Business Meeting

AGENDA

Business Meeting
Thursday, February 23, 2017
925 L Street, Room 175
Sacramento, CA

The Commission will consider agenda items I-VI at approximately 12:30 p.m.  The precise time will vary depending upon the testimony of witnesses and will be determined at the discretion of the chair.  The chair may convene the business meeting to establish a quorum and open the vote for items I and II at approximately 10:30 a.m. and reconvene the business meeting after the hearing concludes.  Members of the public will have an opportunity to make comments about Commission agenda items during the meeting.

1. Business Meeting Minutes from October 27, 2016 and January 26, 2017 and February 13, 2017
    
2. CalVet – Draft Report to be considered for Adoption
    
3. Special Districts – Draft Report for Discussion
    
4. Subcommittee Reports and Project Selection
    
5. Implementation
    
6. Reports from the California State Auditor’s Office

PUBLIC NOTICE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2017

For Additional Information Contact:
Carole D’Elia, Executive Director
(916) 445-2125

Little Hoover Commission to hold Hearing on California's State Permitting Processes

On Thursday, February 23, 2017, the Little Hoover Commission will conduct a public hearing on state permitting processes, after hearing reports from local regional and public agencies that permitting requirements are hindering infrastructure project work. The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the State Capitol, Room 437, in Sacramento.

At its October 27, 2016, business meeting, the Commission decided to delve deeper into issues raised during its morning hearing on special districts and adaptation to climate change. This hearing will particularly examine public projects increasingly necessary to protect California residents, wildlife and environments – both natural and human-altered – from the anticipated impacts of climate change. The Commission will review allegedly lengthy permitting processes, the practice of local and state agencies paying understaffed state permitting agencies to designate staffers to process their permits faster, and requirements for endowments to fund perpetual maintenance of lands for environmental mitigation purposes.

At the hearing the Commission will first hear from two operating officers with the Santa Clara Valley Water District, who will describe their district’s experiences with these requirements. The next panel includes the chief deputy director with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the executive officer of the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board. The final panel features an assistant deputy director with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and an environmental services manager with the Santa Barbara County Department of Public Works.

There will be an opportunity for public comment at the end of the hearing. The Commission also encourages written comments. A formal agenda and other documents related to this study can be viewed and downloaded from the Commission’s website at www.lhc.ca.gov.

Immediately following the hearing, the Commission will hold a business meeting in in Room 175 at 925 L Street in Sacramento. The chair may convene the business meeting to establish a quorum and open the vote for some agenda items at approximately 10:30 a.m. and reconvene the business meeting after the hearing concludes. An additional teleconference location accessible to the public for the business meeting will be at 425 S Palos Verdes Street, San Pedro, CA 90731