Purpose Statement
To address legislative and regulatory concerns in a timely manner, this Citywide Legislative Policy details guiding principles that are organized around respective legislative, policy, and regulatory matters. This Citywide Legislative Policy intends to supplement the Citywide Strategic Plan while building an effective and flexible legislative advocacy strategy.
II. Guiding Principles
The Citywide Legislative Policy’s Guiding Principles are fundamental, overarching concepts that can be applied to respective legislative and/or regulatory matters. While legislative or regulatory proposals can range in breadth and complexity, these guiding principles will help narrow the City’s focus to those matters that are the most consequential to the City of Chino. The Citywide Legislative Policy Guiding Principles include:
Preserve Local Control: Ensuring that proposed legislation supports or expands the decision-making authority of the local agency to provide public services to its community. Preserving local control recognizes that Chino residents, through their democratic expression, have put in place elected officials best suited to make decisions that impact the immediate community. This also recognizes that imposing State mandates without appropriate reimbursement (commonly referred to as unfunded mandates) unnecessarily encumbers City resources which places an unreasonable burden on local agencies to best serve their community.
Protect and Expand Local Funding and Public Finance: The City will support measures that add to funding sources (e.g., grants or other funding programs). Likewise, the City will support legislation that protects existing funding sources, revenue bases, and local control over the municipal budgeting process. Conversely, the City will oppose efforts to shift local funds to State or County governments. The City will also support legislation, that through transparent tax structures and revenue allocations, seeks to secure a level of predictability in annual tax yields.
Enhance Quality of Life: The City will support legislation that advocates for the safety, well-being, and security of its residents, businesses, and visitors. This includes legislation that assists the City and its local partners to help families with childcare needs or by providing robust after school programs; this also includes assisting those struggling with mental health and/or those experiencing homelessness. Finally, the City will support legislation that promotes public safety operations.
III. Legislative, Regulatory, and Policy Areas:
The following are specific legislative and policy areas concerning the City of Chino. By identifying these issues, it is this policy’s intent to narrow the City’s focus on specific matters within the scope of the City’s Guiding Principles. These matters are not in ranked order. Rather, this list simply identifies matters that are consequential to the City of Chino.
ONTARIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (OIA): As a neighbor to the OIA, the City of Chino certainly has a clear interest in fostering a collaborative relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration, the City of Ontario, and the Ontario International Airport Authority. Therefore, the City will:
Support efforts that consider the quality of life for communities adjacent to OIA. This includes promoting environmentally safe aviation techniques that not only lessen OIA’s carbon footprint but also lessen the noise pollution generated from OIA activity.
Support efforts to utilize other airports within the Greater Los Angeles area that can accommodate increased activity.
Support legislative and regulatory initiatives to study and mitigate the noise and air quality impacts that are associated with air traffic overflights.
Support legislation that seeks to promote local control with airport administration and oppose efforts to regionalize aviation oversight as to minimize adjacent community concerns and influences.
FEDERAL LEGISLATION: The City of Chino partners with federal agencies and utilizes federal programs to deliver public services or improve undeveloped land. Therefore, the City will:
Support legislation that promotes flexibility to utilize funds that best meet local needs.
Will work with federal agencies to develop sustainable land use and infrastructure plans in the southern part of Chino adjacent to the Pardo Basin and Santa Ana River.
Will engage our local representatives to leverage federal funding for backbone infrastructure projects and social services.
HOUSING AND LAND USE REGULATIONS: By representing Chino residents, it is understood that Chino elected officials are best suited to make policy decisions surrounding local land uses. Thus, the City of Chino will support legislation that strengthens local control over land use decisions. Therefore, the City will:
Oppose any development agreement located in the City’s sphere of influence that does not align with City standards or General Plan.
Support legislation that simplifies and streamlines Housing Element requirements.
Support measures that provide funding to help cities address affordable housing concerns.
Support efforts that increase City input when Regional Housing Needs Assessments are analyzed and developed.
Support any measure or legislation that seeks to preserve or build the City’s local control over planning and zoning matters.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AND STABILITY: Chino is a dynamic and growing community that requires and expects robust public services. This means the City will adamantly protect its revenue sources while simultaneously taking prudent measures to control operational costs. Therefore, the City will:
Support legislation or proposals that provide greater financial independence from the State by affording the City greater latitude to generate and control its own source revenue.
Oppose any legislation that would constitute as an unfunded mandate.
Oppose any legislation that would unfairly redistribute general purpose tax revenue (e.g., sales tax revenue yields from online purchases).
Oppose legislation that would limit discretion with locally imposed taxes.
Oppose any legislation that would remove or limit tax exemptions from municipal bonds.
Support any legislation that helps build predictability in local government tax revenues, and likewise, oppose any legislation that reduces or eliminates local revenue sources.
EMPLOYEE RELATIONS AND PENSION ADMINISTRATION: The City of Chino continues to employ best practices in the field of personnel management, and desires to see that State legislation will support our efforts. Therefore, the City will:
Support legislation that allows the City to more independently engage in employee relations and collective bargaining.
