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CC Resolution No. 2783 RESOLUTION NO. 2783 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS, ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF BAYTOWN'S LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FOR THE 88TH STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION; AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS: Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, hereby establishes the City of Baytown's Legislative Priorities for the 88th State Legislative Session, which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein for all intents and purposes. Section 2: This resolution shall take effect immediately from and after its passage by the City Council of the City of Baytown. INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the City of Baytown this the 26"' day of May, 2022. DON CAPRTILL46, Mayor ATTEST: U a •- 's ANGELA ACKSON, City Clerk u� cc °°• T �POOe•o• 0 G APPROVED AS TO FORM: 2 TREVOR FANNING, Interim City Attorney R:1Karen Anderson\RESOLUTIONS'ICITY COUNCIL%202212022.05.26'StateLecislativePriorities.doex EXHIBIT ''A" City of Baytown LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES 88'h Texas Legislative Session The following represents the legislative objectives and priorities for the City of Baytown during the 88t' Texas Legislature including the 2023 regular session, any special sessions that might be called,and any interim committees or studies that might be assigned. The following positions have been carefully vetted by the Baytown City Council,the Council Ad-Hoc Committee, and department directors,and are based on the foundation that local elected officials live and work within the community they serve, are readily available to the public,and regularly hear from their constituents. The creation of a legislative agenda develops a unified voice for Baytown on the legislative needs of the City. It aids City staff and leaders in identifying issues that are important to the community and the impact that legislation could have on Baytown.The legislative items are not presented in priority order. The City Council may modify or amend its legislative agenda at any time to address items as they arise. Throughout this document, it is understood that a position statement supporting a legislative action also establishes opposition to legislative measures that would have the opposite effect, and vice versa. The City of Baytown is a member of and works closely with the Texas Municipal League (TML) on many legislative issues. While the membership of TML adopts its own legislative agenda,the needs of Baytown are sometimes unique from other cities. LOCAL AUTHORITY We support the principal that government which governs closest to the people governs best.As duly elected representatives of the citizens of Baytown,we support the maintenance of municipal authority and oppose any measure which jeopardizes our ability, as a body accountable directly to our citizens,to make decisions that impact the quality of life in our community.We specifically discourage any legislation that erodes our ability to fund core services and critical projects. PROPERTY TAX RELIEF AND REFORM As elected leaders,we support measures to ease property tax burden from the shoulders of our residents.We encourage the legislature to join with us in this ongoing endeavor by pursuing a complete reformation of the industrial and residential property appraisal system. Absent that herculean effort, we would welcome the expansion of the local residence homestead exemption from 20 percent of a property's appraised value to at least 30 percent. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Texas benefits from our local governments'ability to directly participate in bringing jobs and prosperity to our communities.We therefore support the preservation of all economic development tools that allow cities and other jurisdictions the ability to incentivize investment in our communities. We specifically support legislation that preserves the Chapters 212 and 380 economic development agreements, and restores the Chapter 313 Economic Development Act. PREDATORY LAWSUITS Many cities along the Texas coast are plagued with aging wastewater infrastructure, and yet are situated amidst rising sea levels,especially in times of extreme weather events,which happen routinely. In the face of this environment, cities like Baytown must battle constantly with wastewater overflows,yet continue to work diligently with regulators to make incremental improvements to the system. The City seeks support of legislation aimed at limiting the powers of organizations to file predatory lawsuits against smaller cities,especially related to wastewater overflows. UTILITIES We support all measures to preserve municipal authority regarding electric and gas utility rates, as well as the ability to seek and obtain reimbursement of expenses associated with rate case expenses. Further,the City invites support of our endeavor to collect impact fees from all those customers it serves, especially the Baytown Area Water Authority(BAWA). TRANSPORTATION Baytown is divided by four major highways, one of which—State Route 146—that runs through the middle of town and along residential neighborhoods. We seek support in eliminating TXDOT'S designation of SR146 as a Truck Route. Further,we seek policies that will eliminate the tolls for some heavy haul and truck traffic on Highway 99,which would divert truck traffic from SR146 to SR99. We support legislation that distributes Federal funding in a way that provides local governments with long-term support,sends those funds directly to localities, and gives local leaders a stronger role in a streamlined decision-making process. We support legislation that provides fiscal support for projects that benefit cities, such as the advancement of the San Jacinto River Bridge replacement initiative, Cedar Bayou Crossing, and Garth Road improvements. ELECTIONS AND PUBLIC MEETINGS The City is interested in supporting legislation that would allow for public agencies, local municipalities in particular,to post their required public notices on the internet, rather than a printed newspaper. Further,the City seeks clarification in Local Government Code Section 211.007 on how many public hearings are required for such agencies and committees as Planning and Zoning and others before a vote can be recorded. QUALITY OF LIFE There is no higher priority to our citizens than neighborhood quality. This is why it is critical that we strengthen and preserve a city's ability to regulate multi-family housing, abate substandard structures, and in all other ways nurture the health,safety,and comfort of our neighborhoods. We seek a change to Local Government Code 250.006 that would shorten the graffiti removal abatement notice time period and remove the provision requiring the abatement expenditure of public funds on private property.