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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda - Mail Packet - 8/11/2015 - Legislative Review Committee Agenda - August 11, 2015City Manager’s 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 August 11, 4:00 p.m. Commons Conference Room 1. Approval of minutes from July 28, 2015 meeting 2. Discuss 2016 legislative priorities and policy agenda themes  Consider 2015 priorities – keep or change?  Discuss new proposed priorities 3. Consider bill proposals  CML Policy Committee (initial submission deadline September 9) 4. Other business  State Legislators will attend September 22 LRC meeting Next meetings: September 8, September 22, and October 13 City Manager’s 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 July 28, 2015, 4:00 p.m. Commons Conference Room Present: Ross Cunniff, Councilmember; Ray Martinez, Councilmember; Gino Campana, Councilmember; Wendy Williams, Assistant City Manager; Carrie Daggett, City Attorney; Dan Weinheimer, Legislative Policy Manager Absent: None Guests: Dan Betts, Senator Cory Gardner’s Office; Kevin Jones, Chamber of Commerce; Dale Adamy, citizen The meeting came to order at 4:00 pm. Councilmember Cunniff moved approval of the minutes from the April 28, 2015 and May 12, 2015 meetings, Councilmember Martinez seconded. Minutes were adopted without amendment. Dan circulated a sample of a committee notebook that would be used to manage future LRC meeting materials. He explained the purpose was to have both meeting materials and documents like the Policy Agenda, Legislative Priorities and contact information in one place. Staff will maintain the meeting information and the notebooks will be ready for use at future LRC meetings. LRC started a discussion on process and procedure. Councilmembers asked for a status update on the LRC website. Dan indicated that it is a work in progress but that he had spent time consolidating several pages to two – one focused on general legislative information and the other on LRC materials. LRC sought to include a bill research tool to the page for LRC members and the public. There was some discussion on the logistics of the subscription service that the City uses. LRC discussed a new committee chair. Councilmember Campana was nominated by Councilmember Martinez and accepted the chair position. The committee returned to the discussion of processes and considered ways to increase the interaction between Councilmembers and state/federal elected officials. Among possible actions that the group discussed were: 1. continuing the June legislative lunch, 2. inviting state legislators to a September LRC meeting to talk about bills that they plan to run, 2 3. adding a midterm meeting to the LRC calendar similar to the legislative breakfast and lunch meetings, 4. having a City Council tour to the Capitol and meetings with legislators, 5. meetings on Fridays during the General Assembly session, 6. having informal social gatherings of legislators and Councilmembers LRC discussed their role in advocacy. Dan was asked to share contact information for legislators. LRC discussed process for engaging on legislative issues. The meeting was adjourned at 5:01 pm. City of Fort Collins 2015 Legislative Priorities 20 15 Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy listens to discussion during Fort Collins tour in February 2014 3 Introduction Fort Collins is a community of more than 155,000 residents located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains along Colorado’s Front Range. Incorporated in 1873, the City has grown to become the commercial, educational and cultural hub of Northern Colorado. The City adopted a home rule charter in 1954 and operates under a Council-Manager form of government. The Fort Collins City Council annually adopts a broad set of policy statements meant to convey positions on issues that affect the quality of life and the governance of our community. The City is a data-driven municipal organization that strives to fulﬁ ll its mission, “Exceptional service for an exceptional community,” through a vision of providing world-class municipal services through operational excellence and a culture of innovation. City leaders seek innovative solutions to issues facing the community and are often willing to leverage emerging technologies. The 2015 City of Fort Collins Legislative Policy Agenda identiﬁ es a broad range of important issues for the City of Fort Collins. The Agenda expresses policies and positions on issues that affect the quality of life and the governance of our community. Our policy agenda is structured to address areas of local concern and also to reﬂ ect the strategic planning that guides City of Fort Collins organizational resource allocation and decision making. The City’s