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PREVIOUSLY

• ‘Budgetary Nightmare’: The DA’s Office Overspent By $1.3M; Supes Deny Request to Plug the Hole With Contingency Funds

Click the link above for a report on the most noteworthy item from yesterday’s meeting of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors: a contentious hearing about District Attorney Stacey Eads’s office overspending its budget by almost $1.3 million.

But that was far from the only matter discussed by the board on Tuesday. Earlier on, the supervisors voted 4-1, with First District Supervisor Rex Bohn dissenting, to dissolve the existing ad hoc committee formed in June to review the county’s use of surveillance technology — in particular, the Sheriff’s Office’s deployment of automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras owned by Flock Safety.

In its place, the board designated a new committee with longer timeline and broader mandate: bringing back a countywide surveillance policy and/or draft ordinance addressing all surveillance technologies (not just ALPRs), with the option to return in pieces as work progresses and a target completion date by the end of 2027.

Mike Wilson, board chair and third district supervisor, noted that public concerns about Flock cameras have “exploded as a national issue” since the board last discussed the matter. Bohn, on the other hand, downplayed those concerns, saying he trusts the Sheriff’s Office to use the technology responsibly. (He sarcastically referred to public outcry over Flock surveillance as a “national catastrophe.”)

As noted in Monday’s meeting preview, Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone resigned from the ad hoc group without explanation, leaving Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell, County Administrative Officer Elisha Hayes, Sheriff William Honsal and IT Director Scott Irving.

Staff said that group met only twice and was still in early research stages, drawing on models from counties such as Santa Clara, Lake and Modesto. 

Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo said it was her understanding that the ad hoc group would consider guardrails for a wide range of surveillance technologies, including drones. She noted that, unlike the U.S. Constitution, California’s Constitution includes a right to privacy.

Bushnell expressed a desire to continue serving on the next ad hoc group, and she suggested Arroyo join as the second board representative. Arroyo agreed, though she noted that she is already serving on quite a few extra committees, and at nearly the last minute, Wilson indicated that he’d be willing to serve. Arroyo took him up on the offer, with Bushnell’s blessing.

Wilson questioned why the ad hoc group would need so much time to develop recommendations when many other jurisdictions have already implemented policies governing the use of surveillance tech. He suggested limiting the ad hoc group to just supervisors, who would consult with the sheriff and other departments. But Bushnell said she wasn’t interested in leaving Honsal out of the inner circle.

In the end, the board approved a motion from Bushnell to dissolve the old ad hoc and create a new one composed of herself and Wilson, Sheriff Honsal (or his representative) and representatives from the County Administrative Office, Public Works and IT.

Legislative platform

Every year, the board takes positions on a wide range of state and national policy matters and deploys its contracted lobbyists to advocate those positions on the county’s behalf. Yesterday, the board received an end-of-session update on the county’s state legislative program, which tracked about 60 bills this year, backing 20, opposing four and monitoring the rest.

The presentation was delivered by a pair of lobbyists from the Sacramento firm Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange alongside Deputy County Administrative Officer Sean Quincey. Together, they highlighted successful opposition to measures like AB 2099, which would have let billboard owners rebuild fallen structures without local permits, and ACA 9, a Public Utilities Commission restructuring plan seen as a threat to rural landline protections.

On the support side, the county is watching three nitrous oxide bills (SB 758, SB 936, AB 2076) aimed at restricting retail and online sales; AB 2224 to modernize county recorder fees and move recording online; and AB 2494 on demonstration forests — all of which are now on the governor’s desk.

The county also secured a $1 million earmark from Assemblymember Chris Rogers to help fund Humboldt County’s new one-stop permit center at the former Kmart building at the south end of Eureka.

The lobbyists also warned the board about how HR1 (President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act) could impact both county health obligations (potentially pushing more medically indigent adults back onto county responsibility by 2027) and offshore wind planning. (The lobbyists are focused on trying to convince the California Public Utilities Commission to  keep in its current electrical transmission planning guidelines in place despite the Trump administration’s attempts to stymie offshore wind development.) 

Lastly, the lobbyists touched on emerging legislation, spurred by the ongoing Miranda’s Rescue criminal investigation, to create a state permit system for animal rescues through the Department of Food and Agriculture. They said they’re coordinating with the CAO’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office and also noted that their firm represents the statewide association of animal shelters. The goal, lobbyist Karen Lange said, is to give the state “a more direct tool … to shut down a rescue that shouldn’t have any business operating the way that they were.”

Dolly!

One last thing to mention: Following the state’s lead, the board declared September 25, 2026, Dolly Parton Day in Humboldt County (9/25 … “9 to 5” … get it?). The proclamation honored Parton’s Imagination Library (or “Imaginary Library,” as Bushnell pronounced it), which mails free books each month to children from birth to age 5 in partnership with the Bridgeville Community Center.