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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Legislative Review Committee - 09/22/2015 -City Managerಬs Office City Hall 300 LaPorte Ave. PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6505 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com Legislative Review Committee Agenda Meeting Notes September 22, 2015, 4:00 p.m. Commons Conference Room Present: Ross Cunniff, Councilmember; Ray Martinez, Councilmember; Gino Campana, Councilmember; Wendy Williams, Assistant City Manager; John Duvall, Deputy City Attorney; Dan Weinheimer, Legislative Policy Manager Absent: Carrie Daggett, City Attorney Guests: John Kefalas, State Senator; Jeni Arndt, State Representative; Joann Ginal, State Representative; Bob Overbeck, City Councilmember; Wade Troxell, Mayor; Kevin Jones, Chamber of Commerce; Dan Betts, Senator Cory Gardner’s Office; Sue Beck-Ferkiss, Social Sustainability Specialist; Vanessa Fenley, Homeward 2020; John Hutto, Fort Collins Police Chief; Josh Birks, Economic Health Director The meeting came to order at 4:04 pm. Councilmember Martinez moved approval of the minutes from the September 8, 2015 meetings, Councilmember Campana seconded. Minutes were adopted without amendment. Councilmember Campana recognized state legislators individually to review their goals and legislative proposals for the 2016 General Assembly session. x Representative Arndt o Spoke about her planned bills and strategy for managing her activities for 2016. o Bills include: ƒWorking with legal community on juvenile driver’s license driving under revocation amendment ƒAmending current General Educational Development (GED) testing program ƒImproving teacher evaluation standards ƒCreating an agriculture water flexibility bill ƒAdding agricultural-based businesses to the OEDIT innovator program x Representative Ginal o Bills include: ƒDeath with dignity – a bill seeking to give terminally ill persons the right to end their lives o Topics of interest: 2 ƒPolice and firefighter pensions ƒRural community access to primary care doctors ƒHelping residents with intellectual disability enter the workforce ƒSupporting veterans’ access to health care ƒEnsuring water supply safety x Senator John Kefalas o Bills include: ƒHealth insurance exchange bill to secure a state innovation waiver under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to pursue innovative health insurance strategies. ƒSeeking to standardize health insurance cards ƒFair opportunity initiative modeled on Oregon’s prosperity initiative which is an economic development program aimed at expanding commerce to reduce poverty o Topics of interest: ƒLessening traffic congestion on Interstate 25 ƒProtections for residents of manufactured housing communities – possibly alternative dispute resolution (ADR) between residents and owners ƒAffordable housing ƒTax Increment Financing (TIF) as a mechanism to fund affordable housing Other topics discussed by LRC and legislators included: x Securing land for food production in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado x Veterans to farmers program – teaching veterans to become community farmers x Solutions to homelessness in Fort Collins -Housing First program as goal x Use of body cameras in law enforcement – LRC expressed concerns about any mandated use of body camera and the retention of video evidence and provision of that evidence without charge to x Construction defect law reform – a bill will be offered in 2016 session, it appears that the House Speaker may be willing to compromise on the issue and advance a solution x Urban Renewal Authority (URA) reform – legislators asked City staff to develop some recommendations for legislative language to address Fort Collins concerns The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm.