TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Legislative Committee
SUBJECT:
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Approve Legislative priorities and policy statements to guide the City of Salem’s advocacy work through the 2027 Legislative Session.
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Good Governance; Natural Environment Stewardship; Safe Community; Safe, Reliable and Efficient Infrastructure; Strong and Diverse Economy; Welcoming and Livable Community.
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SUMMARY:
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On a routine basis, the City Council’s Legislative Committee reviews and recommends policy statements and priorities for funding to guide legislative advocacy at the State and Federal level for the City of Salem. The Committee forwards these recommendations for City Council approval. The Legislative Committee is comprised of Mayor Julie Hoy and Councilors Brown, Gwyn, and Nordyke, with Councilor Nishioka serving as alternate. Before any official representing the City of Salem can attempt to influence legislation on a particular matter, during the interim or during a legislative session, the City Council must adopt an official position related to that matter. The Legislative Committee is recommending these policy statements be approved by the City Council.
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ISSUE:
Approve Legislative priorities and policy statements to guide the City of Salem’s advocacy work through the 2027 Legislative Session.
RECOMMENDATION:
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Approve Legislative priorities and policy statements to guide the City of Salem’s advocacy work through the 2027 Legislative Session.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
The City Council’s Legislative Committee is comprised of Mayor Julie Hoy and Councilors Brown, Gwyn, and Nordyke, with Councilor Nishioka serving as alternate. On a routine basis, the City Council’s Legislative Committee reviews and recommends priorities for funding and to guide legislative advocacy at the State and Federal level for the City of Salem. For each Oregon Legislative Session, the City Council’s Legislative Committee meets to prepare, consider positions on active bills during Session, and discuss recent federal legislative activity. The Committee forwards these recommendations for City Council approval.
Interim and 2027 Session. The Legislature will continue to meet during the interim in preparation for the next legislative session. The Legislative Committee will continue their work during the interim, as well. Work is underway now at the Legislative Committee to draft and prepare the City’s Federal and State agendas to guide our work in 2027, with support of staff, Perseverance, and Summit Strategies.
Legislative Committee Work. The City Council’s Legislative Committee met May 22, 2026 to consider adjustments to its policy statements in advance of the 2027 Oregon Legislative Session to guide the City’s response to bills during the Oregon Legislative Session (Attachment 1). The policy statements and legislative priorities position public officials, the City's contracted lobbyist, and staff to respond to legislation and include positions broad topics of economic development, financing and revenue, human resources, telecommunications, public safety, land use and the environment.
Additions for the interim and 2027 Session include:
• Within the Public Records and Responses section (p. 3) the addition of a line “Oppose legislation that expands public records retention, disclosure, or eDiscovery obligations without funding for technology, staffing, legal review, redaction and production tools, and secure records management. The technology, storage, search, retrieval, and production of public records affect Citywide capacity.
• Several of the proposed policy additions are intended to address the growing trend of assigning new responsibilities to local governments without corresponding funding. Public records requirements, cybersecurity obligations, housing regulations, and technology-related mandates can create significant costs related to staffing, training, software, legal review, infrastructure, and compliance. The proposed policy statements seek to ensure that new state or federal requirements are accompanied by adequate funding and implementation support.
• A new section on p. 7 for Public housing property management and operations. Support legislation that promotes safe, healthy, and stable public housing in communities by protecting the wellbeing of residents, staff, contractors, and the public. Advocate for policies that strengthen public housing property management operations, improve building and community safety, support housing stability, and provide adequate resources for effective housing administration. Oppose legislation, regulations, or mandates that create unfunded requirements, significantly increase development or operating costs, reduce housing supply, delay project delivery, or otherwise reduce financial or operational feasibility of affordable housing and community development projects.
• A new section on p. 7 for Technology, Cybersecurity, Data, and Artificial Intelligence: Cities rely on secure, reliable, and modern technology systems to deliver essential public services, protect sensitive information, support public safety, and meet transparency obligations. Salem supports legislation and funding that strengthens local government cybersecurity, modernizes aging public sector technology, improves responsible data use, and supports secure and ethical artificial intelligence adoption. Salem opposes legislation that imposes unfunded cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data sharing, reporting, audit, or technology implementation mandates on local governments without funding, practical timelines, clear standards, and protection from unreasonable liability.
o Cybersecurity: Support dedicated state and federal funding for local government cybersecurity tools, training, incident response, security monitoring, identity management, backup and recovery, and modernization of high-risk legacy systems. Oppose unfunded cybersecurity mandates or liability frameworks that do not account for local government staffing and budget constraints.
o Artificial intelligence governance: Support responsible artificial intelligence use that improves service delivery, efficiency, accessibility, and decision support while preserving transparency, privacy, public accountability, and human oversight. Oppose artificial intelligence mandates or restrictions that create unclear compliance duties, inhibit practical innovation, or require specialized staffing without funding.
o Autonomous and connected vehicles: Support a clear statewide framework for autonomous and connected vehicle testing, deployment, liability, cybersecurity, data access, emergency response coordination, and local roadway safety. Preserve local authority to manage impacts on streets, traffic operations, emergency response, curb access, fleet operations, and public infrastructure. Oppose mandates that require local governments to accommodate autonomous vehicle systems without funding, operational control, safety standards, and access to necessary incident and performance data.
o Cryptocurrency, digital payments, and fraud prevention: Support legislation and funding that strengthens consumer protection, law enforcement tools, fraud prevention, financial investigation capacity, cybersecurity, and public education related to cryptocurrency and digital payment fraud. Oppose requirements that shift investigation, reporting, technology, or victim support responsibilities to local governments without funding, training, or clear authority.
At their June meeting, the Legislative Committee will consider funding priorities for the 2027 Legislative Session.
BACKGROUND:
The Legislative Committee provides the City Council with regular updates and seeks approval of its recommendations regarding State and Federal legislative priorities. To continue a coordinated and unified response during upcoming sessions, and in accordance with Council Policy No. G-1, the Mayor and Councilor are asked to communicate the nature of their legislative contacts to staff via an email to Courtney Knox Busch or Francys Veras. Staff will forward the communication to the City’s lobbyist, the Legislative Committee, and City Council as appropriate.
Courtney Knox Busch
Assistant City Manager/Director for Strategy & Engagement
Attachments:
1. Legislative Committee recommended Policy Statements as of May 22, 2026.