Title
Staff Report for 2016 Draft State Legislative Platform and Summary of 2015 State Legislative Activities
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended that the City Council review and adopt the attached 2016 Draft State Legislative Platform and Summary of 2015 State Legislative Activities
BACKGROUND
On October 21, 2013, the City Council authorized the creation of a City Council Ad-Hoc Committee to provide guidance on the development of a state legislative platform as well as a process through which a consultant would be selected to provide state-level advocacy services on behalf of the City.
Following a competitive request-for-proposals and consultant selection process directly guided by the Ad-Hoc Committee, on February 18, 2014, the City Council unanimously authorized the City Manager to execute a 1-year consulting services agreement with Townsend Public Affairs (TPA) for state-level advocacy services. The scope of work for this agreement includes all aspects of state level advocacy, including legislative analysis, strategy and development, grants assistance, development of relationships with state law makers and agency staff, and other related work. Based upon the excellent services that were provided by TPA during the first year of its contract, on February 17, 2015, the City Council directed the City Manager to extend the City’s contract for an additional year of services, through February 29, 2016.
Analysis
Over the past year, the Mayor, members of the City Council and City staff have worked closely with Townsend Public Affairs on a range of legislative initiatives at the state level. Now that the 2015 state legislative session has ended, staff requests that the City Council review and adopt the attached documents. The first attachment (“2015 State Legislative Activities Summary”) provides a retrospective summary of various efforts and initiatives that took place on behalf of the City of San Leandro over the past legislative session. The second attachment (“2016 Draft State Legislative Platform”) provides a summary of the City’s proposed policy priorities for the 2016 legislative session. This document was informed by the City Council’s 2015 adopted legislative platform, and has been updated for 2016 to reflect new or emerging policy issues following input from City department heads and staff.
The purpose of this latter document is twofold. First, it provides standing authority for the Mayor, City staff and the City’s advocates to take action on behalf of the City on pending legislative matters when time constraints or other logistical hurdles preclude bringing such matters before the City Council in advance. Second, it provides the City’s advocates a better understanding of the Mayor and City Council’s policy preferences regarding a variety of legislative and intergovernmental issues that may arise during the course of the year. Related efforts could include issuing letters on behalf of the City to the Governor or State Legislature in support or opposition to various bills, organizing meetings with the Governor’s Office or elected state representatives, and advancing the City’s interests on various matters that are dependent upon or impacted by the actions of the State. Because the State legislative environment is inherently dynamic, the City Council reserves the opportunity to further amend the 2016 platform over the course of the year ahead should unforeseen needs or issues arise.
ATTACHMENTS
• 2015 State Legislative Activities Summary
• 2016 State Legislative Platform and Policy Guidelines
PREPARED BY: Eric Engelbart, Assistant to the City Manager, City Manager’s Office