RPVCCA_CC_SR_2014_03_04_05_City_Council_Policy_No._29CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
HONORABLE MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
CAROLYNN PETRU, AICP, ACTING CITY MANAGER~
MARCH 4, 2014
REVIEW OF CITY COUNCIL POLICY NO. 29 (FEDERAL
AND STATE LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES OF THE CITY
COUNCIL)
Project Manager: Kit Fox, AICP, Senior Administrative Analys ~
RECOMMENDATION
Review and approve Staff's proposed revisions to City Council Pol icy No. 29 .
BACKGROUND
Among the outcomes of the City Council's recent 2014 goal-setting exercise was direction
to review the existing City Council policy regarding legislative activities and advocacy (see
excerpt below).
Intergovernmental Issues Goal No . 2: Revisit Council policy on upcoming legislat ion
• Response by: Present Policy No. 29 to City Council for review by April 2014
• Assigned to: City Manager's Office
Accordingly, Staff presents this matter for the City Council 's review at tonight 's meeting .
DISCUSSION
The City Council initially adopted City Council Policy No. 29 (Federa l and State Legislative
Activities of the City Council) on August 1, 1995. The Policy was later amended on
February 19 , 2002 , primarily to specify that Staff would prepare annual Leg is lat ive
Guidelines for the City Council 's consideration on or before the first meeting in February
each year. Pursuant to the Policy:
The Legislative Guidelines shall address issues both at the State and
Federal level and recommend positions on anticipated or proposed laws ,
regulations, rules, [or] policies that may impact the City or the reg ion .
The Legislative Guidelines will include both those issues that the C ity
Council decides either to support or oppose and those that they choose to
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MEMORANDUM: Review of City Council Policy No. 29
March 4, 2014
Page 2
identify as issues of concern, but not take a position on. After adoption of
the Guidelines staff will periodically at the discretion or the City Manager , or
the request of a Council member, place the Guidelines on the City Council
agenda for reconsideration or updating. Staff will provide regular updates
on the status of any legislative action affecting any issues identified in the
Legislative Guidelines.
In practice, Legislative Guidelines have not been presented annually to the City Council
in accordance with the Policy. This is primarily because it has typically been too early in
the annual legislative "season" for Staff to identify issues and trends that may affect the
City in time for the first meeting in February. For example, the League of California Cities
does not usually release its annual list of "bills to watch" until mid-to late-March of each
year. For the past few years, Staff has usually reported to the City Council on pending
legislation-including the above-mentioned report from the League-through the Weekly
Administrative Report. In instances where a Council member has subsequently
expressed interest in taking action or a position on pending legislation described in the
Weekly Administrative Report, Staff has generally been able to agendize such requests
for the full City Council's consideration in a timely manner.
Staff recommends amending the Policy to reflect the current practice , which is seems to
be working well. Staff would continue to identify and bring forward legislative items of
interest on an ad hoc basis, and Council members could continue to do so as well.
Alternatively, the Policy can be amended to retain the preparation of formal Legislative
Guidelines, but to move it back to April (rather than in February). In either scenario , the
City Council would continue to take the lead in identifying legislation on which it wishes
to take a position.
An issue that was mentioned during the recent City Council goal-setting exercise was that
programs and legislation at the regional and County level should also be on the City
Council's "radar." As currently written, the Policy only explicitly addresses Federal and
State legislation. The Policy can be easily revised to address this issue .
Considering all of the issues discussed above, Staff has prepared suggested revisions to
the Policy, which is attached to tonight's report. In the revised Policy , new language is
underlined and deletions are struck out. Staff presents these suggested revisions for the
City Council's consideration and adoption.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Staff recommends that the City Council review and approve Staff's
proposed revisions to City Council Policy No. 29 .
ALTERNATIVES
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for
the City Council's consideration:
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MEMORANDUM: Review of City Council Policy No. 29
March 4, 2014
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1. Approve revisions to City Council Policy No . 29 , with further changes to Staff's
recommended language read into the record of tonight's meeting.
2. Direct Staff to make further changes to the recommended language of City Council
Policy No. 29, and continue this matter to a future City Council meeting for review
and approval.
3. Do not revise City Council Policy No. 29.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with the review of City Council Policy No . 29.
