SCGA Public Affairs

SCGA Public Affairs Updates

Archived reports on matters where golf and public policy intersect.


Colorado Basin:  What’s Going On?

A glance at the front page of Wednesday’s Los Angeles Times tells you all you need to know about where California stands with respect to water.

Read More → Water / Environment

IT’S STILL THE LAND, STUPID

Whether it was golf’s ability to kill AB 672 and AB 1910 so effectively in the last two legislative sessions or legislators’ realization that offering financial bounties to chop municipal parkland golf courses into housing complexes was a bad idea, this year’s legislative session has nothing resembling either bill.

Read More → Legislation / Regulation

RECENT EVENTS ALLOW FOR REGROUPING NOT RESTING

Mother Nature may be blessing us, and the state legislature may be giving us a rest, but the fundamentals that make the surcease so welcome remain firmly in place.

Read More → Legislation / Regulation Water / Environment

2023 LEGISLATIVE SESSION – THE EARLY RETURNS

Not all of the 19th Century rules governing the rhythms of California’s legislative session are without value. The one requiring that bills must sit idle for a minimum of 30 days after filing is one of them. This gives everyone plenty of time to sift through the roughly 2,500 bills that were filed for consideration this session, most of which were filed within 10 days of last Friday’s deadline.

Read More → Legislation / Regulation

SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT ACT: THE LITIGATION BEGINS

If you thought that the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act’s (SGMA) addition of yet another layer atop California’s and the Southwest’s already highly layered and complicated water law wasn’t going to result in a bevy of litigation to determine access to the commodity that Mark Twain quipped was “for fighting, not drinking,” you were naïve.

Read More → Water / Environment

MONTEBELLO: A CAUTIONARY TALE

If you are a Los Angeles area public golfer trying to secure a tee time in a region identified by the National Golf Foundation (NGF) as the lowest concentration of golf per golfer in the Continental United States you have taken note that one of the mainstays you have relied upon for close to 100 years closed a few months ago – the Montebello Golf Course mere yards off the 60 Freeway just a few miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

Read More → Municipal Golf

THE POSTURING BEGINS

January 31 came and went without the seven (7) states that form the Upper and Lower Basins of the Colorado River Compact coming to agreement on how to cede enough of their extant river allocations to meet the federal government’s (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) short-term 2023-2026 requirements.

Read More → Legislation / Regulation Water / Environment

MUNICIPAL GOLF

With COVID now behind us, no more bills like AB 1910 in the immediate offing, and the game’s drought response cum coping mechanisms in high gear, we plan to pivot back toward municipal golf in 2023.

Read More → Municipal Golf

DROUGHT: A REPRIEVE TO BE SURE BUT NO END IN SIGHT

The atmospheric rivers that began pummeling California right after Christmas have produced more than enough snow in the Sierra Nevada and rain everywhere else to provide relief to those parts of the state dependent upon Mother Nature and the State Water Project for the bulk of their water needs – not permanent relief, but a timeout to regroup after the three driest years on record.

Read More → Water / Environment

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR

As 2023 opens, there is some good news, some bad news, some interesting news, and some no news to report.

Read More → Legislation / Regulation Water / Environment
Viewing Page: ‹ First  < 2 3 4 5 6 >  Last ›

Update Types

Covid-19

The SCGA is committed to ensuring that golf remains a safe and viable activity during the pandemic.


Legislation / Regulation

The SCGA advocates for the game at those junctures where the game and public policy intersect by engaging elected officials, regulatory agencies, special districts, and commissions and committees of all types.


Municipal Golf

Municipal golf’s continued success is key to the game’s continued success, and SCGA Governmental Affairs is laser focused on promoting policies conducive of that success.


Water / Environment

SCGA is committed to reducing the water footprint of the game in a manner consistent with sound agronomic practice and conducive of long-term sustainability.