DATE:
January 24, 2023
TO:
Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM:
Christina Gilmore, Assistant to the City Manager
Audrey Seymour Ramberg, Assistant City
Manager/Chief Operating Officer
VIA:
Kimbra McCarthy, City Manager
TITLE: Legislative Program Priorities for 2023
PURPOSE
The purpose of this Study Session is to receive City Council input on the proposed legislative program priority issues to guide the City’s regional, State, and Federal legislative advocacy during the 2023 legislative session.
BACKGROUND
As part of the Fiscal Years 2021-22 and 2022-23 Strategic Action Plan, Council adopted a project to develop and implement an enhanced legislative program under the Organizational Strength and Good Governance strategic priority. As part of this project, the City hired the Renne Public Policy Group (RPPG) to assist Council and staff on the City’s advocacy efforts.
In February 2022, the City Council adopted a 2022 Legislative Platform developed with input from Councilmembers, key staff from all City departments, RPPG, and members of the public. The platform consisted of 11 issue areas with 97 policy statements refle cting the City’s legislative priorities. The Legislative Platform provides ongoing direction for City staff and the legislative advocate to engage on a variety of legislative issues and is a guiding document for the City to promote and preserve its interests at the regional, State, and Federal levels.
During the 2022 legislative session, the City, with assistance from RPPG, engaged in 10 regional issues and 13 pieces of State legislation (achieving a desired outcome on 12 of those measures).
In addition, the City engaged in five Federal legislative issues. The City’s advocacy actions included taking positions on legislation (including positions of support, opposition, watch, review, and assess) in the following legislative categories: Administration, Finance, Human Resources, and Risk Management; Governmental Transparency and Public Access; Housing and Community Development; Supportive Housing ; Mental Health ; Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability; Water; Public Safety; and Transportation and Public Works.
Legislative Program Priorities for 2023
January 24, 2023
In addition, staff has represented the City’s intergovernmental interests in several other areas.
This has included meeting with legislators and staff to communicate the City’s interests, seeking grants and State and Federal earmarks, preparing position papers for meetings during the National League of Cities Congressional Cities Conference, coordinating the City’s participation in quarterly meetings with the Moffett Federal Airfield and NASA Ames Community, and coordinating the participation of the City’s elected delegation in the launch of Elevate MV.
Reviewing and updating the Legislative Platform at the beginning of each legislative session is an important component of the City’s legislative advocacy program. This helps ensure that the City Council’s current priorities are reflected in the Platform and provides direction to City staff and the legislative advocate that enables efficient and effective engagement on the regional, State, and Federal issues and initiatives that affect the City’s priorities, programs, or operations.
DISCUSSION
2023 Legislative Platform
The proposed 2023 Legislative Platform is based on the framework of the adopted 2022 Platform.
Proposed modifications to the Platform are based on feedback received from each City department regarding the major issues they are focused on . The proposed 2023 Legislative Platform:
• Carries forward the 11 policy issue areas identified in the 2022 Legislative Platform with modifications to enhance the title of the Recreation and Parks issue area to include Library Services and enhance the title of the Homelessness issue area to include Human Services.
• Includes the addition of eight new policy statements across four issue areas.
• Lists a total of 120 policy statements.
Proposed Revisions for 2023
The proposed 2023 Legislative Platform is included as Attachment 1. All unaltered text has previously been adopted by the City Council as a part of the 2022 Legislative Platform. All proposed modifications and additions to the 2023 Legislative Platform c an be identified in Attachment 1 in bolded, blue, underlined, and italicized text and are summarized below.
C. Housing and Community Development
• Support legislation that protects the City’s ability to implement housing programs that promote equity and inclusion, prevent disparate impacts, reduce barriers , and Legislative Program Priorities for 2023
January 24, 2023
increases access to housing, including legislation to modify the State Density Bonus Law.
• Monitor and evaluate legislation that relates to City permit review timelines for new multi-family, mixed-use, and/or commercial development.