Legislative Priorities are issues Fort Collins is focused on in the 2015 Colorado General Assembly and United States Congress. These priority topics, similar to the City’s overall policies, are reviewed and updated annually. Revisions to the policy agenda and priorities are adopted in November ahead of the Colorado General Assembly session. Partnership and interagency collaboration are important methods for achieving optimal legislative outcomes. On many federal and state issues, Fort Collins shares the concerns of others within the community, within the region and other communities statewide. In these cases, Fort Collins will seek opportunities to leverage additional resources and participate in regional dialogue to achieve shared outcomes. The City identiﬁ ed seven outcome areas to ensure appropriate and effective resource allocation supporting the community’s priorities. Fort Collins’ outcome areas include Culture and Recreation; Economic Health; Environmental Health; High Performing Government; Neighborhood Livability; Safe Community; and Transportation. The Policy Agenda identiﬁ es speciﬁ c City Council-adopted goals associated with the policy statements. This alignment is important for City staff to ensure that advocacy supports speciﬁ c desired outcomes. Fort Collins Legislative Representation United States Senate • Cory Gardner • Michael Bennet 458 Russell Senate Ofﬁ ce Building Washington, DC 20510 P: 202-224-5852 United States House of Representatives • Jared Polis 1433 Longworth House Ofﬁ ce Building Washington, DC 20515 P: 202-225-2161 COLORADO GOVERNOR • John Hickenlooper 136 State Capitol Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-2471 Colorado State Senate • John Kefalas Senate District 14 1525 Sherman Street Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-4841 4 City of Fort Collins Legislative Review Committee The Legislative Review Committee (LRC) is a representative group of Council members that reviews and reacts to proposed legislation on behalf of City Council and the City. In taking a position on particular bills, the LRC interprets and applies the various policies that are included in the Legislative Policy Agenda. Council Members presently serving on the Legislative Review Committee are: • Councilmember Wade Troxell, Chair • Councilmember Lisa Poppaw • Councilmember Ross Cunniff Legislative Review Process Bills introduced in the Colorado General Assembly, United States Congress and federal, state or county regulations or rulemakings are reviewed by the Legislative Policy Manager. Bills, regulation and rules addressing a stated legislative priority, or adopted policy position, may be brought to the LRC for discussion of an ofﬁ cial City position. Once a position is adopted on a bill, the Legislative Policy Manager conveys that information to the appropriate state or federal representative and advocates for the City’s adopted position. Staff liaisons support the LRC by contributing expertise in various areas of municipal service. The input offered by staff experts is invaluable in analyzing impacts of legislative, regulatory and rulemaking proposals to Fort Collins operations and the community. Fort Collins also works with community partners to support local projects and staff collaborates with representatives of other municipalities on mutually-held priorities. Fort Collins actively seeks innovative partnerships to leverage positive outcomes for residents. The City works closely with the Colorado Municipal League (CML) and the National League of Cities (NLC) on many legislative items facing cities. Fort Collins works with the Colorado Association of Municipal Utilities (CAMU), which represents 29 municipal utilities throughout the state on utility issues. Fort Collins actively participates in the Colorado Water Congress State Affairs Committee to address water-related issues. Gerry Horak Mayor Pro Tem, District 6 970-217-2993 Karen Weitkunat Mayor 970-416-2154 Lisa Poppaw District 2 970-817-0587 Wade Troxell District 4 970-219-8910 Bob Overbeck District 1 970-817-1411 Gino Campana District 3 970-460-6329 Ross Cunniff District 5 970-420-7398 5 Legislative Priorities Objective: Cooperate with stakeholders on reﬁnement of Urban Renewal Authority laws Issue: An Urban Renewal Authority (URA) is a tool in place to identify and revitalize areas of communities deemed blighted and provide a funding mechanism to encourage redevelopment. The main funding source for URA is Tax Increment Financing (TIF) generated through property taxes. In its best intention, urban renewal restores economic vitality and improves the safety of a designated area. Redeveloping urban areas is much harder and more expensive than new development in “greenﬁeld sites”, thus responds to larger, more costly infrastructure needs. The state