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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-03-23 City Council (22)TO: City 4 City of Palo Alto Manager’s Report HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL ATTENTION: POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE MARCH 23, 1998 CMR:154:98 PROPOSED 1998 LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Policy and Services Committee approve the 1998 legislative objectives and recommends that the City Council adopt these objectives as the basis for the City’s legislative advocacy in 1998. BACKGROUND On April 28, 1997, the City Council adopted its 1997 legislative objectives (CMR: 182:97), which were based on a compilation of positions that had been previously acknowledged by the Council in July 1996 and then updated by staff for 1997. The 1997 legislative objectives consisted of 112 statements covering a wide range of issues. The City took action on several of these objectives as well as others that were not listed in the 1997 platform. The City’s primary method of taking action on legislative matters was by writing letters for the Mayor’s signature, stating support of or opposition to specific pieces of legislation. In addition, the City worked actively with Senator Byron Sher to sponsor SB 682 to provide 60 days notice tO tenants facing a rent increase and SB 448 to protect privacy rights for publicly operated utilities. A table describing the legislative action taken by the City of Palo Alto is attached. From this table it can be seen that the City took action on 19 items, including 15 State bills, two Federal bills and two decisions by the Federal Communications Commission. Of these 19 items, 13 items (or two thirds) related to objectives put forth in the City’s 1997 legislative platform; 6 items (or one third) were not directly addressed in the plat.form. Sixteen of the 19 State and Federal items on which the City took action have been signed, vetoed or otherwise resolved. Of these 16 resolved items, eight were decided in Palo Alto’s favor, i.e., the position put forth by the City was the position that prevailed. Palo Alto-sponsored SB682 is one of the eight items not resolved in the City’s favor. CMR: 154:98 Page 1 of 3 DISCUSSION Analysis of the City’s legislative action in 1997. raised concems regarding the timeliness and focus of the City’s 1997 legislative objectives. These concems were also raised by the Policy and Services Committee in March 1997 when it called for distillation of the 1997 legislative objectives into a reasonable set of priorities. In 1997, the City’s legislative objectives were based in large part on the 1996 platform which, in turn, was based on positions endorsed by Council in previous years. Of the 112 objectives in the 1997 platform, 83 were also in the 1996 platform, which suggests an opportunity to make the platform more up-to-date. Legislative advocacy letters were sent on only 10 percent of the objectives in the 1997 platform. A cursory, retrospective review of State bills enacted in 1997 reveals several that the City did not take action on even though these bills addressed objectives in the City’s 1997 platform. To ensure that the City’s legislative objectives reflect current priorities, staffdecided to build the platform from the bottom up, drawing on previous platforms as appropriate, but not using them as a starting point. The intent was not to develop an exhaustive list that captures the ¯ City’s position on all potential legislation. Rather, the intent was to show how Palo Alto will focus its limited resources for legislative action on the issues that matter most to the City and its residents. Consequently, each department was asked to work with the appropriate staff as well as boards and commissions to determine top legislative priorities, using the following criteria: The issue will have a significant impact on the operation and/or funding of a department or the City as a whole The issue will be worthy of dedicating sufficient staff resources to track relevant legislation and take proactive, meaningful action in support or opposition The issue is likely to require action in 1998 The priorities submitted by departments have been compiled into the 1998 legislative objectives (see attached). The objectives consist of 31 statements of the City’s position on a variety of issues of significance to the City organization and the community. The focus of the platform is primarily in the areas of revenue and taxation, transportation and utilities. Many of the priorities in these ar.eas are continued from the previous year. The bottom-up approach taken in developing the 1998 legislative platform has resulted in a reasonable number of legislative objectives that reflect the City’s priorities. This will enable City staffto more effectively track and take action on legislation which corresponds to the 1998 platform. Staff from departments who proposed objectives in the platform will be responsible for tracking corresponding legislation and reporting on their advocacy efforts and the results at the end of the legislative session. The City Manager’s Office will provide CMR: 154:98 Page 2 of 3 support to the legislative advocacy process throughout the year and will compile an analysis of the legislative platform at the end of the year. Since the 1998 legislative objectives are more focused, it will be necessary to maintain the flexibility currently afforded in the City’s process for legislative advocacy to enable a timely response to new issues. As the Council and staff identify issues throughout the year that are important to the City, but not expressly included in the 1998 platform, the Mayor is empowered to sign legislative advocacy letters that he deems to be consistent with City policy and/or other legislative objectives. RESOURCE IMPACT This report does not represent any change to existing City resotwce allocation. City staff will continue to be expected to allocate time to legislative advocacy, although in a more focused way on a smaller set of legislative objectives. