1 CITY OF CORONA
2023
LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM
Purpose
The purpose of the City of Corona Legislative Platform (“the Legislative Platform”) is to establish and adopt City Council policy positions on various State and Federal legislation. Adoption of the Legislative Platform guides City officials involved in advocating City interests to Federal, State, and County governments, thereby precluding the need for the Council to reactively take individual positions on legislative issues that arise during the year.
Objective
The objective of the Legislative Platform is to promote proactive, timely representation of Corona’s interests through education, effective advocacy, and legislation.
Implementation
The Legislative Platform will be implemented as follows:
1. The City Manager shall direct the scope and activities of any State and Federal lobbyist hired on behalf of the City, consistent with the Legislative Platform and other direction provided by the City Council.
2. On an annual basis, the City Manager will present a Legislative Platform outlining the City’s position on various legislative issues to the City Council consideration and adoption.
3. The Mayor and City Council, through the Committee of the Whole, will be made aware of any legislative activities, proposed State or Federal legislation, and other policy-related matters that may have a direct and significant impact on the City’s fiscal, operational, and environmental health and the overall quality of life enjoyed by residents and other stakeholders.
4. The Mayor and City Council may establish joint advocacy efforts with other entities including the Chamber of Commerce, the Corona-Norco Unified School District, the County of Riverside, and other cities.
5. The Mayor and Council, through their involvement with the League of California Cities, Riverside County Transportation Commission, the Western Riverside Council of 2 Governments, and Southern California Association of Governments may communicate with lawmakers at the County, State, and Federal level through correspondence, personal contact, or testimony.
6. Letters of Support
a. Letters of support or opposition, consistent with the adopted position in the Legislative Platform, may be prepared by staff, for signature by the Mayor on behalf of the City without taking the letter to the full Council, so long as the position letter represents the City Council’s adopted position as stated in the legislative platform.
b. Should the Mayor choose not to authorize their signature on a position letter, the Vice Mayor may sign in their stead. Where neither the Mayor nor Vice Mayor chooses to sign a position letter, the item will be placed on a meeting agenda for review and consideration by the full Council.
c. A summary of all positions letters issued will be included in a regular legislative update distributed to Council outlining the need and citing the specific approved legislative policy used to expedite the City’s position. d. In cases where a pending legislative proposal falls outside of the scope of the approved legislative platform, that item will be placed on a future council agenda for review and consideration by the full Council.
7. The Council has the option of adopting any one of 6 positions on proposed legislation:
a. Support – A support position indicates to the legislature, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders that the City is in favor of the legislation in question. b. Support if Amended – A support if amended position indicates to the corresponding legislature, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders that the City is in favor of the legislation in question if the requested changes are adopted. c. Oppose – An oppose position indicates to the legislature, regulatory agency, and other stakeholders that the City is against the legislation in question. d. Oppose Unless Amended – An oppose unless amended position indicates to the legislature, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders that the City is against the legislation in question unless the requested changes are adopted. e. Neutral – A neutral position indicates to the corresponding legislature, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders that the City is impartial on the legislation in question and does not wish to take a position or has formally removed their prior adopted position due to changes being made to the legislation or proposal (e.g., a bill that the City had an “oppose unless amended” position on was amended to address concerns, therefore the City is formally withdrawing its opposition and moving to a “Neutral” position).
f. Watch – A watch is traditionally an internal position that indicates the City is monitoring the legislation. Should the bill be amended, the City reserves its right to adopt a position as indicated above.
8. The Legislative Platform is not intended to limit the prerogative of individual Councilmembers from expressing their individual support for or opposition to any Local measure, or State proposition, State or Federal legislation, or grassroots advocacy actions. However, in doing so, the Councilmember should clearly state that they are speaking for themselves, not on behalf of the Council or the City. 3 Standing Legislative Platform
The Legislative Platform reflects the adopted, standing position of the City Council until superseded. The priorities are stated in general terms so they can be applied broadly to various legislative proposals. Advocacy efforts on behalf of the City by staff or Councilmembers are expected to reflect the adopted position of the Legislative Platform. However, this is not intended to limit the prerogative of individual Councilmembers from expressing their individual support for or opposition to any Local measure, or State proposition, State or Federal legislation, or grassroots advocacy actions. However, in doing so, the member should clearly state that they are speaking for themselves, not on behalf of the Council or the City.
