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Home My WebLink About03 - Adoption of the City's 1999 Legislative PlatformNewport Beach City Council AGENDA ITEM 3 February 22, 1999 Council Meeting TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: DAVE KIFF, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF THE CITY'S 1999 LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM RECOMMENDED ACTION: (1) Approve Resolution 99 -_ adopting the City's 1999 Legislative Platform; and (2) Authorize the Mayor, on behalf of the City Council, to issue letters consistent with the Platform. BACKGROUND: Each year, the City Council adopts broad policy guidelines that direct staff's activities relating to the City's legislative agenda in Santa Ana, Sacramento, and Washington. The guidelines cover the following issue areas: 1— City Finances 2 — Regional Governance 3 — Municipal Labor Relations 4 — Surface Transportation 5 — LAFCO Law and Planning/Zoning 6 — Bay Protection and Environmental Quality 7 — Aviation During the course of the legislative year (December through September in both the State Legislature and the US Congress), the City offers its opinion on dozens of pieces of legislation. In 1998, for instance, the City corresponded with its legislators frequently on: • The FY 1998 -99 State Budget; • Governor Wilson's proposal to reduce the Vehicle License Fee (VLF); ,Assembly Member Cardenas' bill to exempt home -based businesses from business license taxes; • Various bills on residential care facilities; • Legislation relating to Upper Newport Bay sponsored by Senator Ross Johnson and Assembly Member Marilyn Brewer,• • The FY 1999 Federal Budget and the Water Resources Development Act ( "WRDA') Newport Beach City Council Agenda Item _ Page 2 The City is a member of the League of California Cities, the lobbying arm of the state's 400+ municipalities. When the League asks the City to contact its legislators on a particular bill, the City often must act quickly to issue an advocacy letter under the Mayor's signature. The adoption of the 1999 Legislative Platform and its accompanying resolution allows City staff to prepare and issue these letters as promptly as possible as long as the letters are consistent with the Platform. As presented to the Council in this agenda item, the resolution adopting the City's 1999 Legislative Platform allows the Mayor to sign letters consistent with the Platform. In the Mayor's absence, the Mayor may designate another member of the City Council or the City Manager to prepare and issue letters on behalf of the City's Platform position. The resolution also directs City staff to provide all City Council Members with copies of the City's legislative correspondence. ATTACHMENT: Attachment A — Resolution 99 -_ -- City of Newport Beach's Legislative Platform for 1999. Agenda Item _ Page 3 RESOLUTION NO. 99- A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH ADOPTING THE CITY'S 1999 LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM WHEREAS, the City Council historically has promoted various legislative actions consistent with the goals and functions of the City; and WHEREAS, such support once required a separate City Council action to approve individual items related to legislation; and WHEREAS, legislation- specific City Council approval can delay important City actions necessary to expedite the passage or defeat of legislation; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to efficiently and expeditiously pursue a legislative agenda reflecting the goals and advocacy of the City, NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council that the Mayor is authorized to make statements and write letters necessary to support the following legislative actions during calendar year 1999. If the Mayor is unavailable to sign a City advocacy letter, the Mayor may designate a Council Member or the City Manager to sign and issue the letter in the Mayor's absence. All correspondence prepared on the City's behalf will be forwarded as an informational item to Council members. Such correspondence shall be consistent with the following Legislative Platform for the City: I — CITY FINANCES. The City's objective is to protect existing revenues and pursue opportunities to limit the cost of government upon the taxpayers and business community of Newport Beach. Therefore, the City shall: (a) Oppose any measure that would make cities more dependent on the State for financial stability and policy direction. (b) Support measures leading to a greater financial Independence from the State and which would result in greater stability and predictability in local government budgeting. (c) Oppose measures that would impose state and federal mandated costs for which there Is no guarantee of local reimbursement or offsetting benefits. (d) Support measures that ensure the retention of existing local revenue sources, Including the city share of property tax, sales and use tax, vehicle license fees, transient occupancy taxes, business license taxes, or State subventions. (e) Oppose measures that alter the "situs" distribution of sales tax revenue. (f) Support measures to reform California's tort system to curtail unreasonable liability exposure for public agencies and restore the ability of public agencies to obtain affordable insurance. II -- REGIONAL GOVERNANCE. The City seeks to promote opportunities for regional cooperation