of Colorado has empowered local authorities to use Urban Renewal Authorities to encourage revitalization and the elimination of blight in these areas. URA law has been frequently modiﬁed by the General Assembly, including many changes supported by the City. Fort Collins supports dialogue on URA reﬁnement but does not support bills that would eliminate the use of URA or TIF. Fort Collins attempts to use URA and TIF judiciously but also recognizes the concerns raised by counties, special districts and school districts about the use of TIF. URA is an important and useful tool for Fort Collins in addressing community blight and encouraging redevelopment rather than sprawl. The state of Colorado has empowered local authorities to use Urban Renewal Authorities to encourage revitalization and the elimination of blight in these areas 6 Objective: Support local control of oil and gas operations Issue: Fort Collins, like many other Colorado communities, has taken steps to address oil and gas extraction. Those efforts have been limited by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) rules. Fort Collins supports studying and better understanding the health and community impacts of oil and gas extraction. Fort Collins seeks the following: • Increased local ﬂexibility to regulate oil and gas activity within its incorporated borders • Additional information about the chemicals being injected into the ground, especially during hydraulic fracturing • Greater knowledge and control of air emissions from extraction processes and production equipment • Enhanced right for communities to regulate oil and gas as an industrial practice and therefore apply local zoning practices to operators • Better balance between surface land ownership and mineral rights ownership Fort Collins intends to use existing programs like the Local Government Designee (LGD) to its fullest potential, but will also seek legislative remedies to areas of greatest concern. Fort Collins will also work with other interested communities to address oil and gas operation concerns. The City is monitoring the work of the Governor’s appointed Oil and Gas Task Force and will provide comments as permitted. Objective: Support allowing local governments to provide broadband and enhanced communication services Issue: In 2005, the Colorado General Assembly passed SB 152, “Competition in Utility and Entertainment Services.” The legislature’s stated intent behind the act was predictability, uniformity, and fairness in the cable television, telecommunications and high-speed Internet access industries, especially where affected by municipal actions. SB 152 prohibits local governments from directly or indirectly providing cable television service, telecommunications service or advanced service. “Advanced service” is deﬁned as “high-speed internet access capability in excess of two hundred ﬁfty six kilobits per second both upstream and downstream.” Wired and wireless broadband services are included in this category. Fort Collins Information Technology Department can provide wired and wireless broadband services to City ofﬁces and City-owned facilities, but is precluded from doing so by state law. The City supports modifying or repealing the provisions of SB05-152 to allow municipalities to provide this “advanced service” in their own buildings and facilities. Fort Collins supports studying and better understanding the health and community impacts of oil and gas extraction 7 Objective: Advocate solutions to nuisance and safety issues related to railroad proximity Issue: Communities throughout the United States are wrestling with issues related to railroad proximity – these include the transport of hazardous materials, rail car safety, train horn noise, transparency related to rail cargo and train switching. These issues affect quality of life for residents and business owners and can result in catastrophic disasters in cases of derailment. Fort Collins has two active railroad corridors and is working regionally, through the Colorado Municipal League (CML) and National League of Cities (NLC), to raise the proﬁle of rail proximity issues. In addressing rail safety and rail proximity issues, the City has active relationships with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Union Paciﬁc (UP) railroad companies and has cultivated a relationship with the federal regulatory body – the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). In order to clean our air, reduce auto congestion and improve quality of life, several federal agencies including the EPA, HUD and the Federal Transit Administration are encouraging Transit Oriented Development. The idea behind Transit Oriented Development is to bring residents closer to mass transit lines so that they can use mass transportation, and so that