Memo
TO: City of Santa Monica, CA
DATE: June 23, 2023
DRAFT Federal Legislative Platform (2023-2025)
The following priorities set by the Santa Monica City Council for 2023-2025 will guide legislative activities in Washington, D.C. to advance the City of Santa Monica’s interest at the federal level. The priority areas include:
Addressing Homelessness: Prevent housed Santa Monicans from becoming homeless and increase the supply of affordable housing, address the behavioral health needs of vulnerable individuals and advocate for regional capacity to address homelessness.
Clean & Safe Santa Monica: Create an atmosphere marked by clean and safe public spaces and neighborhoods, including parks for recreation and leisure activities.
Cultivate Economic Recovery & Expand Community & Cultural Offerings: Cultivate economic opportunity and recovery and invest in community and cultural amenities and programs for all community members, focused on expanding opportunities for youth, teens and seniors.
Racial Justice, Equity & Social Diversity: The City of Santa Monica acknowledges the effects of generational and institutional racism and discrimination, and its consequences that continue to impact our residents and businesses. These lessons of our history cannot be ignored. The City is committed to advancing racial equity and social diversity to improve the wellbeing of people who live, work, learn, play, and do business in our City and create a community where differences in life outcomes cannot be predicted by race, class, gender, disability or other identities. Everyone in Santa Monica must have an opportunity to thrive.
Sustainable & Connected Community: Ensure that City policies and programs enhance our resources, prevent and remedy harm to the natural environment and human health, and benefit the social and economic wellbeing of the community for the sake of current and future generations.
The priorities are reflected in the policy positions outlined below for the City to engage in federal legislative and regulatory initiatives and resource opportunities (e.g., grants, authorizations and appropriations) that support key projects and programs.
ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS
Homelessness
• Support legislation and secure federal resources, either directly or in partnership with other entities, that address and prevent homelessness with innovative strategies that maintain and expand the inventory of affordable housing and permanent supportive housing; protect low-income renters from discrimination and eviction; promote income stability; provide direct services and housing to people who are homeless or at high risk of homelessness; remove barriers to and expand availability of mental health and substance use disorder treatment; improve service coordination; support alternatives to incarceration; and expands and maintains availability of basic needs for food, hygiene and safety with emphasis placed on highly vulnerable populations including persons living with a mental health diagnosis, persons with a substance use disorder, veterans, older adults and people with disabilities.
• Support legislation that allows for data sharing between municipalities and treatment providers.
ATTACHMENT B
Federal Legislative Platform - Santa Monica, CA 2023-2025 2 • Support legislation that safeguards against the criminalization of homelessness.
Health
• Support legislation and secure federal resources that support mental health care (e.g., access to psychiatric facilities, behavioral health care treatment, and mobile and street-based services). • Support legislation that expands the definition of “gravely disabled” and allows for additional flexibility in conservatorship as a tool in mental health care treatment. • Secure federal resources for education and training of paramedics and other emergency medical service personnel in their ability to be responsive to those homeless individuals living in our community.
• Support legislation to reform mental health and substance use disorder treatment access, including legislation that destigmatizes and normalizes behavioral health as part of primary health care to be covered by public and private health plans.
Housing/Tenant Protection
• Support legislation and secure resources that provide for the creation of safe, decent and affordable housing to meet the City’s diverse needs and contribute to the well-being of all residents. This includes individuals who have housing vouchers that cannot find eligible housing. • Secure federal resources for HUD-funded affordable housing programs (e.g., HOME, Section 8). • Support legislation and secure federal resources to address housing opportunities combined with effective supportive services, including health care services, such as the permanent supportive housing model.
• Seek a legislative solution to Section 8 payments standard issue.
CLEAN AND SAFE SANTA MONICA
• Support legislation and secure federal resources that enhance law enforcement and emergency services to maintain a safe environment and quality of life for City residents and visitors. • Secure federal resources for City personnel to keep community surroundings clean from litter, graffiti, and debris.
• Seek full funding for federal programs that are critical to the City’s police and fire departments, including the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant, the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Grant, the Byrne/Justice Assistance Grants (JAG), and the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). • Secure federal resources to support the Santa Monica Police Department’s equipment needs (i.e., tablets, in-car camera system, mobile command center equipment, forensic equipment, records management, and data tracking systems).
• Secure federal resources to provide mental health training for public safety officers and first responders and to hire mental health professionals to support local law enforcement activities in the community.
• Secure federal resources to support fire and paramedic services, fire prevention, urban search and rescue, and hazardous material response.
