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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Mail Packet - 7/28/2015 - Legislative Review Committee Agenda - July 28, 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 July 28, 2015, 4:00 p.m. Commons Conference Room 1. Approval of minutes from April 28 and May 12, 2015 meetings 2. Select a Committee Chair 3. Discuss LRC processes and procedures 4. Review Legislative Luncheon 5. Other business  Rocky Mountain Climate Organization proposed Climate Coalition Next meetings: August 11, September 8 and September 22 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 April 28, 2015, 4:00 p.m. Commons Conference Room Present: Wade Troxell, Councilmember; Ross Cunniff, Councilmember; Wendy Williams, Assistant City Manager; Ingrid Decker, Senior Assistant City Attorney; Dan Weinheimer, Legislative Policy Manager Absent: None Guests: Kevin Jones, Chamber of Commerce; Dale Adamy, citizen Councilmember Troxell called the meeting to order at 4:16 pm. Adoption of the minutes from the April 14, 2015 meeting were moved for approval by Councilmember Cunniff and seconded by Councilmember Troxell. Minutes were adopted without amendment. Dan described new Colorado General Assembly bills for LRC consideration: HB15-1383 – makes Modifications to the Low-income Housing Tax Credit for the purposes of increasing the construction of affordable housing. The bill extends the number of years, from two to five years, in which Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) may allocate low-income housing income tax credits. The bill also allows these income tax credits to be transferred to other taxpayers beginning in tax year 2017. LRC adopted a support position on this bill. HB15-1384 – seeks to provide Funding for Affordable Housing through requiring the state treasurer to transmit one-third of the available balance in the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund to a newly created Affordable Housing Assistance Fund in the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) annually for five years from FY 2015-16 through FY 2019-20. LRC adopted a monitor position. SB15-272 – would Authorize New Transportation Revenue Anticipation Notes (TRANs) and allow bonding up to $3.5 billion in order to fund many of the state’s top highway and large-scale transportation priorities. Included in the proposal is expanding north Interstate 25. LRC adopted a support position. SB15-276 – seeks to require Voter Approval for Use of Red Light Cameras. The bill would require any municipality seeking to use red light cameras to have 2 an election on the issue by the 2016 General Election or face losing its state transportation funding. LRC adopted an oppose position. Dan then provided a status update of bills that the LRC had previously adopted positions on. He noted that to date, the General Assembly has introduced 742 bills, LRC has 66 on its tracker and staff has reviewed countless more bills than on the tracker. The LRC then briefly discussed a June legislative luncheon. Dan shared that all state legislators are able to attend the event and that the lunch will occur that the Gardens at Spring Creek on June 23. The meeting was adjourned at 4:45 pm. 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 May 12, 2015, 4:00 p.m. Commons Conference Room Present: Ray Martinez, Councilmember; Gino Campana, Councilmember; Wendy Williams, Assistant City Manager; Ingrid Decker, Senior Assistant City Attorney; Dan Weinheimer, Legislative Policy Manager Absent: Ross Cunniff, Councilmember 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. Adoption of the minutes from the April 28, 2015 meeting was postponed as no LRC member present had participated in that meeting. Both Councilmembers Campana and Martinez will join Councilmember Cunniff as the Legislative Review Committee for 2015-16. New LRC members asked questions about Committee process. Questions included the materials presented to members, how positions are adopted and actions taken after a position is adopted. A suggestion was made to consolidate all meeting material into notebooks, something done in another Council Committee. Dan stated he would work with staff to produce a notebook for consideration and refine the information process to ensure LRC members have information needed to make decisions. The LRC then briefly discussed a June legislative luncheon. Dan shared that all state legislators are able to attend the event and that the lunch will occur that the Gardens at Spring Creek on June 23. The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 pm. Revised: 10/21/2014 12:59 PM G:\2015\CMO Meetings\LRC\07 28 15\2015 Fort Collins LRC schedule.doc LEGISLATIVE REVIEW COMMITTEE 2015 MEETING SCHEDULE Date Time Location January 13 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room January 27 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room February 10 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room February 24 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room March 17 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room March 31 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room April 14 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room April 28 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room May 12 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room June 23 11:30AM – 1:00 PM Legislative Lunch @ Gardens on Spring Creek July 28 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room August 11 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room September 8 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room September 22 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room October 13 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room October 27 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room November 10 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room November 24 4:00 – 5:00PM Commons Conference Room December 4 (Friday) 8:00AM – 10:30AM ANNUAL BREAKFAST @ Lincoln Center 1 Discussion draft May 5, 2015 Colorado’s Climate Future Coalition Summary The coalition would lead efforts to advocate for policy and regulatory changes that promote and support local decision making in pursuit of a low carbon energy future including those that would simultaneously promote community resilience, economic vitality, and job creation. Call to Action Many local governments, businesses, and other organizations across Colorado have established aggressive goals and taken numerous steps to reduce the carbon footprint within their own operations and communities. However, it is critical that we develop a statewide, collaborative approach to bring about the state legislative and regulatory framework in which those committed to achieving dramatic carbon reductions can do so, on the scale needed to protect and sustain Colorado as we know it. Moreover, we need to collectively work together as a united front of committed local governments and other organizations to remove many of the existing barriers in order to transform our local and