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CC Resolution No. 2220 - Establish2013State&FederalLegislativeAgenda RESOLUTION NO. 2220 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS, ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF BAYTOWN'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR THE 2013 STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS; 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 Agenda for the 2013 State Legislative Session, which is attached hereto as Exhibit"A" and incorporated herein for all intents and purposes. Section 2: That the City Council of the City of Baytown, Texas, hereby establishes the City of Baytown's Legislative Agenda for the 2013 Federal Legislative Session, which is attached hereto as Exhibit "B"and incorporated herein for all intents and purposes. Section 3: 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 thAafffifirmativ of the City Council of the City of Baytown this the 10" day of January, 2013. CARLOS, Mayor AT .5 0, r ' A Cj� ity Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: NACI�SR., Cit torney Rlxaren\Files\Ciry Council\Resoluiions`d013Vanuap 10\EnaMish201J5tak&FedmrelLegislmiveAgenda doc Exhibit "A" BAYTOWN LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES B 83RD TEXAS LEGISLATIVE SESSION WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ✓ Support efforts to improve workforce development programs that will build a workforce in Texas to fill current and future technical job openings with Texas workers. ✓ Promote workforce and skills alignment by reforming the Skills Development Fund in a way that allows for flexibility and agility in training design and deployment; and define clear pathways between high school technical career training and community college technical career training. BUDGET ISSUES ✓ Oppose legislation that will require additional services or taxes by cities due to State budget shortfalls,still placing a burden on local constituents. UNFUNDED MANDATES ✓ Oppose legislation that would require municipalities to fund former State and Federal programs without providing a means to recapture the associated costs. APPRAISAL CAP ✓ Oppose legislation that would mandate a reduction in the current ten-percent capon annual appraisal growth. POLLUTION CONTROL PROPERTY TAx ExEmMON ✓ Oppose legislation that would extend the"Prop 2" pollution control property tax exemption to processes,facilities,or end products. STREET MAINTENANCE SALES TAX ✓ Support legislation that would authorize the collection of municipal sales and use taxes for street maintenance for a longer or indefinite term instead of the four years provided by current law. LOCAL PARKS FUNDING ✓ Oppose legislation that would cut state appropriations for future local parks grant funding,specifically cuts to the Texas Local Park Grant Program. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ✓ Support legislation that would exempt as many cities as possible from any Federal collective bargaining legislation that may become law in the future. 1 ABAYTOWN LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES BAYTOWN 83RD TEXAS LEGISLATIVE SESSION EROSION OF MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY ✓ Oppose legislation that erodes municipal authority in the areas of: • Municipal Annexation • Municipal Zoning • Extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJ) RIGHTS-OF-WAY ✓ Oppose legislation that would decrease a city's authority to be adequately compensated for the use of its rights-of-way. ✓ Oppose legislation that would erode municipal authority over the management and control of rights-of-way. CFPY SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY ✓ Oppose legislation that would erode a city s sovereign immunity. CONDEMNATION ✓ Oppose legislation that would further erode a city's ability to condemn property for a public purpose. LEGISLATIVE COMMUNICATION ✓ Oppose legislation that would limit or prohibit the authority of city officials to use municipal funds to communicate with legislators. COTTAGE FOOD INDUSTRY REGULATIONS ✓ Oppose legislation that would expand the Cottage Food Industry regulations to allow individuals to produce any potentially hazardous food product in their home or without appropriate regulation and inspection by local authority. GRAFFITI ABATEMENT ✓ Support legislation that would repeal the requirement In current law that a city must first offer to remove graffiti free of charge prior to requiring the property owner to remove it. HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES ✓ Support legislation that would apply hotel occupancy taxes to RV parks,except for stays of longer than 30 days. 2 Exhibit"B" BAYTOWN LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES 113' UNITED STATES CONGRESS WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ✓ Support efforts,such as reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act,to improve workforce development programs that will build a workforce in Texas to fill current and future technical job openings with Texas workers. ✓ Support workforce resources and programs that allow state and local levels of government to create programs that work for their state or locality, not one-size-fits-all national programs. PUBLIC SAFETY ✓ Maintain or expand federal resources for public safety grant programs that provide core services provided by the City of Baytown: • Federal Homeland Security Grant Programs(Urban Areas Security Initiative, Port Security, Buffer Zone Protection, and State Homeland Security); • Police Grant Programs(COPS and Byrne/Justice Assistance); and • Fire Grant Programs(Assistance to Firefighters, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response,and Fire Prevention and Safety). HARBOR MAINTENANCE PEES ✓ Support measures that would ensure the full allocation of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for its intended purposes of maintaining the nation's waterways. PUBLIC WORKS ✓ Support increases in funding to maintain vital public infrastructure(i.e., highways, roads, bridges,water,wastewater and stormwater), including reauthorization of the Water Resources Development Act(WRDA)and creation of the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Authority(WIFIA)that would supplement existing resources and provide increased support for water and wastewater infrastructure for local governments. ✓ Support the continued exemption of Public Water Systems and Water Treatment Facilities from the Department of Homeland Security CFATS regulation. ✓ Provide funding for hardening of existing infrastructure to mitigate natural and man- made disasters. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ✓ Oppose additional funding reductions to the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG)and legislation that lowers the CDBG administrative cap below 20%. 1 BAYTOWN LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES 0 1137" UNITED STATES CONGRESS UNFUNDED MANDATES ✓ Oppose legislation that would require municipalities to fund former State and Federal programs without providing the associated resources. PESTICIDES ✓ Support a legislative amendment to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act(FIFRA)to clarify that pesticides or any biological control organism permitted under FIFRA will not be considered a pollutant and therefore avoid facing unnecessary restrictions by the EPA through the Clean Water Act. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ✓ Oppose any legislation that would require local governments to adopt federal collective bargaining standards. FRANCHISE FEES ✓ Oppose efforts that reduce or eliminate a municipality's ability to collect franchise fees for use of rights-of-way. MUNICIPAL BOND INTEREST ✓ Oppose legislation that would limit or remove the exemption on the taxing of municipal bond interest. ARTS AND CULTURE ✓ Support continued funding for NEA and EDA grant programs to improve arts and cultural opportunities in our community and to restore historic areas of our city. LOCAL AUTHORITY ✓ Oppose any federal preemption of local government hotel occupancy taxes. ✓ Oppose any federal preemption of state defined-benefit plans, such as the Texas Municipal Retirement System. PRIORITY TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES ✓ Garth Road Signal Synchronization/Interconnection ✓ SH 146 Signal Synchronization/Interconnection ✓ City-wide Sidewalk and Trail Connectivity