Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04032007 - SD.9 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS .�'.. Contra FROM: Susan A. Bonilla `s Costa Supervisor District IV �'''""" DATE: April 3, 2007 s'a'y°° ` Co u my SUBJECT: Ad Hoc Board Committee on Federal and State Legislation Oo D SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. ESTABLISH an Ad Hoc Board Committee on Federal and State legislation to review the County's Federal and State legislative programs and to identify strategies to improve awareness, understanding and advocacy on issues of importance to Contra Costa County. 2. APPOINT Supervisors Mary N. Piepho and Susan A. Bonilla to the Ad Hoc Committee. 3. REQUEST the Ad Hoc Committee to return to the Board with recommendations on increasing the effectiveness of the County's Federal and State legislative programs. FISCAL IMPACT: No direct impact, except for the allocation of staff time to support the Ad Hoc Committee. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: No improvements to County practices with regard to federal or state legislative programs. BACKGROUND: Over the past six years, the Board of Supervisors has made enormous strides in its legislative programs. In December 2001, the County retained Paul Schlesinger, Alcalde & Fay, as the County's first federal representative. The Board adopted its first federal legislative platform the following month. Since then, the County's federal legislative program has resulted in federal financial support for a variety of projects ranging from flood control and dredging projects, to the ARIES — Integrated Justice Information System, to the Library Outreach Program for second graders. In addition, Alcalde & Fay has provided invaluable support on Indian Gaming issues. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: _YES SIGNATURE: �S &�� J RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OTHER ti VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE �— AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN UNANIMOUS(ABSENT .� AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE AYES: NOES: SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: 2 ATTESTED &A l � CONTACT: JOHN CULLEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF sLkERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR cc:CAO. C BY © EPbT'Y ADDENDUM TO SD.9 APRIL 3, 2007 On this day,the Board of Supervisors considered establishing an Ad Hoc Committee to review and make recommendations to the Board on improving the County's federal and state legislative programs, and appointing Supervisors Bonilla and Piepho to serve on the Committee. County Administrator John Cullen suggested converting the committee to a Standing committee versus an Ad Hoc Committee assuming the Ad Hoc Committee does well in the first year. The Chair asked the public for comments on this item. There were no speakers. By a unanimous vote with Supervisor Uilkema absent, the Board of Supervisors took the following action: ACCEPTED Recommendations 1-3 as listed on the Board Order establishing an Ad Hoc Committee to review and make recommendations to the Board on improving the County's federal and state legislative programs. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS April 3, 2007 Ad Hoc Board Committee on Federal and State Legislation Page 2 In addition, in August 2006, for the first time in many years, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors was represented at the NACo Legislative Annual Conference through the attendance of Supervisor Federal Glover. The election of Sonoma County Supervisor Valerie Brown, as Second Vice President of NACo at that meeting, marked the beginning of new opportunities for California and its counties to have a greater voice in that organization. Earlier this year, Supervisors Mary Piepho and Federal Glover, as Chair and Vice Chair of the Board of Supervisors, traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate for our federal appropriation requests. This visit established a new level of engagement of our Washington D.C. delegation. On the state level, in 2004,, the County's contract with Nielsen Merksamer shifted the County's limited focus on sponsored ,bills only to participation in broader issues, such as the State Budget, Proposition 1A and Telecom. Today Contra Costa County is an active voice in Sacramento. Our state representative, Cathy Christian, works closely with representatives from other counties with similar interests. In 2001, Supervisor Gayle Uilkema led the way to reestablish the Board's presence in Sacramento with her appointment to the Urban Counties Caucus (UCC) and then to the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Executive Committee and CSAC Board of Directors. For the last several years, Supervisor John Gioia has been active with the Urban Counties Caucus. Supervisor Federal Glover has been active on both the CSAC Executive Committee and the CSAC Board of Directors. In addition, Supervisor Gioia serves on the Bay Area Counties Caucus, newly formed in 2006. Legislative and budgetary actions on both the federal and state level have enormous fiscal and policy impacts on Contra Costa County. For example, this year at the state level, major reforms in corrections and health care are being considered by the Governor and the Legislature. Consequently, it is an appropriate time to strategize on ways to increase the effectiveness of the County's Federal and State Legislative Programs. Consideration should be given to issues such as: ➢ the role of Board of Supervisors' policy advisory committees and individual Board members in determining and advocating Contra Costa County's position on issues and bills; ➢ mechanisms to increase the County's ability to respond quickly to issues and to advocate positions when there is insufficient time for official Board action; ➢ ways to increase communication with the County's congressional and legislative delegation; ➢ ways to inform and engage the public, public agencies and stakeholders, as appropriate; ➢ creation of a communication infrastructure to ensure message consistency and to brief/debrief Board .members and departments on activities of interest (such as the Washington D.C. visit, Committee testimony, UCC/CSAC meetings, legislative conferences and other events); ➢ establishment of better linkages between the professional associations, department staff participating in professional associations and the development and articulation of County policy positions; ➢ participation on CSAC and NACo Policy Committees; and ➢ development and periodic review of the County's legislative platforms. The creation of the Ad Hoc Committee will create a formal venue to discuss these issues and to formulate recommendations for consideration by the full Board of Supervisors.