• Secure federal resources for implicit bias and cultural training for sworn and non-sworn personnel. • Support legislation and federal resources that promote the safety and constitutional rights of our citizens and bring greater transparency and accountability to law enforcement. • Support common sense gun safety legislation including a ban on assault weapons, ghost guns and high-capacity magazines and a requirement for a federal background check before the purchase of a gun or high-capacity ammunition.
• Secure federal resources for mobile crisis intervention programs or other alternate dispatch strategies that provide response to mental health or addiction crises where public safety is not at risk.
Federal Legislative Platform - Santa Monica, CA 2023-2025 3
CULTIVATE ECONOMIC RECOVERY & EXPAND COMMUNITY &
CULTURAL OFFERINGS
• Secure federal resources for transportation and water infrastructure, environmental remediation, energy efficiency and resiliency projects under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) programs.
• Support legislation that would provide federal resources to assist localities in high-speed broadband, and public space projects, and workforce development.
• Support legislation that provides flexible funding and specific set-asides for tourism and hospitality sectors, including businesses in these sectors and their workers. • Support legislation that creates opportunities for and invests in artists and other creative workers. • Support legislation/seek funding that supports working families with regards to securing affordable, high-quality childcare.
RACIAL JUSTICE, EQUITY & SOCIAL DIVERSITY
• Support legislation that assures everyone the right to equal treatment in all government-sponsored benefits or funded programs.
• Support legislation to protect the civil, fair housing, and equitable employment rights of all persons. • Support sustained investments in key HUD programs to address the underlying systemic shortage of rental homes affordable to low-income renters.
• Support legislation that promotes equal opportunity and treatment for people of all races and addresses systematic racism against African Americans.
• Support legislation to preserve and fortify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
• Support legislation that calls for comprehensive immigration reform and border security that is thoughtful in manner and guided by our nation's principles of due process, human rights, accountability, and equal protection for all under the law. • Support legislation and resources for local governments to achieve equity and geographic balance when planning for resilience projects that will reduce impacts caused by climate change and natural hazards.
• Support legislation and resources to remove, retrofit or mitigate transportation infrastructure that creates barriers to community connectivity, including to mobility, access, or economic development. • Support legislation and resources for local governments to address the divide in access to affordable, high-speed, broadband internet to support residents and businesses.
SUSTAINABLE & CONNECTED COMMUNITY
• Support legislation and secure resources for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and protection and preservation of our environment.
• Secure federal resources to enhance the City’s continued investment in renewable energy, sustainable procurement, green buildings, green public transit and infrastructure, to meet the City’s climate goal of being carbon neutral by 2030.
• Support legislation and secure federal resources that allow for the creation of sustainable water and wastewater infrastructure that is more resilient with a smaller impact on the environment to reach the City’s water self-sufficiency goal.
• Support legislation and resources that assist local governments in developing and implementing energy efficiency and conservation strategies that maximize available resources, reduce costs, expand community access and protect public health.
Federal Legislative Platform - Santa Monica, CA 2023-2025 4 • Support legislation that ensures local governments can continue, and not be preempted in, their efforts to achieve economic improvements through increased energy efficiency and conservation plans that seek to decrease carbon emissions.
• Support legislation that assists municipalities in their recycling and waste reduction efforts. • Support legislation that calls for building electrification. • Secure federal resources for alternative energy/solar plus storage for emergencies. • Support legislation that assists community resiliency efforts regarding climate change, sea level rise, biological and radiological events.
• Support federal incentives that assist local governments in developing and implementing transportation, land use and building policies that encourage maximum use of resources and lower energy consumption.
• Support legislation and resources focused on water and wastewater infrastructure – reuse, treatment, conservation and sustainability (i.e., Sustainable Water Supply Program) • Support legislation and secure resources to strengthen the City’s transportation services and enhance mobility alternatives for all residents and visitors, including vehicular, bus, rail, and non-motorized modes of travel (e.g., pedestrian, bicycle, scooter).
• Support continued funding for Federal Transit Administration’s Low or No Emission and Buses and Bus Facilities Grant Programs.
• Support continued funding of the Federal Highways Program especially the Surface Transportation Program and Highway Bridge Rehabilitation Program.
• Maintain federal resources secured for “Pier Bridge” project in preparation for Summer 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Secure federal resources including directed funding or grants for roadway maintenance. • Secure federal resources for ADA upgrades (accessible pathway) along the Pier. • Secure federal resources to support EV infrastructure (e.g., parking structures, charging stations) and incentivize property owners to install EV infrastructure in both single-family and multi-family dwellings.
• Secure federal resources to adapt infrastructure for Smart City needs (signaling system, parking system, data sensors, security cameras, autonomous vehicles).
For more information:
Charmayne Anderson
Partner
The Ferguson Group
(202) 261-6016
[email protected]