2024 Federal
Legislative Platform
City Council Meeting
January 30, 2024
Lon Peterson, Chief of Communications and Intergovernmental Relations Scott Alonso, Government Affairs Officer
John O’Donnell & Kyriakos Pagonis, MMO Partners
Presented by:
• Outline’s the City’s federal policy and project priorities to the public, CA Congressional Delegation, Congress
and federal agencies.
• Provides guidance and 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. In 2023, contract renewed
by Council for 5-years.
• 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 2023 Federal Platform Review:
Total funding: $26,152,813
Competitive/Discretionary ($20,047,040 or 77%)
Surface Transportation
$3,000,000 Urbanized Area (formula)
$497,096 Bus and Bus Facilities (formula)
$10,000,000 Electric Buses (competitive)
Housing and Homeless
$1,324,261 CDBG (formula)
$765,722 HOME (formula)
$518,694 HOPWA(formula)
2023 Highlights
5 Water and Energy Resiliency
$814,000 Water Energy Efficiency Grant (competitive)
$2,051,136 Water Contamination Reimbursement (discretionary) Public Safety
$7,080,000 Firefighter Hiring -12 positions (competitive) $101,904 Homeless Outreach (competitive)
Grants Pending
• $898,000 Community Violence Prevention (Rep. Thompson) • $14,577,742 Laguna Treatment Plant
• $4,4250,000 Llano Trunk line
• $19,000,000 Bike Ped Overcrossing
• Technical Assistance SE Greenway
2023 Highlights Continued
Proposed 2024 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 allocations to local governments • Advocate for continued funding and improvement of the Integrated Public Alert Warning System
Surface Transportation
8 • Ensure Congress funds highway and transit formula and discretionary programs authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
• Support funding to address the backlog of deferred pavement rehabilitation
• Support funding for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure; Vision Zero programs and project implementation; and funding for public transit that invests in public transit programs such as fleet electrification
• Support the promotion of active transportation, complete street implementation, Safe Routes to School
Water and Energy Resiliency
9 • Support federal legislation and regulatory efforts that invest in water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure programs such as the Inflation Reduction Act, Water Resources Development Act and Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
• To enact mitigation measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit the effects of climate change and enhance local and regional planning for climate resilience, including wildfire mitigation and water conservation
• To support the thoughtful and practical approach to assessing and mitigating the associated risks to public health and the environment relating to unregulated contaminants such as Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFAS)
• To advocate for funding and support to continue the operation of the diversion facilities at the Potter Valley Project to protect water supply resiliency and fisheries.
Climate Change and Sustainability
10 • Support the City’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, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program and the Inflation Reduction Act
• 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, Housing Choice Vouchers, permanent supportive housing, down payment assistance and programs investing in helping our most vulnerable residents, such as the Housing for All Act of 2023
• Extend and expand federal Housing Credits for affordable housing developments, such as the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2023
• Advocate for increased funding for the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program, which supports investments in parks and other outdoor recreation services within the City’s urban core for underserved areas
12 • Advocate for federal funding and legislation that supports public safety and emergency response operations, including increasing funding for firefighter and police 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, including gunshot detection software, use of body-worn cameras • Support federal funding for programs like the Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act, which support and assist county, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions in improving efforts to reduce violent crime in and around schools Public Safety
13 • 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.
• Support access to early childhood education and
childcare, workforce development programs for youth
and funding for teachers and educators.
Public Health and Education
14 The Communications & Intergovernmental Relations
Office recommends that the Council, by resolution, adopt the City’s 2024 Federal Legislative Platform.
Recommendation
Questions?