TITLE
Recommendation to respectfully request City Council approval of the 2015 Federal Legislative Agenda as recommended by the Federal Legislation Committee.
DISCUSSION
Each year the Long Beach City Council adopts a Federal Legislative Agenda, which outlines the City's federal legislative priorities for the coming year. This document provides policy direction to staff on federal issues, and allows the City to support, oppose or work with our federal legislative delegates to advance priorities adopted by the City Council. Unique to the proposed changes for 2015 is a new format for discussing the City's legislative agenda. A number of items have been reorganized and consolidated to streamline the agenda. The Committee approved organizing the agenda into five categories of legislative interest: (1) Economic Development, (2) Public Safety, (3) Support for Education, (4) Sustainable and Livable Cities, and (5) Local Control.
At the Federal Legislative Committee meeting on January 6, 2015, the Committee voted to adopt staff's recommended changes for the 2015 Federal Legislative Agenda and provided additional changes that are being forwarded to the City Council for consideration and adoption. The Committee's changes are described below:
Economic Development
City Council Directive: Minimum Wage
Add language to read, "Support efforts to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour."
City Council Directive: Paid Maternity Leave
Add language to read, "Support efforts to provide paid maternity leave to full-time employees. "
City Council Directive: Immigration Reform
Add language to read, "Support comprehensive immigration reform that will provide a dignified path to United States citizenship, strengthen the nation's workforce and the economy."
City Council Directive: Business Friendly Policies
Amend Item 13 to read, "Support legislation that creates a more competitive business environment for The Boeing Company, the aerospace industry overall, and all businesses in Long Beach, especially service industries, retail and car dealerships."
Public Safety
City Council Directive: Gun Control
Add language to read, "Support policy changes that recognize and promote mental health services as a part of the gun. control law discussion. "
City Council Directive: Fire Protection
Amend Item 6 to read, "Support legislation and grants that promote the installation of fire sprinklers in existing structures that balances the need to require businesses to add fire sprinklers and other infrastructure to their buildings, with grant funding that is available."
City Council Directive: Homeland Security Grants
Amend Item 14 to read, "Support decreasing the state administrative cap for all state governments for Homeland Security federal grants and increase increasing the administrative cap for local governments."
City Council Directive: Medical Marijuana
Remove Item 17, "Support legislation that would grant federal approval of medical marijuana procedures and regulations in states that have approved and implemented state legislation for use of medical marijuana."
Sustainable and Livable Cities
City Council Directive: Affordable Housing
Amend Item 26 to read, "Support a change in federal laws to prohibit tenants INho no longer meet income requirements from continuing to live in units that are dedicated for affordable housing landlord options to increase rent for people who had originally been living in affordable housing units, and reduce the rent for another unit, so that we still have the number of affordable housing units available more quickly in the environment.
Local Control
City Council Directive: Airport Passenger Facility Charges
Amend Item 4 to read: "Support federal authorization to allow local governments to increase legislation that increases Airport Passenger Facility Charges, or gives direct local control."
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
REX RICHARDSON
COUNCILMEMBER; CHAIR, FEDERAL LEGISLATION COMMITTEE