The city of Hayward received updates from the state and U.S. Capitol during the Feb. 3 city council meeting.
Capitol Advocacy Partners (CAP) has helped the city secure federal grant funding since 2014. Last year the city received over $20 million in funding for water pollution control, firefighter training, homelessness services, youth violence prevention, automatic license plate readers, cameras and wildfire resilience.
The federal update included President Donald Trump’s anti-sanctuary city agenda. CAP said the administration is threatening to cut funding from a list of sanctuary cities, but that Hayward is not on the list. When asked why that was the case, CAP said they were not as vocal about being a sanctuary city, which then saved the city from federal funding cuts.
Council members said their federal priorities include green energy affordability, the impact of data centers on the environment, and cyber fraud.
Townsend Public Affairs gave a California legislation update, which included focusing on
E-bike reform, DUI funding and affordable housing. Townsend deputy director Carlin Shelby said illegal dumping has been a hot topic statewide because of prevention and difficulties in prosecuting violators.
Various statewide issues were discussed, including food vendors without business licenses, state reparations for slavery, human trafficking, rent control, resources for emergency calls involving mental health professionals, and the billionaire’s tax.
Shelby said the food vendor issue has been prominent the last couple of years. When it came to state reparations for slavery she said there are bills that are processing, and talks about issuing a state apology and eligibility requirements including lineage and descent. When it comes to human trafficking, Shelby said there is Assembly Bill 379, which was passed last year and will provide a survivor support fund.