Support legislation that fairly distributes financial obligations to fund pensions and other post-employment benefits between the City of Chino and its retirees.
Oppose legislation that undermines the relationship and understandings among the City of Chino, City of Chino employees, and the California Public Employee Retirement System (e.g., California Senate Bill 266, 2019-2020 Regular Session).
Oppose legislation that seeks to impose additional financial burdens on public agencies with its pension administration, employee relations, and/or collective bargaining practices.
PUBLIC SAFETY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES: The City of Chino prides itself with providing excellent and robust public safety, health, and recreation services. The City of Chino Police Department, Community Services Department, and Chino Valley Independent Fire District are staples in our community, and the City will support legislation that promotes their respective efforts. Therefore, the City will:
Support legislation that provides funding so that local agencies and their community partners are better equipped to support those experiencing mental health crises, homelessness, food insecurity, addiction, etc.
Support funding programs that help local agencies continue to improve, modernize, and make more accessible their local parks.
Support legislation that yields greater latitude for local agencies to use asset forfeiture funds in a manner most effective for their respective communities.
Support legislation that assists and provides funding for local law enforcement efforts, fire suppression/prevention, hazardous materials mitigation, and disaster preparedness.
Support legislation that allows the City to better recoup the funds utilized when responding to a Citywide disaster/emergency.
Support legislation that funds programs aimed at protecting youth from tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. This includes after school programs that offer positive activities for participants.
Support legislation that strengthens law enforcement’s ability to enforce legal protections for all individuals that are victims of a crime.
Support legislation that helps law enforcement assuage the criminal and fiscal impacts of “early release” programs.
Support legislation that funds and promotes interagency coordination.
LOCAL AND REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE: The City of Chino is a growing community that serves as a major residential and commercial area in both the Inland Empire and the Greater Los Angeles region. Given the consistent use and economic implications of Chino’s local and regional infrastructure, the City will continuously seek for opportunities that support infrastructure maintenance and construction. Therefore, the City will:
Support legislation that creates the framework for effective and beneficial collaboration with regional and neighboring agencies.
Support legislation that provides funding and/or recognizes the importance of regional and local infrastructure within the San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange County areas.
Support legislation that recognizes changing market trends and incorporates opportunities to facilitate these changing economic conditions.
Support legislation that promotes equitable fiscal liability and maintenance for regional infrastructure facilities.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES: The City of Chino’s Administration Department serves as an intersection for all departments. The Administration Department facilitates the efforts of all departments while ensuring compliance with electoral and transparency laws. Therefore, the City will:
Support legislation that promotes modern, effective, and financially prudent means to meet legal noticing requirements for public meetings.
Support legislation that simplifies FPPC regulations and filing requirements.
Support legislation that cuts any unnecessary costs for municipal elections.
Oppose any legislation that would require additional costs without adequate reimbursement.
Support legislation that would assist cities in identifying, mitigating, and coming to a resolution on clear and unequivocal abuses of the California Public Records Act.
IV. Legislative Policy Committee Membership:
Each year when City Council committee assignments are established, the City Council committee assignment list shall also include the Legislative Policy Committee. Two sitting City Council members shall serve on the Legislative Policy Committee. The term of the committee assignment will continue up until that time when the City Council committee assignment list is reviewed, modified, and approved by the City Council.
City staff support of this committee shall be determined and assigned by the City Manager.
V. Functions and Tasks of the Legislative Policy Committee:
The Legislative Policy Committee (“Committee”) shall meet as needed.
All Committee meetings shall be publicly agenized and held in publicly accessible facilities pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act.
The Committee shall have a subpage to the Chino City Council webpage. The Committee subpage shall detail the Committee’s membership, purpose, and information on how to access agenda related materials.
The Committee will review all proposed legislation that could potentially impact the City of Chino and recommend official positions to the City Council.
The Committee members will meet with State and Federal elected officials or members of their office on the legislation impacting the City.
The Committee will formulate and/or approve official City responses or communications to proposed legislation impacting the City and forward those responses or communications to the City Council for approval.
All signed letters or other formal means of expression will be uploaded on the Committee’s subpage.
The Committee will instruct and work with City staff and its consultants on matters relating to legislation.
For those legislative items with potentially significant impact to the City or that create an issue of timeliness for an official response, the City Council authorizes Staff to formulate and approve official City responses with the qualification that the position is determined to be consistent with the City’s legislative platform.
The Committee or Staff will report to the City Council on any updates, recommendations, or actions taken by the Committee or Staff at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting following the most recent Committee meeting.
VI. Signature Authority:
All signed letters or any other formal expressions of support or opposition to proposed legislation, regulations, or policies as directed by the Committee or the City Council or formulated by Staff consistent with the City’s legislative platform as noted above, may be signed by the Mayor on behalf of the City of Chino. Given the legislative process’ fluidity and in the interest of time, should the Mayor be unable or present to sign on behalf of the City, then the City Council hereby designates the Committee members to sign on behalf of the City.
VII.. Policy Changes and Amendments:
This policy may be changed with City Council approval by way of an adopted City Council Resolution.
Administrative Policy
Citywide Legislative Platform and Policy