The Legislative Platform is divided into 11 sections dealing with the following topics:
1. Community Services
2. Economic Development
3. Home Rule
4. Housing Reform
5. Homelessness
6. Municipal Finance
7. Public Safety
8. Public Utilities
9. Tort Reform
10. Transportation
11. Unfunded Mandates
Section 1. Community Services
1.1. Library
a) Support efforts that provide funding for library branch extension. b) Support efforts to enhance understanding of how libraries play an integral role in building and sustaining our communities Support efforts that provide funding for library print and electronic materials.
c) Support efforts that provide funding for additional library services including costs for staff.
1.2. Parks & Recreation
a) Support efforts that provide funding or reimbursement for recreation programs and events, especially youths and seniors.
b) Support efforts that provide funding for adaptive/special needs programming. c) Support efforts that provide funding for the purchase of open space recreation land and the construction of recreational facilities.
d) Support efforts that provide funding for the renovation and maintenance of existing parks and recreation facilities to provide for more sustainable facilities and trails. e) Support legislation that would expand the regional trail system to increase active transportation options within the City.
Section 2. Economic Development
a) Support efforts to grow the manufacturing industry.
b) Support efforts to retrain displaced/low-income workers. c) Support efforts to embrace living and working locally, particularly legislation that impacts housing costs and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. d) Support efforts to embrace innovation by seeding new businesses and linking new workers with new jobs and career pathways created as a result of the pandemic. 4 e) Support the creation of business incubators such as the Corona Innovation Center in partnership with local and regional partners that can lend expertise, resources, education, and access to capital.
f) Support efforts to embrace entrepreneurship by growing existing entrepreneurship tracks in the City of Corona.
g) Support local Business Grants and California Dream Fund for those that are underrepresented and/or were impacted by the pandemic, creating accessibility to capital and improving opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Section 3. Home Rule
a) Support efforts that allow local jurisdictions to operate under its police powers to reasonably control the use of property in the interest of the health, safety, and welfare of the community.
b) Oppose legislation that would remove or limit local governments’ decisions on land use and development.
Section 4. Housing Reform
a) Support efforts that make affordable housing more attainable for local jurisdictions by providing financial resources or subsidies that are less competitive and do not require affordable housing developments to compete with one another. b) Oppose expanding State and Federal authority over local jurisdictions. c) Oppose penalties on a jurisdiction’s Housing Element such as monetary fines issued by the state and withholding state public transportation (“gas tax”) monies to local jurisdictions that are not capable of meeting their Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA).
d) Oppose housing legislation that takes away a jurisdiction’s local discretion or eliminates the public engagement process to evaluate the impacts of housing developments.
e) Oppose housing legislation that does not consider the differences of local jurisdictions and imposes a “one size fits all” requirement. f) Support legislation that reconsiders the methodology used in the allocation of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment that takes into account the extensive growth that has occurred in California cities since the inception of this law. g) Support legislation that would provide RHNA credit for the preservation of affordable housing units.
h) Support tax increment financing tools including the reestablishment of redevelopment agencies or other permanent ongoing state funding sources to subsidize low and very low-income housing.
i) Oppose legislation that mandates the elimination of impact fees for affordable housing, thus taking away a jurisdiction’s ability to negotiate with developers on pending projects.
j) Support legislation that includes manufactured homes as an affordable option for residents and provides protection from predatory landlords 5 Section 5. Homelessness
a) Support legislation and funding opportunities for the development of permanent supportive housing, including resources to finance the development of new units and resources to provide long-term sustainability for supportive services. b) Support legislation and funding opportunities to increase Federal and State funding to prevent and reduce homelessness in Riverside County. c) Support legislation and funding opportunities for mental health and drug abuse treatment to address chronic homelessness in Riverside County. d) Support legislation and funding opportunities to improve discharge planning from jails and prisons and to expand re-entry housing programs to prevent and address homelessness among inmates, parolees, and probationers in Riverside County.
Section 6. Municipal Finance
a) Support efforts that will protect the revenue base of local governments. b) Support efforts that will redirect State and Federal tax dollars to the City of Corona. c) Support efforts that protect the ability of local governments to responsibly raise revenue.
d) Support efforts that allow the City to control operating costs to the City and its residents.
e) Oppose actions that will reduce City of Corona revenues or limit the ability to raise revenue.
f) Support and monitor lawful implementation of Proposition 1A, which was passed to protect local government finance.
g) Support state legislation and or ballot measures that would authorize the City to lower the voter threshold to 55 percent for certain municipal bonds to fund the construction of or rehabilitation of public infrastructure including affordable housing.
