To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Prioritized Funding Requests for Congressionally Directed Funding
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve the prioritized list of funding requests for Congressionally Directed Funding; and
2. Authorize the Chair of the Board to sign documentation required to submit requests to Senator Alex Padilla, and direct the County Administrative Officer to transmit the requests.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
County Administrative Office - Management & Budget Team (1100-103), All federal funding bills
DISCUSSION:
The federal Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patrick Leahy on April 26, 2021 announced that Congress would restore, on a bipartisan basis, the authority to approve congressionally-directed funding items, otherwise known as "earmarks" or "community project funding" in the 12 major federal appropriations bill that comprise the 2022 budget. In practice this means the Appropriations Committee will be accepting member requests for earmarked projects for potential inclusion into the appropriations bills.
Senator Padilla on Wednesday, May 12 announced that he is accepting proposals from agencies throughout California for him to consider including in his list of requests for community project funding. Per Senator Padilla's requirements, requests must have a nexus to federal funding, be of regional significance, should be able to be obligated quickly, and if more than one request is submitted they must be prioritized. The senator is requiring each project submitted receive two letters of support; one from the requesting party's governing body and another party.
It should be noted that the practice of earmarking federal funds was banned by Congress in 2011 due in large part to concerns that it led to frivolous spending. In response, committee leaders are instituting a number of reforms to the previous earmarking pr...
Click here for full text