• Oppose legislation that poses risks to historic resources and neighborhood -/local- serving retail/services/restaurants, and support legislation that preserves historic resources and requires replacement of any displaced neighborhood -/local-serving retail/service/restaurant uses in new development.
E. Economic Development
• Support nonresidential antidisplacement legislation that promotes and protects the ability of small businesses to stay in the community, including business protection and replacement requirements.
• Support policies and programs for the arts/artist community that enhance and increase economic vitality for local businesses, create new jobs, increase the tax base, and promote tourism.
F. Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability
• Support funding and planning for climate resilience, including extreme heat, sea level rise, and flood protection.
• Support policies and funding to support disadvantaged communities to plan for climate change and reduce impacts to disadvantaged communities from climate change.
• Support reduction of nonrenewable energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through electrification of buildings and transportation, carbon sequestration, and increased production and use of renewable energy.
• Support State analysis of costs and benefits of potential climate policies and support policies and practices that facilitate access by local government to resource use data, such as energy, water, and fuel consumption , to enhance effectiveness of local sustainability program implementation.
Legislative Program Priorities for 2023
January 24, 2023
I. Recreation, Parks, and Library Services
• Support the California Library Association’s efforts to retain current funding levels , increase funding , and oppose legislation or budgetary actions that would reduce funding for libraries.
Council Policy A-16, Positions on Ballot Measures and Legislative Advocacy
The proposed issue areas and policy statements are consistent with the legislative guiding principles outlined in City Council Policy A-16, summarized below (Attachment 2):
• Protects or increases local control or revenue;
• Protects or increases funding or otherwise benefits specific programs or services utilized in Mountain View;
• Opposes an unfunded mandate; and
• Is consistent with existing City policy, a past action, or current City Council major goals (strategic priorities).
2023 Legislative Timeline and Important Dates
The State Legislature resumed the 2023-24 legislative session on January 3, 2023. From January through the February 17 bill introduction deadline, it is likely that there will be over 2,000 individual pieces of legislation introduced. Lawmakers have already introduced a number of bills primarily focusing on public safety, homelessness, climate, and energy. RPPG anticipates that there will be several measures that touch on critical themes or policies of importance to the City Council, including housing, transportation, and general governmental operations.
All measures that are introduced in their respective chambers (Assembly or Senate) must sit for 30 days prior to being heard in the applicable legislative policy committee. From March through May, there will be hundreds of policy committee hearings to dispense with the measures introduced this year.
Legislative Program Priorities for 2023
January 24, 2023
Upcoming key legislative dates are summarized in the table below.
Table 1: Key Legislative Dates
Key Legislative Dates Action
January 10 Governor must present his budget proposal to the Legislature.
February 17 Last day for bills to be introduced.
June 2 Last day for each house to pass bills introduced in that house (house of origin deadline).
June 15 Fiscal Year 2023 -24 Budget must be passed by the Legislature.
June 30 Governor must sign Fiscal Year 2023-24 Budget.
July 14 to August 13 Legislative summer recess.
August 14 to September 14 Final month of the legislative session.
October 14 Governor must take action on all measures passed by the Legislature.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff seeks City Council input on the following question:
Are there any policy issues, priorities, or policy statements that Council would like to discuss, seek further clarification on, modify, add, or remove from the proposed 2023 Legislative Platform?
NEXT STEPS
Following feedback from the City Council at th is Study Session, staff will finalize the proposed 2023 Legislative Platform and bring the item to Council for adoption on the consent agenda on February 14, 2023.
PUBLIC NOTICING
The City Council agenda is advertised on Channel 26, and the agenda and th is Study Session memorandum appear on the City’s website.
CG-ASR/6/CAM/608-01-24-23SS
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Attachments: 1. Draft 2023 Legislative Platform
2. Council Policy A-16, Positions on Ballot Measures and Legislative Advocacy