downtown revitalization can occur. The Mason Corridor Bus Rapid Transit, which began operation in 2014, is one example. At the same time, the FRA train horn rule in effect is discouraging the development community and residents from locating around transit. Reform is needed. Trains have regained preference for transporting goods and materials. The increased use of rail has added pressure to the system and identiﬁed several safety concerns – track maintenance, tanker car safety, and notiﬁcation of hazardous materials to public safety leaders. Fort Collins will work to the following goals at a state and national level: • Engagement with railroad companies • Development of a “proximity issues” dialogue between railroad and local governments on a broad suite of topics • Notiﬁcation about hazardous material shipments passing through communities • Ensuring track maintenance and train car safety • Collaborate with railroads to train local emergency personnel In order to clean our air, reduce auto congestion and improve quality of life, several federal agencies including the EPA, HUD and the Federal Transit Administration are encouraging Transit Oriented Development 8 Objective: Support marijuana law clariﬁcations and alignment with Colorado Constitution Issue: The passage and implementation of Amendment 64 legalized adult use marijuana in Colorado. Fort Collins City Council approved limited adult use marijuana businesses and sales in addition to existing medical marijuana businesses. Fort Collins seeks clariﬁcation on the following items: • Conﬂicts exist between state and federal laws regarding marijuana possession • Enforcement of the new law and its impacts on local staff and public safety resources • Rules pertaining to packaging and labeling marijuana and products containing marijuana • Effectively funding prevention of under-21 possession and use • Community public safety • Limiting THC content per serving size and restrict packaging to a single serving In addition to adult use marijuana, communities across the United States that have authorized medical marijuana are struggling with implementation and the need for a single, viable distribution system. At the core of the issues with both medical and adult use marijuana is the classiﬁcation of the drug. Marijuana is currently classiﬁed as a Schedule 1 drug, this designation means it cannot be prescribed by a doctor or handled through the same distribution channels as other prescribed drugs. As a result, different states have adopted approaches in conﬂict with federal laws. In Colorado, medical marijuana may be recommended by a doctor but not prescribed. Work is needed at the federal level to clarify this issue. The federal classiﬁcation should be re-evaluated to consider allowing more medical research. If it is determined that marijuana ﬁts one of the other classiﬁcations and does have medical beneﬁts, it could be included in the existing drug delivery system. Objective: Participate in federal, state and regional efforts to foster resilient communities Issue: Making communities more resilient to disaster and the effects of a changing climate has become more important to Colorado communities over the last several years as natural disasters have caused signiﬁcant human and property loss. Resilience has become a term used to describe hardening vulnerable community infrastructure and preparing for predictable hazards in order to soften the blow on citizens and infrastructure. Making Fort Collins and Northern Colorado more resilient involves providing decision-makers hazard mitigation analysis and scientiﬁc data, then using that information to invest in complementary systems. Northern Colorado’s experience is that resilience must be a regional effort that pays off through coordinated advanced planning and investment. Resiliency efforts are important because they impact a broad set of critical services including: • Land use • Utility operations • Transportation infrastructure • Sustainability services • Health • Safety • Emergency Response • Disaster recovery 9 Objective: Support regional transportation infrastructure connectivity with an emphasis on funding an integrated, multi-modal system Issue: Funding for vital transportation infrastructure continues to be a high priority for the City of Fort Collins. Transportation infrastructure is a critical element to supporting community and regional economic health, safety and quality of life. We strongly support preservation of federal funding levels and full allocation of federal motor fuel taxes and other federal transportation trust funds for their intended purposes. In addition, we urge development of a new, more stable, long-range transportation funding mechanism that doesn’t rely upon fuel tax revenues. Fuel tax is no longer a sustainable method