An Honest Economy for Humboldt County
Where the redwoods meet the sea — and working people deserve a future
Eureka and Arcata anchor a region built by loggers, fishers, and farmers. The Yurok, Hoopa Valley, and Wiyot tribes have called this land home since time immemorial. But the mills closed. The salmon stopped running. The cannabis market crashed. Fentanyl is devastating communities from Eureka to Garberville. Humboldt needs an economy that works for everyone — and these three bills are where it starts.
Three Crises. Three Bills. Real Legislation.
Humboldt County faces a collapsing fishing industry, a timber economy that never recovered, and a fentanyl and public safety crisis hitting Eureka harder than almost any city its size in California. The harbor at Eureka — once one of the busiest on the North Coast — needs investment to survive, not just promises. These aren't talking points. They're drafted federal bills with funding mechanisms, constitutional analysis, and built-in sunset provisions. Read them yourself.
From Seashore to Stockyard — CA-2 Food Security and Economic Resilience Act
Rebuilding Humboldt Bay's fishing economy — and opening new doors on the water
Three straight years of salmon closures. Crab seasons cut short by toxic algal blooms. Boats sold off because captains can't make payments when there's nothing to catch. Humboldt's fishing fleet is being wiped out. This comprehensive food security and fishing economy bill — written specifically for CA-2's coastal communities — hits every piece of the crisis. It provides immediate salmon disaster payments so families can pay their bills during closures, crab fleet resilience support to keep boats maintained and ready, and a Fisher-to-Kelp-Farmer transition program that helps commercial fishers diversify into regenerative aquaculture — restoring the bull kelp forests that have been 95% destroyed while earning a living on the ocean. It also funds working waterfront modernization at Humboldt Bay, upgrades cold storage and pier infrastructure, creates marine technology certifications at College of the Redwoods so local workers fill new jobs in offshore wind and ocean monitoring, and establishes a self-funding Blue Economy Trust Fund paid for by industrial ocean users, not taxpayers. Tribal fishing rights for the Yurok, Hoopa Valley, and Wiyot peoples are fully protected throughout.
CA-2 Comprehensive Affordability, Fair Housing, Education, and Community Health Act (CA-2 CAFE-CH)
The mills are gone — but the timber economy doesn't have to be. And broadband can't wait.
When the timber industry collapsed, Humboldt lost thousands of jobs and never got them back. This bill's Division M — Redwood Country Rural Prosperity and Biomass Energy — was written with Humboldt explicitly named as a priority county. It brings mass timber and cross-laminated timber (CLT) manufacturing grants up to $15,000,000 per facility to the region, targeting Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino counties — turning Humboldt's forests into a 21st-century industry with high-wage local jobs on the sites where mills once stood. The Biomass Circular Economy Program converts forest slash and timber residuals into biogas energy and compost, creating rural jobs while reducing the wildfire fuel loads that threaten communities from Garberville to Arcata. 100/20 Mbps broadband reaches every home in Humboldt, with gigabit speeds for schools and hospitals — because economic participation requires reliable internet and the county still has vast dead zones. The bill also covers healthcare workforce shortages through loan forgiveness for doctors, nurses, and behavioral health professionals, $18,000,000 per year for substance abuse programs with mobile crisis teams specifically serving Humboldt, and community food hubs with cold storage for each CA-2 county.
American Public Safety & Justice Act
Stopping fentanyl. Supporting officers. Giving Eureka real tools to recover.
Eureka has among the highest rates of drug-related street activity and homelessness of any city its size in California. Fentanyl — 50 times more potent than heroin — is the driving force. The organizations doing the work on the ground, from the Eureka Rescue Mission to Betty Kwan Chinn's outreach, are covering for the absence of a comprehensive federal response. This bill delivers one. It establishes a Federal Fentanyl Joint Task Force with field offices in areas with 400%+ increases in overdose deaths — Humboldt qualifies — targeting high-level trafficking networks, not just street-level arrests. It funds Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) expansion with rural priority, giving people access to the gold-standard treatment that works. Community treatment centers provide the full continuum: detox, residential, outpatient, and recovery housing. Naloxone distribution through vending machines, pharmacies, and first responders keeps people alive until they're ready for treatment. Fentanyl test strips — declared legal under federal law in this bill — let people check whether what they're taking has been laced. And for officers themselves: $200 million for mental health and wellness, $500 million in evidence-based training, and $300 million for Crisis Intervention Teams that pair officers with mental health professionals for calls that aren't really law enforcement problems.
Every Bill Meets These Standards
Not talking points — tested principles. Every bill was drafted with constitutional analysis, fiscal scoring, and real accountability built in.