REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 11/15/2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: City Manager’s Office
SUBJECT:
Title
ADOPT THE 2024 LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM AND FINANCIAL PRIORITIES
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
A Legislative Platform provides a streamlined process for responding to legislative proposals that may impact the City. The proposed Legislative Platform identifies the fundamental legislative issues deemed important to the City, and upon Council approval, will continue to allow Staff to respond to the rapidly changing nature of legislative items efficiently, and more importantly, without delay. The Financial Priorities document provides a comprehensive look at Corona’s funding needs. The proposed action adopts the 2024 Legislative Platform and approves the financial advocacy priorities.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council adopt the 2024 Legislative Platform and Financial Priorities.
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The Legislative Platform has been used as a guideline for urgent requests to support, oppose, or take neutral positions on various legislative proposals throughout the year. Resolutions, major and/or unique issues, and substantial items not directly addressed in the Platform will continue to be taken to Council for formal consideration and adoption. The 2023 Legislative Platform and Financial Priorities were adopted on January 4, 2023. At the end of each year, the City of Corona identifies policy priorities and legislative initiatives that it would like the State and Federal Legislature to address. The City Council reviewed and provided feedback on the Legislative Platform during the 2023 Fall Council Workshop.
ANALYSIS:
The attached documents include the 2024 Legislative Platform and Financial Priorities. These documents contain legislative priorities that Staff and consultants will use to actively support or oppose various articles of legislation during the year, as well as provide testimony, and/or actively pursue legislative action around the items listed therein. The proposed legislative priorities include a number of topic areas, including transportation, municipal finance, unfunded mandates, home rule, public safety, housing reform, homelessness, tort reform, public utilities, community services, and economic development.
The Legislative Platform and Financial Priorities are designed to be strategic and reflect the adopted, standing position of the City Council until superseded. The priorities are stated in general terms so they can be applied broadly to various legislative proposals. Advocacy efforts on behalf of the City by staff or Councilmembers are expected to reflect the adopted position of the Legislative Platform. However, this is not intended to limit the prerogative of individual Councilmembers from expressing their individual support for or opposition to any local measure, or State proposition, State or Federal legislation, or grassroots advocacy actions. However, in doing so, the member should clearly state that they are speaking for themselves, not on behalf of the Council or the City.
The Legislative Platform is divided into 11 sections dealing with the following topics:
1. Community Services
2. Economic Development
3. Home Rule
4. Housing Reform
5. Homelessness
6. Municipal Finance
7. Public Safety
8. Public Utilities
9. Tort Reform
10. Transportation
11. Unfunded Mandates
Major edits to the legislative platform and financial priorities based on feedback from City Council during the 2023 Fall Council Workshop and recommendations from City Staff are listed below.
Items added to the Legislative Platform for 2024:
Community Services: Library
• Support efforts that provide funding for library services such as additional archival and digitization services, including cost for staff and equipment.
Community Services: Parks and Recreation
• Support funding for trails projects that improve connectivity throughout the City and facilitate access to the Cleveland National Forest.
• Support efforts that provide funding or reimbursement for volunteers and volunteerism.
Economic Development
• Support legislation that promotes greater local jurisdiction flexibility with Surplus Land Act requirements relating to redevelopment, acquisition, or disposition of blighted commercial areas such as downtowns and older shopping centers.
Housing Reform
• Oppose expanding State and Federal authority over local jurisdictions decisions regarding housing and land use.
• Support State-mandated rent stabilization (like AB1035-Muratshuchi, 2023) for mobile home parks.
• Support anti-displacement legislation that promotes and protects the ability of our City’s most vulnerable residents, including seniors, those who are physically and/or developmentally disabled to remain in the community, including tenant protection and anti-price gouging policies.
Municipal
• Oppose legislation that eliminates or redefines any development tax, fee, condition, or other monetary change.
Public Utilities: Water Supply
• Support funding for and create construction projects associated with reservoirs and dam-related projects that increase the volume of storage equal to the required volume needed to meet the required water supply for housing requirements mandated by the state.
• Support funding for turf removal projects on sports fields and replacement with artificial turf and eliminate watering of fields.
Section 12. Human Resources and Risk Management
• Support maximum flexibility for local government in contracting and contract negotiations.
• Support legislation that promotes efforts to advance workplace diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Oppose measures that reduce local control over employee relations issues or mandate new or enhanced local government employee benefits.
• Oppose measures that impose compulsory and binding arbitration with respect to employees.
• Support efforts to maintain fiscal solvency with respect to unfunded pension and retiree healthcare liability. Support efforts that decrease local costs.
• Support legislation and administrative efforts that provide clarity and flexibility in CalPERS workplace rules including working after retirement and the use of contract service providers.
Items added to the Financial Priorities for 2022:
Community Services
• Trails/Trailhead Construction
Public Safety
• Corona Wildfire Resilience Initiative: Safeguarding Our Community Through Mitigation, Prevention, and Education
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact associated with the recommended action.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action is merely authorizing the Council to approve an amendment, and there is no possibility that adopting this resolution will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: AMINAH MEARS, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: JACOB ELLIS, CITY MANAGER
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - 2024 Legislative Platform and Financial Priorities Presentation
2. Exhibit 2 - REDLINES 2023 Legislative Platform
3. Exhibit 3 - Draft 2024 Legislative Platform
4. Exhibit 4 - REDLINES 2023 Financial Priorities
5. Exhibit 5 - Draft 2024 Financial Priorities