June 12 Letter to delegation - Budget Priorities, Response to Legislative Budget Agreement

June 12, 2025

The Honorable Senator Mike McGuire
President pro Tempore
1021 O Street, Suite 8610
Sacramento, CA 95814

The Honorable Assemblymember Damon Connolly
1021 O Street Ste. 5240
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: Marin County Budget Priorities Amid Deficit Environment, Response to Legislative Budget Agreement

Dear Senator McGuire and Assemblymember Connolly,

On behalf of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, thank you for your continued partnership and for your leadership during a very difficult state budget environment. We appreciate the Legislature’s thoughtful and responsible budget framework and your tireless efforts to protect core services, support local governments, and preserve California’s safety net amidst deep fiscal uncertainty.

We are grateful that many of Marin County’s priorities, reflected in our May 29, 2025 letter responding to the Governor’s May Revision, were reflected in the Legislature’s version of the 2025-26 budget. This letter serves to respectfully reiterate our key priorities and areas where further refinement or investment is critical to our communities.

Homelessness and housing
We thank the Legislature for protecting and expanding funding for core housing programs beyond what was included in the May Revision, including:

• A new $500 million in supplemental state Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC),
• A new $120 million for the Multifamily Housing Program, and
• $300 million for California Dream for All to support first-generation homeownership.

We also appreciate the Legislature’s commitment to the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program by newly including $500 million in the 2026-27 budget. However, we remain concerned that this funding is included only as non-binding intent language. HHAP has been a cornerstone of Marin’s homelessness strategy, which focuses on Housing First principles. Since 2017, chronic homelessness in Marin has declined by 41%, and the number of sheltered individuals increased by 16.4% since 2022. We have successfully transitioned 887 chronically homeless individuals into permanent supportive housing and an additional 1,423 individuals to a permanent housing destination through Rapid Rehousing since 2017, including those previously living in precarious, unsafe housing and encampments.

These results are directly tied to your support and to targeted state funding. We strongly urge the Legislature to restore full $1 billion HHAP funding in 2025-26, and to codify the allocation with binding language.

We are also grateful the Legislature rejected the Governor’s proposal to cut the 2025-26 Encampment Resolution Fund (ERF) entirely, instead reducing it by $100 million. Marin has used ERF funding to resolve rural and urban encampments with dignity and safety through outreach programs, housing placements, and wraparound supports.

While our Board was proud to be the first in the state to endorse Proposition 1, we did so knowing it would stretch limited behavioral health resources across a broader population. We cannot simultaneously reduce homelessness funding without severely jeopardizing our overall progress on housing and behavioral health.

Health access and Medi-Cal equity

We understand the extraordinary uncertainty California faces from potential federal changes in Medicaid, but we know that local governments will ultimately absorb the cost of care for all residents. Pushing uninsured residents back onto local health systems will only increase emergency room use and compromise community-wide public health. In Marin, nearly 13,000 children, adults, and older adults are enrolled in Medi-Cal with “un-satisfactory immigration status”. Of that, more than 8,000 are adults (19-49) that only recently became eligible for coverage under the Medi-Cal for All expansion. We know that residents in our communities are using this critical program and need the essential healthcare services it provides.

We commend the Legislature for significantly improving the Medi-Cal proposals in the May Revise. In particular, we appreciate:

• Rejecting the proposal to eliminate IHSS and long-term care for undocumented,
• Reducing Medi-Cal premiums for undocumented from $100 to $30 per month,
• Modifying the proposed enrollment freeze for undocumented to include a six-month grace period with no age-out provision,
• Retaining the Medi-Cal Asset Test at a more realistic $130,000 threshold,
• Rejecting cuts to key women’s health, public health, and reproductive health.

We also strongly support the Legislature’s decision to reject the proposal to cap IHSS provider hours and to preserve IHSS eligibility for undocumented Californians. These actions uphold the dignity of care work and avoid devastating disruptions for seniors and people with disabilities in Marin.

Maternal and early childhood behavioral health, Child Welfare
We are pleased that the Legislature approved funding and positions to implement the federal Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model under the DHCS Maternal Behavioral Health Initiative (MBHI). Locally, Marin is advancing this work through a $3 million grant to North Marin Community Services, First 5 Marin, the Postpartum Support Center, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, and others. In Marin, more than 25% of parents experience mood or anxiety disorders, and 75% go untreated, especially in low-income and BIPOC communities. This grant is helping us close care gaps in treatment and access, reduce stigma, and create seamless systems of support. Thank you for supporting this vital initiative.

We also appreciate the Legislature’s efforts to moderate cuts to child welfare programs. The reductions to the Emergency Child Care Bridge and Family Urgency Response System were decreased in the Legislature’s proposal from what the Governor proposed. We also commend the Legislature for preserving funding for the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program, Home Safe, and Bringing Families Home—which provide essential housing support to families involved in the child welfare system.

We thank you for your tireless advocacy on behalf of Marin County residents and your collaborative partnership with our Board. We remain committed to being strong and proactive partners with the State and hope these reflections are helpful as you approach the final days of budget negotiations.

Sincerely, 

Mary Sackett, President
Marin County Board of Supervisors

CC:       Marin County Board of Supervisors