Camarillo City Council
AGENDA REPORT
Date: February 12, 2025
To: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
From: Greg Ramirez, City Manager
Submitted by: Carmen Nichols, Assistant City Manager
Subject: City Council Policy 2.02 Legislation and Legislative Matters
BACKGROUND
City Council Policy 2.02, Legislation and Legislative Matters establishes the actions Councilmembers and staff may take when engaging in legislative advocacy on behalf of the City of Camarillo. The policy addresses topics including the Legislative Platform, the procedure for taking a position on proposed bills, reporting to Council, and who may engage in advocacy. The policy was last amended in February 2020.
On January 23, 2025, the Policy Committee reviewed the proposed amendments and forwarded the item for City Council’s review and adoption.
DISCUSSION
Staff recommends several amendments to Policy 2.02 to streamline the process of responding to proposed legislation, clarify allowable actions, bring the policy up to date with existing practices, and provide greater flexibility to Council and staff.
Legislative Platform
Currently, Policy 2.02 requires that the Legislative Platform be developed by the Policy Committee and adopted by the City Council on the annual basis. This limits the ability for the Policy Committee and City Council to make additions to the Platform as needed. It also requires staff to present the Platform to the committee and Council for adoption even if no modifications are needed.
It is recommended that the word “annually” be removed from the Policy to allow for greater flexibility, letting the Policy Committee discuss potential changes as often as needed, and saving staff time if no modifications are needed year over year.
Policy 2.02 – Legislation and Legislative Matters
February 12, 2025
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FISCAL IMPACT
There is no budget impact as a result of this action.
CEQA DETERMINATIONS
Not applicable
Position & Actions
Currently, Policy 2.02 outlines legislative positions the City Council is authorized to take when submitting correspondence on proposed legislation. The current positions and actions are repetitive, and some are not commonly used. Additionally, the policy fails to identify other positions that are commonly used.
Staff recommends the deletion of “strongly support or strongly oppose”, which are not commonly used and duplicative from the previous support/oppose positions. Instead, staff recommends the addition of “support if amended or oppose unless amended”.
Legislatively, these are more commonly known as action strategies taken to show that support or opposition is contingent on actions taken by the author of a bill.
Correspondence Submission
Currently, since the City Council adopts the Legislative Platform, staff takes positions on bill proposals without Mayor review so long as the legislation is addressed by an action strategy in the Platform. If a legislative proposal does not fit the Platform, staff routes a position recommendation to the Mayor for review and approval. Staff recommends language consistent with this practice.
Interim Reporting
The current language in Policy 2.02 states that staff will prepare reports on legislative matters for the City Council. However, current practice is to provide regular updates to the Policy Committee during a regularly scheduled meeting. The Committee may make a recommendation to forward an item to the City Council for review. This process imitates the current Legislative Platform approval process, where the Policy Committee provides the initial review. Staff recommends language consistent with this current practice.
Legislative Delegation
The current language in Policy 2.02 states that the members of the Policy Committee will serve as the City’s Legislative Delegation for purposes of lobbying. However, current practice is to prioritize the Mayor and Vice Mayor as the advocates of the City. This may change periodically depending on availability, area of expertise, or district impact.
Therefore, it is best to maintain flexibility on who conducts the physical lobbying. Staff recommends removal of this section.
Policy 2.02 – Legislation and Legislative Matters
February 12, 2025
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RECOMMENDATION
Review and adopt the amendments to Policy 2.02.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Policy 2.02 Legislation and Legislative Matters (redline) REFERENCE MATERIALS – AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AT CITY HALL None