2017 Staff Workshop

With the adoption of the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act in 2015 and the passage of Proposition 64 last November, California is preparing for big changes in the use and regulation of medical and recreational marijuana. This panel will provide an overview of the new state laws governing marijuana use, cultivation, manufacturing and sale. We will address these issues from a variety of perspectives including legal, local government and industry viewpoints with an eye toward impacts of the marijuana industry on the work of LAFCos. 
Speakers: Jonathan Hobbs, City Attorney, City of Elk Grove; Neil Hall, Marijuana Consultant, SCI Consulting; Sean Brewer, Community Development Director, City of Coalinga; Hanspeter Walter, Shareholder, Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard, John Halligan, Manager, Compliance and Enforcement Section, CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing, California Department of Food and Agriculture. Moderator: David J. Ruderman, Senior Counsel, Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC.
This session will cover a variety of topics including the ins and outs of Form BOE-400-TA; the finishing stages of completing a change of organization; what’s required by the BOE and what they do with all of that paperwork. Also hear updates on e-filing and ways to make the process easier. There will also be plenty of time for Q&A.
Speakers: Anna Marie Price, Research Analyst II, Board of Equalization; Ric Schwarting, Research Manager, Board of Equalization. Moderator: George Spiliotis, Executive Officer, Riverside LAFCo
Join your CALAFCO staff and Legislative Committee leaders to hear all the latest Association news as well as an up to-the-minute legislative report on all bills of interest to CALAFCO.
Speakers: Pamela Miller, Executive Director, CALAFCO; Steve Lucas, Executive Officer, Butte LAFCo; Paul Novak, Executive Officer, Los Angeles LAFCo; Lou Ann Texeira, Executive Officer, Contra Costa LAFCo.

In this session we will pay special attention to LAFCo’s role as both a Responsible and Lead Agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Attend this session to familiarize yourself with best practices for LAFCos to employ when reviewing and providing comments on CEQA reports and to explore the question, What is LAFCo’s role as the “Responsible Agency” or “Lead Agency” under the California Environmental Quality Act? 
Speakers: P. Scott Browne, Attorney at Law; Patrick McCormick, Executive Officer, Santa Cruz LAFCo; Alisha Winterswyk, Partner, Best Best & Krieger LLP.

Under SB 88 and SB 552, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has the authority to order certain consistently failing water system to consolidate with another, viable water system. How the SWRCB decides whether a water system meets this test and when it should exercise this new authority are issues relevant to LAFCos state-wide.
This panel will discuss these issues with SWRCB representatives and discuss the role LAFCos can play to ensure safe drinking water for all Californians. 
Speakers: Michelle Frederick, Northern California Consolidation Coordinator, State Water Resource Control Board; Caitlin Juarez, Field Engineer, State Water Resource Control Board; Ben Giuliani, Executive Officer, Tulare LAFCo.
This is the first of a two-part session on Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities (DUCs). This session presents a summary of legislative history leading to DUCs, how DUCs have emerged as a topic of interest and how LAFCo is affected by them.
Speakers: Ben Giuliani, Executive Officer, Tulare LAFCo; Bill Nicholson, Executive Officer, Merced and San Benito LAFCos. Moderator: David Fey, Executive Officer, Fresno LAFCo.
This DUC mapping session will look into how to map Disadvantage Unincorporated Communities (DUCs). The discussion will include sources of data, pros and cons of the different data sets available and what LAFCos are currently doing. We will conclude with a live GIS demonstration showing the ability of taking raw data and merging it into graphic data that can be displayed on a map.
Speakers: Doug Dorado, Government Analyst, Los Angeles LAFCo; Joe Serrano, Local Governmental Analyst, San Diego LAFCo.

This session will include a broad overview of California’s healthcare services system and an overview of healthcare districts and where they are headed in today’s uncertain healthcare environment. You will also have an opportunity to hear about different issues that LAFCos face with respect to healthcare districts. 
Speakers: Amber King, Senior Legislative Advocate, Association of California Healthcare Districts; Lou Ann Texeira, Executive Officer, Contra Costa LAFCo; Mark Bramfitt, Executive Officer, Sonoma LAFCo. Moderator: Mona Palacios, Executive Officer, Alameda LAFCo.

All individuals and organizations are at risk of experiencing an ethical lapse. In this presentation, the frequency and causes for such lapses will be reviewed. In addition a number of practical strategies aimed at decreasing the likelihood of you and your organization experiencing such an ethical misstep will be presented.
Speaker: Kevin Duggan, West Coast Regional Director, ICMA. ​Moderator: Pamela Miller, Executive Director, CALAFCO

Join us for this fun and informative session in which you will be given an overview of LAFCo from a process, policy, and legal perspective. We will discuss LAFCo authority (the can-do and the cannot-do), share insights on why decisions are made the way they are, and explore the changing landscape of LAFCos.
Speakers: Christine Crawford, Executive Officer, Yolo LAFCo; Paul Novak, Executive Officer, Los Angeles LAFCo; David Ruderman, Senior Counsel, Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley. Moderator: Martha Poyatos, Executive Officer, San Mateo LAFCo

This session will provide an entertaining overview of Government Code Section 56133, how it applies and the various exceptions to LAFCo’s approval role. We will explore whether this law promotes illegitimate extension of services into the countryside supporting leap frog development instead of requiring logical and orderly annexation to the city
or district. The alternate view considered is that it provides a nifty tool for LAFCos to exert local discretion in solving service delivery problems outside the ridged confines of the CKH annexation process.
Speakers: José C. Henríquez, Executive Officer, El Dorado LAFCo; Sara Lytle-Pinhey, Executive Officer, Stanislaus LAFCo; George Spiliotis, Executive Officer, Riverside LAFCo
Moderator: Bill Nicholson, Executive Officer, Merced and San Benito LAFCos.
agency by today’s standards? With the burgeoning trend towards more open data, we’ll explore what this means for LAFCos and how we may need to rethink our expectations regarding evaluation of public agency accountability. This session will offer practical checklists to measure accountability other helpful information to improve public agency
transparency in your county. 
Speakers: Don J. Cameron, Vice President, Terranova Ranch, Inc.; Dillon Gibbons, Legislative Representative, CSDA; Rachel Jones, Analyst, Marin LAFCo. Moderator: Christine Crawford, Executive Officer, Yolo LAFCo.
SGMA requires the formation of local groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) that must assess conditions in their local water basins and adopt locally-based management plans. The formation of GSAs has sparked interest in water district formation and governance in a number of California communities. LAFCos are sometimes caught in the middle of landowner desires to have a GSA and voice at the table and those stakeholders who do not want additional regulation. Today’s panel of experts intends to explore the scientific, legal and governing issues involved in managing California groundwater resources today. 
Speakers: Lauren Layne, Shareholder, Baker Manock & Jensen; Derrick Williams, Hydrogeologist, Hydro Metrics WRI; Steve Lucas, Executive Officer, Butte LAFCo. Moderator: Paul Hood, Executive Officer, Santa Barbara LAFCo.
This highly interactive session will feature a panel of expert LAFCo attorneys who will share insights on how to effectively avoid being sued. Following the panel discussion, groups will be given several case studies to work through and receive expert legal feedback on your potential actions. You will be able to determine your level of expertise in taking appropriate actions to avoid the dreaded lawsuit.
Speakers: P. Scott Browne, Attorney at Law; Kara Ueda, Partner, Best Best & Krieger; Holly Whatley, Shareholder, Colantuono, Highsmith and Whatley. Moderator: Pamela Miller, Executive Director, CALAFCO.