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This report does not represent any change to existing City policies. TIMELINE Upon adoption by the City Council, the 1998 legislative objectives will immediately become the basis for the City’s legislative advocacy. The process to develop the City’s 1999 legislative platform will begin in the Fall of 1998. Analysis of the legislative action taken by City departments and the results of the legislative session will be presented to Council in early 1999. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The adoption of legislative objectives is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ATTACHMENTS Analysis of 1997 Legislative Objectives 1998 Legislative Objectives ’PREPARED BY: Audrey Seymour, Senior Executive Assistant CITY MANAGER APPROVAL.’~. ~ A~~) ~’~MIL’V~HARRISON Assistant City Manager CMR:154:98 Page 3 of 3 Analysi~,,of (~ity ofpalo Alto 1997 Legislative Objectives Legis- lation # AB92 AB379 SB147 AB344 FCC AB95 et. al. AB1033 SB682 AB673 SB500 ABll91 AB1296 AB940 AB1362 FIR1534 s. 1204 FCC AB371 s. 1483 SB448 Legislation Description Low Income Housing Credit High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes Enforcement Local Agency Borrowing Peace Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Texas state law re: municipal involvement in telecommunications ERAF Transfers State Children’s Trust Fund 60 Day Notice for Rental Tenancy Changes Public Employees: Mediation and Fact Finding Firearms ("Sat. Night Special" Ban) Vehicle Traffic Rules and Reg. Hazardous Recreational Activities: Skateboarding Limitation on Retention in Public Works Contracts Clarification of Guardino Decision Circumvention of Local Authority in Land Use Disputes Interstitial Channel Assignment Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team Pilot Municipal Utilities Tax Exempt Bonds Public Records City Position Support Support Oppose Oppose Oppose Support Support Support Oppose Support Support Support Oppose Support Oppose Oppose Support Oppose Support In City Platform Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes City Action Letter 3/97 Letter 3/97 Letter 6/97 Letter 3/97 Letter 3/97 Letter 4/97 Letter 4/97 Letter 5/97 Sponsor Letter 6/97 Letter 9/97 Letter 7/97 Letter 8/97 Letter 8/97 Letter 9/97 Letter9/97 Letter10/97 Letter10/97 Letter 10/97 Letter 11/97 Letter 12/97 Sponsor Result Inactive file Signed Rfd. to Comm. Died out of, Committee Upheld Held in Comm. Signed Vetoed Vetoed Vetoed Signed Signed Vetoed Vetoed Rfd. to Comm. Upheld Held in Comm. Reported to Senate Signed CITY OF PALO ALTO 1998 LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES (Proposed) COMMUNITY SERVICES ¯ Support legislation that provides funding for mtmicipal infrastructure projects, including bond measures for matching grants to support urban parks, community centers, open space properties and amenities and library renovation and .construction. Oppose legislation that limits the abilities of libraries to provide the public with access to information, using the Interact as a tool. Support legislation that promotes regional collaboration to increase access to library resources. ELECTIONS Support legislation which preserves local control and integrity of elections for charter cities. Simplify procedures for recall and replacement of public officials. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS Support efforts to allow for Public Employees’ Retirement System medical benefits by contract amendment for domestic partners. HOUSING ¯Support legislation to authorize extended notice of rent increases to residential tenants. page 1 of 5 PUBLIC RECORDS ¯Support legislation which enables cities to charge fees to cover the costs associated with the research and retrieval of documents for the public. ¯Support legislation to authorize reasonable access to electronic public records. PUBLIC WORKS Oppose legislation that limits local control of solid waste collection and maintains the authority of municipalities to control s~iid waste flows through exclusive contracts, licenses, permits and franchises. Support efforts to reduce landfill waste, including development of additional markets and greater State compliance with the 50 percent diversion goal. REVENUE AND TAXATION Support legislation and/or efforts to revise the State constitution that restore and preserve revenue raising options and!or provide more revenue flexibility to cities, including preserving the authority to issue debt and approve general obligation bonds with a simple majority vote