Attachments:
• City Council Policy No. 29 (proposed)
• City Council Policy No. 29 (existing)
• City Council Minutes of February 19 , 2002 (excerpt)
• City Council Minutes of August 1, 1995 (excerpt)
M :\Policy lssues\City Council Policy No . 29\20140304_CityCouncilPolicy29_StaffRpt.docx
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CITY COUNCIL POLICY
NUMBER: 29
DATE ADOPTED/AMENDED: 08/01/95 (amended 02/19/02 & 03/##/14 )
SUBJECT: Federal and State Legislative Activities of the City Counc il
POLICY:
It shall be the policy of the City Counci l that annually, by the first meeting in
February , the staff shall prepare and present periodic Legislative legislative
updates Guidelines for the Council 's review and consideration. The legislation
monitored Legislative Guidelines shall address issues OOtR-at the County , State
and Federal level and recommend positions shall focus GA-upon anticipated or
proposed laws, regulations , rules, or policies that may impact the City or the
region.
The legislation monitored Legislative Guidelines will includ e both those issues
that the City Council decides either to support or oppose and those that they
choose to identify as issues of concern , but not take a position on . The
determination of what position to take on pending legislation shal l be solely that
of the City Council. After adoption of the Guidelines staff Staff will periodically.l. at
the discretion or the City Manager , or the request of a Council member , place #le
Guidelinesmatters of pending legislation on the City Council agenda for
raconsideration or updating . Staff will provide regular updates on the status of
any legislative action affecting any issues identified in the Legislative Guidelines
of concern to the City Council through the Weekly Administrative Report .
If the majority of the Council vote§ to support or oppose legislation , staff shall
prepare the appropriate correspondence to the appropriate federal Federal,
and/or state State and/or County legislative representative(s) expressing the
position of the City .
Individual Council members may wish to support or oppose a specific piece of
legislation whether the Council has taken a position on such legislation or not.
Any legislative activity by an individual Council member, including preparing
legislative correspondence , may be conducted by any Council member . who
shall state that he or she is not acting on behalf of the City and is representing
his or her own personal views . However, staff shall not assist in any legislative
activity of an individual Council member, including the preparation of legislative
correspondence , unless the legislative item has appeared on a Counci l agenda
and has received a majority vote of the Council.
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Such letters prepared by individual members of the Counc il may be prepared on
City letterhead.
The League of California Cities ' "Legislat ive Bu ll etin " and any approp ri ate
publication that summarizes leg islation sha ll be prov ided as part of the Week ly
Administrative Report to each member of the Counci l fo r rev iew .
BACKGROUND:
The City Council initially adopted a policy for Counci l invo lvement in Federa l and
State legislative advocacy in 1995 . Although the po licy seems to have worked
adequately over the ~first seven years , by 2002 it was thought that it d id not
allow the City to respond rapidly to requests to support o r oppose legislat ion that
may be before a committee or on the floor o r the Assemb ly o r before Cong ress
and needs immediate action on the part of supporters or opponents . Therefore ,
the policy was amended in 2002 to address these perceived deficiencies . In
2014, the policy was amended again to revise the procedure for monitoring
legislation, and to explicitly include legislative issues at the County and regiona l
level.
The City Council 's revised legislative policy establishes an interna l process for
identifying , tracking and advocating its pos it ion on pend ing leg is lat ion
synchronized to the fast-paced "legislation t ime clock ." Through th is proact ive
policy , the City Council hopes to have a stronge r "vo ice " in Los Angeles County ,
Sacramento and ffi Washington , DC.
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CITY COUNCIL POLICY
NUMBER: 29
DATE ADOPTED/AMENDED: 08/01/95 (amended 02/19/02 )
SUBJECT: Federal and State Legislative Activities of the City Counci l
POLICY:
It shall be the policy of the City Council that annually , by the first meeting in
February , the staff shall prepare and present Legislative Guidelines for the
Council's consideration. The Legislative Guidelines shall address issues both at
the State and Federal level and recommend positions on anticipated or proposed
laws, regulations, rules , policies that may impact the City or the region .
The Legislative Guidelines will include both those issues that the City Council
decides either to support or oppose and those that they choose to identify as
issues of concern , but not take a position on . After adoption of the Guidelines
staff will periodically at the discretion or the City Manager, or the request of a
Council member, place the Guidelines on the City Council agenda for
reconsideration or updating. Staff will provide regular updates on the status of
any legislative action affecting any issues identified in the Legislative Guidelines.
If the majority of the Council vote to support or oppose legislation , staff shall
prepare the appropriate correspondence to the appropriate federal and/or state
legislative representative(s) expressing the position of the City .
Individual Council members may wish to support or oppose a specific piece of
legislation whether the Council has taken a position on such legislation or not.
Any legislative activity by an individual Council member, including preparing
legislative correspondence , may be conducted by any Council member.
However, staff shall not assist in any legislative activity of an individual Council
member, including the preparation of legislative correspondence , unless the
legislative item has appeared on a Council agenda and has received a majority
vote of the Council.
