support it.
State Legislative Update (presented by Amy Costup, Full Moon Strategies)
- Legislature reconvenes: The Assembly met January 5; Senate begins at 2 PM. New Senate President Pro Tem Monique Lamone announced leadership and committee changes: Senator Angelique Ashby (Majority Leader), Senator John Laird (Budget Chair), Senator Cervantes (Appropriations Chair). Senator Argyen (Alameda County) retains chairmanships of Housing and Public Safety. Most new committee roles begin in February.
- Delegation appointments: Senator Wahab (Business, Professions, and Economic Development Chair), Senator McNirney (Revenue and Taxation Chair), Senator Grayson (Banking and Financial Institutions Chair).
- Health care policy dominates 2026: HR1 (signed July 2025) dramatically alters health care financing, causing funding shortfalls. Active ballot initiatives are circulating to extend existing revenues (Prop 30/55) and create new ones (e.g., billionaire tax). Labor unions and providers are gearing up for battles over revenue to offset projected $30 billion in health care losses from HR1 and state budget cuts to Medi‑Cal dental/vision and coverage for undocumented immigrants.
- Governor's stance: Governor Newsom has expressed opposition to the billionaire tax, saying it could put California at a competitive disadvantage with other states. He drew a strong rebuke from labor union leader Lorena Gonzalez, who insisted unions are unified. He has not publicly weighed in on other revenue measures; his budget is expected to be released Friday.
- Medicaid data sharing with ICE: A federal judge ruled on December 29, 2025, that the Trump administration can resume sharing basic personal information (citizenship, immigration status, address, phone number, date of birth, Medicaid ID) from Medicaid records with ICE starting January 6. Sensitive health records are barred. California and 21 other states had sued to prevent this. Officials argue the policy undermines trust and may deter undocumented immigrants from seeking care.
- Litigation track record: California has filed 52 lawsuits during Trump's second term, winning or settling about 80%, claiming $168 billion in benefits. Some losses include limits on nationwide injunctions, environmental regulations, firearm laws, and transgender protections.
- Upcoming: State of the State address later this week, followed by the governor's budget release on Friday.
- Affordability: Amy noted that affordability remains a dominant theme in the legislature, making some legislators "skittish" about new revenue measures.
Discussion Items
- Action Item: Proposed amendments to the Health and Safety Code regarding AHS governance
- Motion: Supervisor Tam (Chair) and Supervisor Miley proposed forwarding a legislative measure to the full Board of Supervisors that seeks amendments to the Health and Safety Code to implement recommendations from the ad hoc committee on the governance of Alameda Health Systems.
- Options: The legislation would allow the board to implement either Option A (hybrid governance: Board of Supervisors handles AHS budget and hiring/firing of CEO; trustees oversee operations) or Option B (Board of Supervisors appoints one of its own to the Board of Trustees).
- Co‑sponsorship: Jeanette Dong (Chief Public Affairs Officer, AHS) requested to co‑sponsor the legislation, emphasizing partnership and finishing the ad hoc committee's work.
- Clarifications: Supervisor Fortunato Bass asked about language in section five of the proposal allowing the hospital authority to operate through corporations, joint ventures, or partnerships while maintaining the private character of private hospitals. Jeanette Dong explained this addresses AHS's acquisition of St. Rose (private) to take advantage of IGT and fiscal federal leverage. Supervisor Fortunato Bass expressed concern that this could inadvertently allow privatization of public parts of the system and requested the language be made clearer.
- Role of Alameda Healthcare District: The Alameda Healthcare District (governing Alameda Hospital) has a JPA with the AHS Board of Trustees, not the county, and that relationship must be reflected in the Health and Safety Code amendments.
- Legal review: Scott Dickey (County Counsel's office) confirmed that the board selected Option A as the direction for the legislation, allowing the board to decide whether to be the governing body or appoint others. The language about joint ventures/partnerships exists to allow absorption of other hospital facilities without losing private character for IGT benefits.
- Legislative process: All language will be drafted by legislative council; the bill must be in print for 30 days before action, providing time for public review.
- Public comments on this item: John Lizzie Pulland expressed concern about the lack of detail; Casey (AHS employee) urged delaying layoffs until after June and highlighted severe cuts to outpatient services.