state energy markets and to invest in renewable energy. Regardless of each individual “call to action,” every Colorado community should have the ability to create local economic development, grow local jobs and protect residents and businesses against rising energy costs while taking meaningful steps to combat climate change. This Coalition is intended to create a proactive and collaborative platform to help shape the next generation of legislation and regulation that will ultimately prove far more effective in our effort to help reduce the harmful impacts of climate change. Why is policy reform so important? Several states have begun moves toward a new regulatory approach and their experiences are instructive. That said, each state has a different legal and regulatory approach that variously promotes and impedes practices relevant to achieving progressive energy and climate goals. As more communities look to tap the vast economic opportunities presented by strong climate policy, it is clear that existing state policies, laws, and regulations will become more of a barrier. The ability for local jurisdictions to address their impact on climate change and prepare for the associated impacts is absolutely essential. Communities are on the front line in terms of feeling the impacts of a changing climate. Cities and organizations continue to develop and incubate 2 new and innovative solutions. While these strategies are effective, it is clear that the magnitude and pace of the problem demand we do more. Currently, Colorado communities are largely limited to voluntary actions to reduce emissions particularly in the area of energy. For example, the present regulatory system was designed with the assumption that customer energy usage is inelastic and that the most efficient system is one that is almost entirely dependent on large, central station power plants. Today, that is no longer the case. While central power plants and the transmission network are and will remain the vital backbone of our electric system, technology has significantly advanced and prices of distributed solutions are rapidly declining, enabling greater control and ownership opportunities for customers and communities. The efforts of this Coalition are intended to lead to legislative and regulatory changes that promote and support local decision‐making in areas related to climate, energy, local economic vitality and jobs creation. This may take the form of more efficient use of energy, deeper penetration of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar, wider deployment of “distributed” energy resources, such as micro grids, on‐site power supplies, and storage. It will also promote greater use of advanced energy management products to enhance demand elasticity and efficiencies. These changes, in turn, will empower customers by allowing them more choice in how they manage and consume electric energy. APPROACH Phase 1: Identify key partners to be involved Many local governments, local governmental entities, businesses, and other organizations across Colorado are showing leadership in their commitment to climate action. The intent of the Coalition is not to re‐create the successful efforts already underway; they, in fact, will be the underpinnings of the work moving forward. The first step will be to identify and reach out to local governments and other organizations that might wish to participate as dues‐paying members of a new Coalition committed to establishing climate‐protective policies. Phase 2: Organizational structure The Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) has agreed to administer the Coalition for its members. RMCO, a 501(c)(3) organization, has a rich history of working with Colorado communities to develop climate‐related strategies at the local level. One of the strengths of RMCO is the broad cross section of organizations in the Colorado Climate Network, united to bring about climate understanding and action. With sufficient funding, RMCO will be able to create a consistent framework through which the Coalition can meet, organize and define the vision of an aggressive Colorado climate strategy. As a first step, once a critical mass of funding 3 is achieved to launch the Coalition, RMCO will support a Coalition steering committee of representatives from members to set the Coalition’s priorities and guide its actions. Phase 3: Launch immediate advocacy campaigns Two or three advocacy campaigns will be undertaken in the Coalition’s first months to address pressing policy needs and demonstrate the effectiveness of the Coalition’s efforts. Possibilities are:  Advocating for an aggressive, effective Colorado state government plan to implement the emission reduction goals for the state in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, once that rule is finalized in summer 2015.  Intervening as a party before the Public Utility Commission to represent the interests of Coalition members in the PUC’s consideration of the Electric Resource Plan that Xcel Energy will submit in fall 2015, which will guide the utility’s operations in the state for the next several years.  Developing one or more proposals for legislation for the 2016 session of the Colorado General Assembly. Phase 4: Create and advocate for the implementation of a statewide vision for climate policy RMCO will organize and conduct meetings with the Coalition partners with the overarching goal of creating a statewide vision for climate policy. This would first entail the creation of a list of current regulations and legislation that are working in support of goals such as carbon reduction, efficiency, affordability, renewable energy and customer choice. Then, through brainstorming and discussion, the Coalition would identify the current barriers and limitations we face in instituting effective policies in Colorado. From these discussions, the Coalition would then create and implement a plan for shaping state and federal legislation, regulation and other policy to realize such vision. Budget and Funding A preliminary budget for the Coalition is for $350,000 over the first 24 months. Most of the budget will cover a full‐time Coalition director (a new RMCO employee), a contract lobbyist to represent the Coalition before the General Assembly, and legal counsel to represent the Coalition before the Public Utility Commission. The budget is expected to be met by dues payments by local governments, other governmental entities, businesses, and other organizations that become members of the Coalition, according to a dues schedule still to be determined. Potential partners 4 The first outreach efforts for members of the Coalition will be to the communities and organizations that are current members of the Colorado Climate Network that RMCO operates, which include the City and County of Denver, Boulder County, City of Fort Collins, City of Boulder, City of Aspen, Town of Vail, and CLEER (Clean Energy Economy for the Region). Outreach efforts will then grow to include approaches to other local governments, local governmental entities, businesses, and other organizations.