City of Sacramento
City Council - 2PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2023-01639 1/16/2024 Consent Item 9.
Review and Approval of City’s State and Federal Legislative Platform File ID: 2023-01639
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Pass a Motion approving the City’s State and Federal Legislative Platform.
Contact: Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, (916) 808-7395, [email protected], Office of the City Manager Presenter: Consuelo Hernandez, Director of Governmental Affairs, (916) 808-7395, [email protected], Office of the City Manager Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-2024 Legislative Platform
Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: In order to allow the City’s Governmental Affairs staff and contract state and federal legislative advocates to be timely and responsive in protecting the City’s interests at the State legislature and in Congress, the City Council is requested to consider and approve the 2024 State and Federal Legislative Platform articulating the City’s policies in its areas of interest.
Policy Considerations: Approving the 2024 State and Federal Legislative Platform is in alignment with the City Council’s Policies and Procedures.
Economic Impacts: Not applicable.
Environmental Considerations: Not applicable.
Sustainability: Not applicable.
Commission/Committee Action: On December 5, 2023, the Law and Legislation Committee
File ID: 2023-01639 1/16/2024 Consent Item 9.
reviewed and approved staff’s recommendation to move the Legislative Platform forward to City Council for consideration.
Rationale for Recommendation: The California State Legislature and Congress consider hundreds of bills each year. Additionally, state and federal administrations make policy and funding decisions that could impact the City. To ensure that the City’s interests are protected and that our policy direction is consistent, staff is recommending that the proposed 2024 State and Federal Legislative Platform and areas of interest be approved. The documents have been designed to create flexibility and cover a range of topics where state and/or federal action could directly or indirectly affect City operations, policies, and/or programs.
Financial Considerations: Not applicable.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
1 2024 STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM
The City of Sacramento’s Legislative Platform serves as the framework for the City’s advocacy positions on federal and state legislative, administrative, and budget issues. The City’s advocacy efforts are focused on proposals and funding that advance the City’s core activities and goals. The following policy areas are deemed to be the priority policy goals of the Mayor and City Council, the General Plan, and the strategic direction of the City of Sacramento:
▪ Housing opportunities for every level of income and a commitment to reducing homelessness ▪ Equitable and inclusive economic development, job creation and investment ▪ Investment in infrastructure, mobility, and zero-emission technologies and programs ▪ Climate mitigation, resilience, adaptation of water resources, and a healthy, green community ▪ A safe, secure, healthy, and prepared community
▪ Supporting and increasing opportunities for youth and families ▪ Equal rights for all Sacramento residents
▪ Preservation of local authority and local funding
Housing Opportunities for Every Level of Income and a Commitment to Reducing Homelessness
The City supports efforts to address homelessness in our community, improve the quality of life for those experiencing homelessness, and to ensure the creation and maintenance of housing that is affordable to residents at all income levels. Advocacy priorities include:
● Addressing behavioral health and homelessness issues, including the unique needs of homeless youth and transition age youth, recognizing housing as a social determinant of health, working to integrate health care and housing services, and addressing environmental impacts of homelessness
● Lowering the housing barrier and increasing shelter and triage options, including pet-friendly shelter and housing and low or no cost veterinary care
● Providing innovative housing options and services, including increasing funding for Housing Choice Voucher rental housing assistance and community opportunity to purchase housing ● Providing assistance to residential and commercial tenants to prevent residents from becoming homeless and business loss
● Increasing funding for affordable housing and expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit ● Amending building code and other regulations to facilitate missing middle housing and increase opportunities for homeownership
● Increasing funding for infrastructure for infill housing developments ● Expanding ministerial housing approvals
2 ● Developing robust workforce and job opportunities that allow people to exit homelessness Equitable and Inclusive Economic Development and Job Creation One of the City’s highest priorities is developing a healthy, equitable and sustainable economy.