Key Outcomes
- Motion passed: The committee voted to forward the proposed amendments to the Health and Safety Code to the full Board of Supervisors. The vote was: Supervisor Fortunato Bass (yes), Supervisor Tam (yes). The motion carried. The full board will take up the matter at its next meeting.
- Next steps for AHS governance legislation: The county will work with a state legislative sponsor to fine-tune language; the bill will be drafted by legislative council and must be in print for 30 days before action.
- Continued monitoring: The committee will keep track of federal child care funding freeze, ACA subsidy extension efforts, and state revenue measures (including the billionaire tax and extension of existing Prop 30/55 revenues).
- Adjournment: The meeting adjourned after taking roll call of attendees.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon and happy new year. Welcome to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors Personnel Administration and Legislation Committee meeting for Monday, January the 5th, 2026. Aborrow call, please. Supervisor Fortnite. Present. Present. We have a quorum. Thank you. You need to go through instructions on participation with MS teams. Sure. And for all participants, please state your name for the record prior to your comment. If you wish to speak on a matter not on the agenda, please wait until Supervisor Lena Tam calls for public input on non-agendized items. Only matters within the committee's jurisdiction may be addressed. To notify the clerk that you wish to speak, please listen closely to the following for in-person participants. Please fill out a speaker card at the front of the room and hand it to the clerk. The clerk will call your name to allow you to speak at the podium. For online participants, please use the raise hand function at the bottom of the screen during the item of which you would like to speak. The clerk will call your name and allow you to unmute when it is your turn. For dialed in participants, please dial star five. That's star five to raise and or lower your hand. The clerk will allow you to unmute when it is your turn. If you no longer wish to speak, lower your hand on Microsoft Teams or simply notify the clerk that you no longer wish to speak when it is your turn. Thank you. Thank you very much. We will start with the federal legislation update from CJ Lake. Uh thank you, Supervisor. And I think uh Emily is waiting to get her uh presentation like certification or designation so that she can unmute and be on camera. Sorry about that, Emily. Go ahead. There we go. Emily, do you want me to kick it off or do you want to take the lead? Okay, sounds good. Uh so welcome back. Uh and welcome to 2026. Uh Congress is back in session this week after a lengthy uh holiday recess. Um the Senate came back today and the house will gavel in tomorrow uh as the second session in the 119th Congress starts. Um as we typically start off with, there are a number of deadlines uh that are approaching early in the year that Congress will have to meet, the first of which is of course the FY26 uh appropriations process and the expiration of the continuing resolution uh which expires on January 30th, um, leaving Congress only three and a half weeks to address the remaining FY26 appropriations bills or pass uh an additional continuing resolution. Um just as a reminder in late 2025 when the government reopened, Congress enacted a funding minibus uh that provided uh federal funding through the end of the fiscal year for the ag milcon VA and ledge branch appropriations bills, uh but the remaining nine appropriations bills remained under continuing resolution. Uh and then just this morning, uh three additional appropriations bills uh were released on a bicameral bipartisan basis. This is for the interior environment, the commerce, justice, and science, and the energy and water bills. Um, they have been released today, and the house will likely vote on the measure Thursday, uh and then the Senate will pick it up shortly thereafter, uh, most likely next week, but it's not uh yet sure. Of course, that remains uh six additional uh appropriations bills uh that need to get passed, which include the labor age and defense and tea bills. Um, the defense bill uh was previously close to getting an agreement, um, but of course, the operations in Venezuela uh last weekend are going to most likely complicate uh passage of that bill quickly, and that bill is often tied with the labor age bill. Um, and it basically accounts for about 85% of the total federal budget. Um, outside of that, uh, once the appropriations process takes place uh for FY26, Congress will then start to address the FY27 appropriations process. Okay, we were already going through that, where members and senators from on both sides are going to start opening up their portals for programmatic and congressionally directed spending requests. Emily, I'll pause there in case there's anything that I miss on the apprope side before we move on to our next two topics. Sure. That was released this morning, and it seems like this minibus will pass with bipartisan support. I don't want to jinx it, but it seems like it'll, as you said, pass the House later this week and then move over to the Senate.
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