2023 Federal
Legislative Platform
City Council Meeting
January 24, 2023
Lon Peterson, Director of Communications
Scott Alonso, Intergovernmental Relations & Legislative Affairs Officer John O’Donnell & Kyriakos Pagonis, MMO Partners
Presented by:
• Communicates the City’s federal policy and project
priorities to the public, CA Congressional Delegation,
Congress and federal agencies.
• Provides guidance/direction to City staff and federal representatives regarding City’s federal funding and
policy priorities.
Purpose of Federal
Legislative Platform
Introduction
About Murray, Montgomery, & O’Donnell (MMO) Partners
• Representing local governments in Washington,
D.C. for over four decades. Worked with the City of
Santa Rosa since 2018.
• MMO partners and associates have over 170 years
of combined experience working in and with local,
state, and federal governments.
• Non-Partisan Approach for success.
• Annualized ROI for MMO clients.
4 2022 Federal Platform Review:
Total funding: $64,560,570
Competitive/Discretionary ($34,850,000 or 54%)
COVID Relief, Mitigation and Recovery
$17.4m ARPA 2nd Tranche (Formula)
$4.3m Sandman Hotel Reimbursement (FEMA)
State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery,
Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act (S. 3011) Wildfire Resiliency
$1m Emergency Operations Center (EOC) FY 22
(Sponsors- Rep. Thompson, Senators Feinstein and Padilla) $4.75m FHWA roadway recovery (Emergency relief)
FIRE Act (Padilla, S.3092) – Includes FEMA relocation
assistance language requested by the City
2022 Highlights
5 2022 Federal Platform Review:
Surface Transportation
$5.9m from FHWA formula
$3.5m from FTA formula
$4.3m for SR Bus Fleet Replacement competitive
Housing and Homeless
$1.4m CDBG allocation
$785,000 HOME allocation
$481,043 HOPWA allocation
Water and Energy Resiliency
$19.4m for SR Water - water and wastewater infrastructure competitive Public Safety
$1.052m for inRESPONSE – FY 22 (Sponsors-Senators Feinstein and Padilla)
2022 Highlights Continued
Proposed 2023 Federal Priorities
Wildfire Prevention, Hazard
Mitigation, Resiliency & Recovery
7 • Support federal legislation and funding that provides sufficient resources to support natural disaster mitigation, rebuilding and recovery efforts.
• Support federal legislation that permanently authorizes the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG- DR) program and allows the Secretary of Housing Urban
Development to provide direct funding allocations to local governments.
• Advocate for continued funding and improvement of the Integrated Public Alert Warning System.
• Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the FIRE Act.
Surface Transportation
8 • Advocate for funding for the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which invests in surface transportation priorities that: promote equitable access to transportation, address the adverse impact of climate change, and invest in resiliency projects such as evacuation routes and vegetative management along roadways.
• Support funding for bicycle and pedestrian facilities; Vision Zero programs and project implementation; addressing the significant backlog of deferred pavement rehabilitation, and funding that invests in public transit programs such as fleet electrification, Bus and Bus Facilities, Low-No Emissions, and Zero-Emission Vehicles.
• Support the promotion of active transportation, complete street implementation, healthy foods, youth programming and maximizing the usage of green space in urban/suburban and rural settings for personal enjoyment.
Water and Energy Resiliency
9 • Support federal legislation and regulatory efforts that invest in water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure programs such as the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds and the Water Resources Development Act; recycled water projects, water conservation projects, water supply planning and resiliency, stormwater, groundwater, watershed protection and improvement. • Advocate for federal programs, such as the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), that provide funding to assist low-income households with water and
wastewater bills and those experiencing financial hardship. • Support funding and resources for drought relief, response, support, and community outreach and education, including, but not limited to, programs and grant opportunities provided by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Climate Change and Sustainability
10 • Support the City of Santa Rosa’s long-standing commitment to implementing environmental programs and proactive work towards improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• Support funding sources for climate change mitigation and adaptation, including, but not limited to, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program and programs established in the Inflation Reduction Act that assist with renewable energy generation, improved energy efficiency, recycling and composting, and reduction in energy and water use, as well as greenhouse gas emissions.
• Advocate for funding to convert the City’s municipal vehicle fleet to a zero-emission fleet, including charging infrastructure and implementing the conversion.
Housing, Homelessness and
Economic Development
11 • Increase funding and federal incentives to address affordable housing and homelessness, including support for Continuum of Care, Emergency Food and Shelter, CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, Universal Vouchers, permanent supportive housing, down payment assistance and other federal programs and legislation that invest in helping our most vulnerable residents, such as the Housing for All Act of 2022 (S. 3788). Extend and expand federal Housing Credits for affordable housing developments, such as the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2021 (H.R. 2573, 2021).
• To reauthorize and continue overall appropriations funding for the Economic Development Administration (EDA) within the Commerce Department. To advocate for the ability of the EDA to assist communities recovering from a disaster, including the dedication of a fund with annual appropriations for immediate responses to economic crises associated with declared disasters or states of emergency. 12 • Advocate for federal funding and legislation that supports public safety and emergency response operations, including increasing funding for firefighter equipment and training, community engagement and education, firefighter and police hiring, and police and fire station construction.
• Advocate funding for community violence and gun violence prevention programs and initiatives, including policies related to ghost guns, investments in mentorship and violence interrupters. • Seek funding for public safety infrastructure, including a regional community safety training center, regional communications infrastructure such as new radio tower sites, regional crime lab, support for 9-11 call centers and required technology and equipment, including gunshot detection software, use of body-worn cameras and fleet electrification.
Public Safety
13 • Support efforts to receive direct and flexible funding related to the COVID-19 pandemic or a national health emergency, including funding for public transportation systems, affordable housing, homelessness prevention, rental and utility (including water and wastewater) assistance programs. Advocate for assistance to communities to help with emergency response operations, vaccine distribution and testing.
• To protect the City’s funding allocations under the American Rescue Plan Act. Oppose efforts to diminish local control and flexibility related to American Rescue Plan Act.
Public Health
14 The Communications & Intergovernmental Relations
Office recommends that the Council, by resolution, adopt the City’s 2023 Federal Legislative Platform.
Recommendation
Questions?