of funding the nation’s transportation infrastructure needs. Fort Collins seeks a solution to secure critical funding of the nation’s highway and bridge projects. Allowing the Highway Trust Fund to become insolvent would be devastating to the City’s transportation infrastructure and have impacts throughout the Northern Colorado economy. The City supports a long-term reauthorization of the nation’s surface transportation law with a focus on transit, livable community planning, comprehensive regional investments, revitalization of existing infrastructure, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and approaches that decrease petroleum consumption and reduce carbon pollution. Objective: Pursue federal policies and resources needed to attain City-adopted climate action goals Issue: Fort Collins has adopted aggressive climate action and greenhouse gas reduction goals. The City supports policies and legislation helping communities to achieve speciﬁc greenhouse gas reductions, gather scientiﬁc data supporting climate actions and to invest in needed infrastructure to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The “Empowering Local Clean Energy Action” federal policy agenda identiﬁes key policies and resources needed for local governments to sustain cleaner energy progress. These include investments in federal programs such as the Department of Energy’s Energy Efﬁciency and Conservation Block Grants, EPA’s Climate Showcase Communities, HUD’s Sustainable Communities, and other programs that provide direct support for local sustainability initiatives. Fort Collins supports clariﬁcation at the federal and state levels of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs. PACE ﬁnancing, an alternative to a loan, is designed to encourage the installation of renewable-energy systems and improve energy efﬁciency by helping property owners overcome the barrier of high up-front energy equipment and installation costs. Home energy efﬁciency can be a signiﬁcant contributor to community energy efﬁciency and GHG-reduction goals. 10 Objective: Support comprehensive water resource management Issue: Water resources from the Mountain West to California are stressed by many factors – environmental, population growth and aging infrastructure. Local water resource planning efforts ensure adequate supply to residents through managing the City’s water rights portfolio, encouraging increased efﬁciency and expanding storage. Fort Collins will support efforts to address water needs, preserve its water rights portfolio, and to encourage conservation of water resources. The conservation of water resources extends to support for Cache la Poudre River restoration projects. Fort Collins will participate in the development of the Colorado Water Plan and the development of the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the United States rulemaking. Objective: Support waste stream management, reduction and resource strategies Issue: The Fort Collins community is just one member of a regional “waste shed” in Northern Colorado. The City acknowledges this interdependence, and the role that state legislation can, and should, play in applying broad measures such as setting a state waste diversion goal and helping to support related strategies, which could also serve to reduce carbon emissions and create opportunities for waste-to-energy applications when ultra-low pollution conversion technology is used. The City relies on regional and state-wide infrastructure and systems for conventional landﬁll disposal alternatives such as commercial-scale composting, bio-digesters, recycled- content manufacturers, and specialty landﬁlls. We can be more effective at meeting the community’s waste reduction goals through partnerships aimed at reduction, management and resources strategies. HB07-1288, the Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Act, will sunset in 2017. The City supports extending the provisions of this bill, which established a grant fund for recycling projects using revenue from a seven-cents/ton surcharge on trash placed in Colorado landﬁlls. The City supports the grant program and further seeks steps to increase funding for this high-performing recycling program. Halligan Reservoir The City plays both a convening and leadership role among the many community service providers – seeking to foster sustainable solutions to complex social issues through a combination of City involvement and leadership. Objective: Support a comprehensive approach to reduce the impacts of poverty, housing affordability and homelessness Issue: Poverty and homelessness are persistent issues in Fort Collins and across Colorado. Fort Collins is committed to making homelessness rare, short-lived and non-recurring. The City is interested in developing local solutions