Such letters prepared by individual members of the Council may be prepared on
City letterhead .
The League of California Cities ' "Legislative Bulletin " and any appropriate
publication that summarizes legislation shall be provided as part of the Weekly
Administrative Report to each member of the Council for review .
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BACKGROUND:
The City Council adopted a policy for Council involvement in Federal and State
legislative advocacy in 1995 . Although the policy seems to have worked
adequately over the past seven years , it did not allow the City to respond rapidly
to requests to support or oppose legislation that may be before a committee or
on the floor or the Assembly or before Congress and needs immediate action on
the part of supporters or opponents.
The City Council 's revised legislative policy establishes an internal process for
identifying, tracking and advocating its position on pending legislation
synchronized to the fast-paced "legislation time clock." Through this proactive
policy, the City Council hopes to have a stronger "voice " in Sacramento and in
Washington , DC .
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Legislative Policy and Guidelines (1101 x 306)
City Manager Evans presented the staff report of February 19 and the recommendation
to (1) Adopt Legislative Guidelines for 2002. (2) Adopt revised City Council Pol icy No .
29 . (3) Consider support of Proposition 42 .
Councilwoman Ferraro moved , seconded by Councilman Gardiner, to adopt Staff
Recommendation Nos. 1 and 2 and to support Proposition No . 42 .
City Manager Evans stated that most cities are taking a favorable position with
Proposition No. 42 .
Palos Verdes Drive South Roadway Repairs from La Rotondo to the easterly City
limits (1204 x 1404)
Director Allison presented the staff report of February 19 , 2002 , and the
recommendation to receive an update on the status of roadway repairs.
There was no objection to receive and file the update .
Community Leaders Breakfast Schedule (301 x 310)
Select two dates, one in the spring and one in the fall , for the Community Leaders
Breakfast meetings .
Saturday, April 27 , 2002 , was selected as the spring Community Leaders Breakfast
meeting; and Saturday , October 26, 2002 , was tentatively scheduled for the fall
Community Leaders Breakfast meeting.
Status of Review of Geologic and Geotechnical Data for Zone 2 (1101 x 1801)
City Manager Evans presented the staff report of February 19 , 2002 , and the
recommendation to set a date and time to receive the Cotton , Shires and Associates
technical review of the geological and geotechnical data for the Abalone Cove landslide
and Zone 2 areas . He advised that staff will be distributing the latest Zone 2 report this
week; and questioned whether the City Council wished to set a workshop date or to
have staff present this at a regular City Council meeting.
City Manager Ev a ns noted for Mayor pro tern Stern that the January/February 2002
report will soon be displayed on the City's website .
Councilman G a rd in e r questioned whether the report addressed the concerns of those
who submitted le tt ers.
City Council Minutes
February 19 , 2002
Page 17
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AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
McTAGGART & MAYOR BYRD
LYON
BROOKS
CURB RAMPS CITYWIDE (1101 X 601)
City Manager Bussey presented the August 1 staff report and the
recommendation to request changes in the American Disabilities Act
to allow cities more flexibility in determining where curb ramps
should be installed. Reviewing the Council's July 5 request that
the City Attorney provide information on whether the City would
have any liability resulting from the installation of these ramps,
he then referred to the City Attorney's July 26, 1995 opinion which
stated that it was "· .. likely that the City would be immune from
liability for any injury which might be created by the installation
of curb ramps, provided that the City constructs such ramps in
compliance with applicable design standards."
Lois Larue said that ramps were important.
A brief Council discussion ensued where it was stressed that common
sense should prevail in the installation of these ramps and that
such things as steep grades should be taken into consideration.
Councilwoman Lyon moved, seconded by Councilman McTaggart to
approve the staff recommendation. Motion carried.
CITY COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL (306 X 1101)
City Manager Bussey presented the staff report of August 1 and the
recommendation that Council adopt City Council Policy No. 29 which
provides for City Council legislative activities.
Lois Larue stated opposition to this policy.
Councilman McTaggart moved,
approve the proposed policy.
seconded by Councilwoman Lyon to
Motion carried.
COMMUNITY LEADERS' BREAKFAST (305 X 1101)
Administrative Analyst Rick Otto presented the August 1 staff
report and the recommendation that Council review the Community
Leaders' breakfast guest list and direct staff to make any
appropriate changes to the list.
Councilwoman Lyon suggested that a new category be added that would
include past City Council candidates and the most applicants for
City commissions and committees.
Lois Larue, suggested that the list be expanded to include other
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
AUGUST 1 1 1995
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