TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Legislative Committee
SUBJECT:
title
End of session report summarizing the City’s legislative activities during the 2023 session of the Oregon State Legislature.
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:
summary
End of session report summarizing the City’s legislative activities during the 2023 session of the Oregon State Legislature.
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ISSUE:
Information Only.
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Information Only.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
Legislative Committee Work
The City Council’s Legislative Committee meets to prepare for the Legislative Session and during Session, to consider positions on bills before the 2023 Legislature. The Council’s Legislative Committee is comprised of Mayor Hoy and Councilors Nordyke, Phillips, and Stapleton. Councilor Nishioka serves as an alternate.
• Policy Statements. The Council adopted a set of legislative policy statements before the 2023 Session started on January 17, 2023, and adjusted the policy statements during the Session (Attachment 1) to guide the City’s response to bills during the 2023 Oregon Legislative Session. The policy statements provided guidance to public officials and the City's contracted lobbyist in responding to and formulating positions on issues expected to come before the Oregon Legislature and positioned the City to respond more expeditiously to moving legislation. The statements address broad topics of economic development, financing and revenue, human resources, telecommunications, public safety, land use and the environment.
• Priorities. For the 2023 Legislative Session, Salem’s top priorities were to secure funding to continue operation of Salem’s sheltering programs and navigation center. Salem also sought funding for slide mitigation on River Road and enhancing the Peace Plaza. An additional priority was funding a sobering center for two years. Policy priorities included a fix to include Salem in the list of cities able to use photo radar, support for a Towing Association effort to capture cost of future recreational vehicle demolition at point of sale, and a payment from the State of Oregon in lieu of property taxes.
• Bills of Interest. Through the work of City Council’s Legislative Committee and the City’s contracted lobbyist, Perseverance Strategies, Inc. the City analyzed and tracked more than 550 pieces of priority legislation. Of these, 66 bills were designated high priority. Bills determined to be of significant interest by the City Council’s Legislative Committee were recommended to Council for adoption as a 1 or 2 priority based on the following assessment: (1) Very High Priority - Major fiscal or policy impact. Mayor, councilors, and/or staff should work to support or oppose the bill. (2) High Priority - Moderate Impact. Staff should be involved in supporting or opposing the bill.
Perseverance has provided the attached 2023 Legislative Session summary (Attachment 2), which describes the Legislative Session, in general, and features a brief summary of key issues of interest this session. The outcome of priority bills to the City are featured in the attached report.
Work is underway now at the Legislative Committee to draft and prepare the City’s Federal and State agendas to guide our work in 2024, with support of staff, Perseverance, and Summit Strategies.
BACKGROUND:
Courtney Knox Busch
Strategic Initiatives Manager
Attachments:
1. 2023 Salem Legislative Policy Statements
2. City of Salem, 2023 Session Overview as submitted by Perseverance Strategies, Inc.