and restoring the authority to levy special purpose taxes with a less than 2/3 majority vote. (Specific examples include SB110, ACA10 and efforts to allow cities and counties to jointly plan for one cent sales tax increases). Support legislation to clarify and mitigate the impacts Of Proposition 218. Support legislation that restores city revenues that were shifted to other levels of government in prior years and which limits the ability 0fthe State to take actions which shift revenues in the future. (e.g. AB511, ERAF Reform) Support legislation that restricts the State from issuing unfunded mandates. Support efforts to ensure that any restructuring of State and local government should assign the responsibility for programs on the basis of how services can be provided and funded most effectively. page 2’of 5 TRANSPORTATION The City of Palo Alto will work with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to promote the following objectives: Maintain existing funding for transportation programs and protect dedicated transportation funds from diversions to the State General Fund or to other non- transportation purposes. Address the negative impacts of the California Supreme Court’s Guardino decision, including amending the State Constitution to authorize local special taxes for transportation purposes to be approved by a simple majority vote. Oppose limiting the flexibility of Caltrans and local agencies to contract out transportation project development work. Support legislation to provide a tax credit to employers who purchase public transit passes for their employees. Seek a Petroleum Violation Escrow Account (PVEA) appropriation to provide priority signal and intersection improvements for transit service along the Line 22 bus route. Support an approach to Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) reauthorization that: Preserves the basic framework and innovations of ISTEA Retains/expands upon key ISTEA principles, including funding flexibility and a balance between highway and transit investments Provides long-term, sustained investment in the nation’s transportation infrastructure -Maintains the Federal role in transit -Strengthens partnerships between Federal, State and local interests -Recognizes/strengthens the nexus between land use, air quality and transportation Support efforts to limit aircraft noise from San Francisco International Airport and enable notification and involvement of impacted cities in planning and decisions that affect aircraft noise. Efforts might include: amending noise standards to address single aircraft as well as cumulative noise; inspecting and replacing outdated noise monitoring equipment; installing noise monitoring equipment in impacted communities, including Palo Alto; requiring notification of impacted cities regarding changes in flight patterns, hours and volumes and providing Caltrans with the authority to impose penalties if State noise regulations are not met. page 3 of 5 UTILITIES Support local control of decision-making for local utilities, including: rate-making; regulatory authority; utility transfers to the general fund; bundling of telecommunications services with electric or other utility services; use of poles, conduits and other utilities infrastructure; water, purchases and implementation of the Best Management Practices of the California Urban Water Conservation Council. Support legislation for electric utility industry restructuring that: -Maintains the concept of municipal utilities -Creates a level playing field for municipal utilities with respect to other players in the marketplace Improves the efficiency of the electric system for the benefit of all consumers Retains existing regulatory authority and contractual commitments made on behalf of those consumers Facilitates customer choice, effective competition and market participation and opposes Federal restructuring proposals which undermine customer choice Provides fair stranded cost recovery Provides liability protection for electric utilities that have constructed their ¯facilities according to safe practices Opposes changes to Federal power pricing policies from cost-based to current market rate .Opposes the transfer of control or ownership of the Federal power marketing administrations (PMAs) to private entities Supports the goals of the Federal Central Valley Project Improvement Act and its implementation in a manner that does not unfairly burden CVP power customers Oppose limits to cities’ abilities to directly or indirectly provide telecommunications services or infrastructure under terms that are established locally. Support efforts to develop a more open and competitive market for water Oppose the imposition of a financial charge on urban water retail suppliers that would be used to specifically fund rural safe drinking water grants, groundwater clean-up and fish and wildlife enhancements. Support water quality standards based upon known health risks as determined from scientific evaluation. Support clear definition and legislation of business confidentiality rights for publicly operated utilities and their customers. page 4 of 5 OTI-IER Oppose Federal Communications Commission regulation of cable companies that preempts local franchise authority, protection of right-of-way and taxing authority. page 5 of 5