Advocacy priorities include supporting small businesses, restaurants, renters, the artistic community, youth and families, self-employed and independent workers, and others. The City also supports legislation and funding for programs that advance equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout Sacramento’s business community, increase talent pipelines, and expand business ownership and employment opportunities at all levels, including:
● Pursuing opportunities to repurpose underutilized state buildings to revitalize job centers ● Supporting and advancing fair, just policies, programs, and strategic investments to bring resources to the City’s most economically challenged and/or culturally diverse neighborhoods and commercial corridors
● Protecting workers while promoting diversity and equity ● Ensuring reliable, affordable broadband service is available to all ● Incentivizing private investment, technological innovation, and the creation of good jobs throughout the City, including support for apprenticeships, youth work-based learning, and social equity programs
● Developing industry clusters (e.g., California Mobility Center) to ensure that California remains on the forefront of cutting-edge technology and to foster innovation in clean transportation, research and development, and workforce development opportunities ● Advancing vibrant and just creative industries and a robust and inclusive tourism economy as well as equitable access to creative opportunities and infrastructure Investment in Infrastructure, Mobility, and Zero-Emission Technologies and Programs The City supports programs and funding to develop, maintain, and rehabilitate our infrastructure to enhance the City’s ability to maintain quality of life for existing residents and businesses and to attract new businesses and residents. The City supports smart growth land decisions and principles, expanded mobility and access, and transitioning the community to a zero-carbon future with clean, reliable, and affordable transportation options. Advocacy priorities needed to achieve the City’s infrastructure, mobility and carbon reduction goals include:
● Repairing, maintaining, or replacing critical infrastructure, including roads, paths, bridges, flood gates, levees, water, sewer lines, and storm drainage, with robust federal and state infrastructure funding and flexible local funding commensurate with the City’s responsibilities as the housing and employment center of the region
● Federal and state funding and processes for the I Street Bridge Replacement Project to provide certainty in project funding and cash flows
● Accelerating infill development and creating transit-friendly, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods
● Reducing transportation-related deaths and injuries on Sacramento streets, paths, and sidewalks for people walking, bicycling, and driving
3 ● Supporting safer mobility through street design, greater flexibility around setting street limits, vehicle design, and unbiased traffic enforcement, such as speed cameras, education, and encouraging safe driving
● Supporting sustainable mobility through active transportation, transit, and electric vehicles, including safe routes to school
● Advocating for funding incentives for zero emission vehicles and funding for supportive infrastructure investment
● Supporting flexible pathways for municipal fleet vehicle electrification and compliance with the State’s Advanced Clean Fleet regulations
● Ensuring the City’s ability to regulate private mobility companies, particularly around data, fees, and use of the public right-of-way
● Reducing disabled parking placard fraud while increasing curb access for the disabled ● Improving rail safety for passengers and preventing crashes and derailments, particularly related to hazardous materials, and phasing out rail cars that no longer meet safety standards
Climate Mitigation, Resilience, and a Healthy, Green Community The City supports policies and funding that support our commitment to bold, strong action to achieve carbon neutrality and ensure thriving resiliency, while advancing the growth of a strong, healthy, and green community for all City residents and just transitions for workers. The City supports sustainable planning and development policies, programs, and funding that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle miles traveled, and pollution, facilitating smart growth, and aiding in the recruitment and retention of green businesses and programs while advancing environmental justice. Policy and funding priorities include:
● Supporting local efforts to progress towards the substantial reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and attaining carbon neutrality by 2045 ● Regulation of polluting industries and sectors outside local regulatory control that contribute to GHG emissions and water contamination, and the decommissioning of fossil fuel infrastructure ● Facilitating an equitable transition to zero-carbon forms of energy use and transportation, including neighborhood-wide electrification
● Supporting the sustainability principles of the City’s General Plan and the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, recommendations from the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change, Sacramento Area Council of Government’s Blueprint, and SMUD’s 2030 Zero Carbon Plan ● Weatherizing and improving substandard and low-income housing for resiliency to extreme events exacerbated by climate change
● Advancing environmental justice and addressing the disproportionate impacts that climate change has on our most vulnerable neighborhoods and communities ● Expansion and resiliency of the electrical grid
● Environmental remediation of contaminated sites to utilize these sites for new services and community amenities
● Funding and resources to support heat-and pollution-mitigating strategies, such as urban forestry and other green infrastructure strategies
4 ● Flood protection and improvements to levee systems
● Addressing persistent drought conditions, climate resiliency, and changing hydrological conditions, meeting water quality and water supply needs of local communities, and adapting our water resources in the face of climate change