that do not infringe on local areas of authority without offsetting financial benefit. Therefore, the City shall: (a) Support reform of existing state, regional, and local planning processes only if directly linked to reforms in the current revenue and tax structure of state and local governments. Agenda Item _ Page 4 (b) Oppose measures that create or grant powers to sub - regional or regional bodies that would infringe on clearly local concerns. III — MUNICIPAL LABOR RELATIONS. The City's objective is to respect both the working conditions, benefits, and rights of Newport Beach employees and the conservative fiscal management principles of the Council and the community. Therefore, the City shall: (a) Oppose any measure that would impose compulsory and binding arbitration with respect to public employees. (b) Oppose any measure that imposes upon local government mandated employee benefits that are more properly decided at the local bargaining table. (c) Oppose efforts that reduce local control over public employee disputes and impose regulations of an outside agency. (d) Oppose any measure that would grant public employees the right to strike. (e) Support measures to reform worker's compensation formulas to rely on higher thresholds for compensability or a proportionate exposure formula. (� Support workers compensation reform which curtails stress claims by stipulating that benefits can only be paid when it can be shown that a sudden and extraordinary job event was the predominant cause of the stress injury and would repeal the minimum rate law. (g) Oppose workers compensation reform that would exclude police officers, firefighters, and others with life- threatening jobs from the increased proof stress threshold. IV — SURFACE TRANSPORTATION. The City seeks to expand transportation opportunities and to remove obstacles for effective implementation of transportation policies, programs and services. Therefore, the City shall: (a) Support measures that would enhance the ability of local agencies to finance local transportation facilities. (b) Oppose measures that would impose additional requirements for State and Federal review of projects that are predominantly of regional or local significance. (c) Support measures which would afford local agencies greater discretionary authority to expend available transportation funds. V — LAFCO LAW AND PLANNING/ZONING. The City's objective is to promote opportunities to protect and strengthen the City's land use authority, including zoning, incorporation, annexation, and community development. Therefore, the City shall: (a) Support efforts to strengthen the legal and fiscal capability of the City to prepare, adopt and implement plans for orderly growth, development, beautification and conservation of local planning areas, including but not limited to, regulatory authority over zoning, subdivisions, and annexations. (b) Support efforts that are consistent with the doctrine of "home rule" and the local exercise of police powers over local land use, including expanding cities' ability to regulate the placement of neighborhood -based residential treatment centers. (c) Oppose development agreements in cities' spheres of influence in undeveloped areas that do not conform to city standards. (d) Support the existing right of the City of Newport Beach to annex areas within its Sphere of Influence. (e) Oppose efforts to change the Cortese -Knox Act (LAFCO Law) in any manner that would adversely impact the ability of recognized regional entities to plan for regional facilities, including aviation facilities. Agenda Item Page 5 VI — BAY PROTECTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY. The City seeks effective and efficient measures to improve the environmental concerns, including water quality, solid waste, hazardous materials clean -up, and ocean, beaches and bay protection. (a) Support measures that would increase water supply and improve water quality in this region. (b) Support measures that permit the sale, lease, exchange or transfer of surplus water within the State. (c) Support measures that maintain and enhance local authority and flexibility to regulate solid waste and recyclable materials. (d) Support legislation that limits local government liability as a third party in Superfund cleanup litigation. (e) Support measures providing funds or other capabilities to maintain and protect the ocean, beaches, harbor and bay. (f) Pursue legislative and executive action that provides long -term sources of funds and/or services to enhance and protect the Upper Newport Bay. (g) Pursue legislative and executive action to continue the annual Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore petroleum drilling moratorium and pursue the establishment of a permanent wildlife preserve off the Orange County Coast. VII—AVIATION. The City's objective is to actively participate in the local and regional planning and operation of commercial airports in Orange County. (a) Support measures promoting the ability of local airport operators to impose aircraft noise controls. (b) Support legislative and executive actions that preserve the John Wayne Airport (JWA) Settlement Agreement. (c) Support legislative and executive actions that promote the use of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro as Orange County's second commercial airport. ADOPTED this 22nd day of February, 1999. MAYOR ATTEST: CITY CLERK