to these persistent problems through collaboration and innovation. The City plays both a convening and leadership role among the many community service providers – seeking to foster sustainable solutions to complex social issues through a combination of City involvement and leadership. Fort Collins supports solutions to address poverty within the community such as: • Create an affordable housing fund • Implement the Earned Income Tax Credit • Fix the Child Care Tax Credit • Develop or expand programs that ensure a smooth transition from foster care to independence • Increase funding for mental health care/programs • Increase development of condominiums by addressing construction defect law Objective: Support the innovation economy Issue: Innovation is a key attribute of the City organization and is also important to the community. Fort Collins has numerous drivers of innovation, intellectual property and inventions with an educated resident base, Colorado State University, federal research labs, and a long list of innovative companies. As a result, Fort Collins has a culture and support system that nurtures an innovation economy with the City often serving as a living laboratory for ideas and new technologies. The City will maintain and enhance its innovation economy through: • Supporting efforts to simplify the commercialization of intellectual property • Efforts to increase the available capital to support innovation and new business formation • Efforts that support the spin-off and development of intellectual property from research institutes, private business, and higher education • Efforts to encourage the retention of new and innovative businesses in the community • Supporting business incubation, primarily through the commercialization of intellectual property, with strong partnerships • Application of innovative technologies and approaches to improve city programs and services City of Fort Collins Legislative Contacts Legislative Review Committee Name District/Title Email Councilmember Wade Troxell District 4 wtroxell@fcgov.com Councilmember Lisa Poppaw District 2 lpoppaw@fcgov.com Councilmember Ross Cunniff District 5 rcunniff@fcgov.com Wendy Williams Assistant City Manager wwilliams@fcgov.com Carrie Daggett Interim City Attorney cdaggett@fcgov.com Dan Weinheimer Legislative Policy Manager dweinheimer@fcgov.com Legislative Staff Liaison Members Topic Area Name Title Email Affordable Housing and Social Sustainability Beth Sowder Interim Social Sustainability Director bsowder@fcgov.com Air Quality Melissa Hovey Senior Environmental Planner mhovey@fcgov.com Cable Television Franchise Carson Hamlin Cable Television Manager chamlin@fcgov.com Climate and Environmental Protection Lucinda Smith Environmental Services Director lsmith@fcgov.com Elections, Liquor Licensing, Medical Marijuana Licensing Wanda Nelson City Clerk wnelson@fcgov.com Community Services J.R. Schnelzer Director of Parks jrschnelzer@fcgov.com Energy Steve Catanach Light and Power Operations Manager scatanach@fcgov.com Finance Michael Beckstead Chief Financial Ofﬁcer mbeckstead@fcgov.com Economic Health Josh Birks Economic Health Director jbirks@fcgov.com Fire Protection and Hazardous Materials Management Bob Poncelow Division Chief, Poudre Fire Authority bponcelow@poudre-ﬁre.org Human Resources Janet Miller Human Resources Director jmiller@fcgov.com Legal Carrie Daggett Interim City Attorney cdaggett@fcgov.com Natural Areas, Open Lands and Cache la Poudre River Issues John Stokes Natural Resources Director jstokes@fcgov.com Neighborhood and Building Services Mike Gebo Chief Building Ofﬁcial mgebo@fcgov.com Planning and Land Use Laurie Kadrich Community Development and Neighborhood Services Director lkadrich@fcgov.com Public Safety Cory Christensen Deputy Chief cchristensen@fcgov.com Recycling and Solid Waste Susie Gordon Senior Environmental Planner sgordon@fcgov.com Risk Management Lance Murray Risk Manager lmurray@fcgov.com Stormwater Jon Haukaas Water Engineering Field Operations Manager jhaukaas@fcgov.com Transportation Mark Jackson Planning, Development and Transportation Deputy Director mjackson@fcgov.com Utilities Customer Service Lisa Rosintoski Utility Customer Connections Manager lrosintoski@fcgov.com Water Supply and Quality Carol Webb Interim Water Resource and Treatment Operations Manager cwebb@fcgov.com Colorado House of Representatives • Jeni Ardnt District 53 1525 Sherman Street Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-2917 • Joann Ginal District 52 1525 Sherman Street Rm 626 Denver, CO 80203 P: 303-866-4569 Larimer County Commissioners • Lew Gaiter III, District 1 • Steve Johnson, District 2 • Tom Donnelly, District 3 200 W. Oak Street, Second Floor PO Box 1190 Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190 P: 970.498.7010