Section 7. Public Safety
a) Support efforts that increase public safety within the City. b) Support efforts that provide funding or reimbursement for municipal public safety services.
c) Support efforts to protect the health and safety of law enforcement officers and firefighters.
d) Oppose efforts that reduce funding dedicated to municipal public safety services. e) Support legislation that allows for cities to determine public safety service levels and services offered from suppression staffing to Emergency Medical Services. f) Support emergency response funding initiatives that would support adequate local fire services as well as enhance the State’s ability to respond to major emergencies including large-scale fires, rescues, medical, and hazardous materials incidents. g) Support legislation that enhances Emergency Management Program Capabilities, to include core functions performed during emergencies and program functions performed on a day-to-day basis.
h) Support efforts that provide State and Federal funding to augment our capabilities in the four phases of Emergency Management; Preparedness, Response, 6 Recovery, and Mitigation.
i) Support legislation that would allow for effective law enforcement and oppose legislation that hampers that process.
j) Support wildland fire fighting enhancements, as well as wildland fire prevention and mitigation endeavors
Section 8. Public Utilities
8.1 General
a) Oppose regulations that affect publicly owned utilities that do not consider the cost of implementation.
b) Support efforts to provide penalties for theft of metal and other crimes that can harm or jeopardize the delivery and safety of the City’s water, sewer, and electric systems. c) Support efforts to provide funding for drought relief, disadvantaged communities, Delta management and sustainability, water supply reliability, statewide water system improvements, groundwater protection, water quality improvements, water reclamation, water conservation, watershed protection, and water bond issues. d) Support Federal efforts to address long-term drought that will benefit the City of Corona
e) Support Federal and State funding for long-term low and no-interest loan programs that will enable utilities to replace aging infrastructure. f) Oppose legislation that would reduce the inverse condemnation standard for incidents caused by a utility, whether retroactive or otherwise, and support the City’s ability to recover applicable damages.
g) Support Public Health related legislation, regulation, and other orders monitoring for the Utilities and in general City business practices. h) Support monitoring Army Corps of Engineering projects under the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).
8.2 Water Supply
a) Support policies and principles that recognize and maintain the “co-equal” goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem enhancement for the California Delta. b) Support the financing and construction of an alternative conveyance facility for the Delta to improve water supply reliability for the region and state. c) Support efforts to control and reduce imported water costs. d) Support the development of alternative water sources, such as desalinization plants, by streamlining the regulatory approval or permitting processes and by providing funding for such projects.
e) Support funding for planning and construction projects that provide for the sustainability of existing and future developments.
f) Support legislation and funding for projects that promote long-term regional water reliability.
8.3 Water Quality, Reclaimed Water and Greywater
a) Support water softener discharge and salinity management requirements to help maintain groundwater quality and reduce wastewater treatment costs. b) Support research on direct potable reuse of reclaimed water to help offset the use of potable water.
c) Support changes to the CEQA permitting process to help streamline the installation of reclaimed water lines within existing rights-of-way.
7 d) Support the implementation of reasonable emergency notification requirements for water quality notifications to the public.
e) Support efforts to approve alternative delivery methods of annual Consumer Confidence Reports including, but not limited to, posting online, delivery by email, and notification of online reports delivered by mail.
f) Support policies that encourage science-based results for setting water quality standards.
8.4 Groundwater Management
a) Support voluntary groundwater monitoring regulations that maintain local control of groundwater supplies and management.
b) Support the increased use of stormwater and reclaimed water for groundwater recharge and storage, as well as funding for the recharge of groundwater basins.
8.5 Water Conservation
a) Support efforts to maintain our Statewide Water Conservation targets. b) Support efforts that eliminate restrictions on water-efficient landscapes and the use of artificial turf in common interest developments and provide for appropriate enforcement mechanisms.
c) Support funding for stormwater recharge planning and projects. d) Support funding for water reclamation and advanced reclamation treatment technology projects.
8.6 Electricity:
a) Support efforts that would stabilize electricity rates and give cities the ability to municipalize utilities.
b) Support the expansion of direct access programs that provide a choice to electric customers and encourage competitive pricing.
c) Support efforts to consolidate electrical reporting requirements for the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the Department of Energy.
d) Support funding for solar power projects and other alternative energy sources. e) Oppose expanding State and Federal authority and controls on municipal facilities or operations.
f) Support legislation and rule-making that would allow small Publicly Owned Utilities (POU), supplying less than 200,000 Mwh of energy per year, to meet Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and other obligations through flexible options that take into account small POU constraints.
g) Support the standardization of open-source protocol for electric vehicle charging station networks.
h) Support monitoring Electric Utility grid reliability and resiliency requirements mandates.