● Development of a comprehensive management plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta that does not redirect impacts to other watersheds
● Fixing failing water systems, supporting local government management and operation of those water systems, and reducing or eliminating cost burdens on City ratepayers ● Funding for habitat restoration
● Green infrastructure to alleviate local drainage problems during heavy rain events ● Supporting water infrastructure needs and opposing privatization or public-private partnerships that might create disadvantages to securing public project financing ● Funding to achieve utility conservation and sustainability goals to minimize financial impacts to customers
● Development of neighborhood-based, local food production, urban agriculture, resiliency initiatives
A Safe, Secure, and Prepared Community
The City supports legislation and funding to improve the safety, security, and quality of life for all City residents, including the following priorities:
● Reducing and preventing violent, dangerous, and illegal activities while promoting public outreach, engagement, and intervention activities, including culturally responsive, positive youth development programs that promote general welfare and public safety ● Addressing the needs of people experiencing a behavioral health, addiction, or other crisis, including youth and first responders, by developing alternative response models and improving access to treatment
● Addressing crime and other harms faced by women, children, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and others at risk due to their identity ● Supporting efforts to increase the transparency and accountability of police actions and community engagement on matters of public safety
● Supporting public safety strategies that are both evidence and community informed ● Providing diligent and equitable oversight and regulation of cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, dispensing, delivery, and distribution, while mitigating the negative impacts of related illegal activity and health impacts associated with use by youth ● Addressing child pornography, child predators, sex offenders, and human trafficking impacts on the Sacramento region
● Improving disaster preparedness and response, fire suppression and prevention, hazardous materials mitigation, and rescue emergency medical services ● Protecting the City from cyber attacks
● Preventing animal abuse and abandonment
5 ● Supporting policies that require commercial property owners to maintain their properties to maintain quality of life for existing residents and businesses ● Reestablish the Sacramento Abandoned Vehicle Service Authority fee on vehicle registrations ● Facilitating annexation of “disadvantaged unincorporated communities” and providing financial incentives to annexing cities to offset existing infrastructure and public facility deficiencies
Supporting and Increasing Opportunities for Youth and Families The City supports efforts that aid in the development of all children and youth so they can reach their fullest potential and policies that support families, including:
● Increasing opportunities for youth and their families to engage civically and in communities ● Expanding transit, walking and bicycling networks, and advocating for free and/or subsidized transit fares so youth can safely and affordably travel to work, school, and other locations ● Expanding activities and amenities that enrich the lives of youth, including parks and other green open spaces, the arts, libraries, and educational and recreational programs ● Advocating for increased access to physical and mental health care ● Creating and expanding affordable childcare and early childhood development programs ● Advocating for reliable and increased funding for nutrition programs ● Limiting the ability of minors to engage in alcohol consumption, vaping, cannabis, and other substances
● Expanding the Sacramento Utility Rate Assistance (SURA) program scope and capabilities Equal Rights for All Sacramento Residents
The City seeks to ensure that the fundamental rights guaranteed by the California and U.S. Constitutions apply to every person in the city, including:
● Eliminating inequities and inequalities and ensuring that a person’s race, age, gender, identity, class, income, or zip code do not determine life opportunities, physical and economic security, health, access to transportation or services, or well-being ● Supporting affirmative measures to ensure equality, including provision of healthcare, paid parental leave, childcare, and other workplace protections ● Supporting comprehensive immigration reform, a path to citizenship, family unity, and individuals in the U.S. under Deferred Action for All Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and refugees
● Opposing efforts to dissuade use of public benefits and supporting efforts to educate immigrants about those benefits to which they are entitled ● Protecting everyone’s ability to make their own health and lifestyle choices
Preservation of Local Authority and Local Funding
The City supports policies that promote local authority and flexibility so that we may be responsive to our constituencies and opposes efforts that diminish the City’s ability to provide essential services, reduce revenue sources required to maintain services, or mandate costs without appropriate reimbursement. The City’s priorities include:
6 ● Expediting project reviews, permit approvals, and modernizing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including preventing abuse of the law while protecting communities and the environment
● Securing ongoing funding to facilitate the City’s compliance with new mandates ● Protecting shared revenues, assets of the former redevelopment agency and the use of public right-of-way or city-owned facilities
● Securing defined benefit pensions and reforms to make costs sustainable ● Retaining local control of and encouraging sustainability of Sacramento’s water supply ● Opposing federal and state preemption of regulatory authority over autonomous and for-hire vehicles
● Opposing use of federal funds to prevent legal cannabis activities on non-federal lands ● Supporting efforts to legalize cannabis at the federal level, improve the existing regulatory framework at the state level, and lower federal and state cannabis taxes