8.6 Biosolids
a) Support efforts that recognize the science-based benefits of recycling and using biosolids and promote the use of biosolids in industries such as agriculture and fuel production.
Section 9. Tort Reform
a) Support efforts that reform liability statutes to reduce City exposure to "deep pocket" claims.
b) Oppose expansion of liability for municipalities. Protect from erosion of the defenses.
8 Section 10. Unfunded Mandates
a) Support efforts to provide increased flexibility for cities in the areas of service delivery and funding.
b) Oppose legislative actions that impose Federal or State mandates on cities without sufficient funding for implementation or reimbursement.
Section 11. Transportation
11.1 Regulation
a) Oppose legislation that would make the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act more restrictive on public projects.
11.2 Funding
a) Support efforts to provide State and Federal funding for local and regional transportation projects; especially those which increase the capacity or public safety of State Route 91, Interstate 15, State Route 71, and the various interchanges and on/off ramps associated with those routes in the Corona area. b) Support efforts to provide State and Federal funding for the construction of alternate or additional transportation corridors to Orange County. c) Support efforts to provide State and Federal funding for grade separation or other upgrades of existing roadway grade crossings of the railroad corridor to establish a Quiet Zone throughout the City of Corona.
d) Support efforts to provide State and Federal funding to repair and upgrade aging bridges and transportation infrastructure.
e) Oppose efforts to eliminate and/or restrict the use of Riverside County State Improvement Transportation Funds, Federal Surface Transportation program, Measure A, or Gas Tax funding for local transportation projects. f) Oppose efforts by the State to divert Riverside County State Improvement Transportation Funds, Federal Surface Transportation program, Measure A, or Gas Tax funding sources to help pay for the State budget deficit. g) Support efforts to increase federal programs and funding to mitigate the environmental and traffic congestion impacts of national goods movement from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles on Inland highways and grade crossings. h) Oppose efforts by the State to divert Proposition 42 funding away from transportation projects to fund the State budget deficit. i) Support legislation that safeguards Corona’s fair share allocation of Proposition 84 funds.
j) Support legislation that provides funding for the construction of Phase 2 of the parking structure at the North Main Metrolink Station.
11.3 Transit
a) Advocate for Medicaid policies that promote the use of transit as Medicaid providers
b) Support additional funding for transit operations, including services for persons with disabilities and senior citizens.
c) Support for inter-county transit services to assist commuters between Riverside and Orange Counties.
d) Support legislation and grant programs that encourage transit ridership, active transportation, and congestion relief programs for western Riverside County. 9 e) Support partnering efforts with local and regional agencies that improve coordination of transit services.
f) Advocate for Medicaid policies that promote the use of transit as Medicaid providers
11.4 Rail
a) Support legislation that provides funding for the improvement and expansion of commuter rail (Metrolink) services on the Inland Empire line. b) Support legislation that would implement the statewide high-speed rail (HSR) system including the segment from Los Angeles to San Diego via the Inland Empire, and light rail which increases intercity mobility from Corona and would relieve traffic congestion through the Corona area.
c) Oppose Congressional efforts to prohibit federal funding from being utilized on the California HSR project.
d) Support the implementation of an HSR alignment and station in Corona. e) Support legislation that promotes transit-oriented development and transit adjacent development around rail transit stations, while retaining local oversight and decision making.
11.4 Airport
a) Support efforts that provide funding for repairs and renovation of the Corona Municipal Airport.
b) Support efforts to fund and complete the Santa Ana Regional Interceptor line to minimize impacts on Corona Municipal Airport due to flooding. c) Support funding for security, lighting, and paving improvements at the Corona Municipal Airport.
11.5 Congestion
a) Support measures that lessen congestion and the wear and tear of Corona surface streets due to freeway “cut through” traffic.
b) Support the use of bike trails and pedestrian paths as viable alternatives to solo driving.
c) Oppose actions intended to expand the use of HOV lanes for purposes not associated with congestion relief or air quality improvement. d) Support efforts to provide State and Federal funding for future phases of the Advanced Traffic Management System (“ATMS”) which provides traffic signal synchronization and incident management.
e) Oppose any changes in Department of Transportation (DOT) American’s with Disabilities (ADA) regulations or interpretations without full public notice and comment.
f) Support legislation that provides tax incentives for people who use public transit instead of a personal vehicle.
g) Oppose any legislation that diverts additional gas tax from the City h) Oppose any action that removes or allows the use of toll revenue from the commuting corridor.
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