3.
Council Work Session
- Meeting Date:
- 08/17/2020
- TITLE
- City of Billings Legislative Agenda 2021 DRAFT
- PRESENTED BY:
- Chris Kukulski
- Department:
- City Hall Administration
- Division:
- Administration
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Council and Mayor consider and render feedback for the attached legislative priorities for the Montana State Legislature’s 2021 Session.
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
As the Montana State Legislature will be in session next year, it is important that the City of Billings have a legislative agenda to pursue for 2021. The COVID-19 Pandemic has placed the City of Billings under unique strain that could be alleviated by cooperation with the State Legislature and the pursuit of tangible legislative goals. This agenda is comprised from the agenda that was adopted by the Council in 2019 with notable additional language regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic. With the agenda, attachments from the Montana League of Cities and Towns’ (MLCT) Legislative Report for 2019 and Montana Infrastructure Coalition’s (MIC) 2016 Overview of Critical Local Government Infrastructure Needs are included. In 2019, the Council and Mayor approved, in general, the legislative priorities of both these groups. Of which, these two reports are included to give the Council a snapshot of what these groups represent. The MLCT is an incorporated, nonpartisan, nonprofit association of 127 Montana municipalities. The League’s sole purpose is the cooperative improvement of municipal government in Montana. It acts as a clearinghouse through which the municipalities cooperate for their mutual benefit. The MIC is a volunteer group representing over 100 industry, labor, and trade associations, local governments and business entities. These groups have come together to provide reliable information to state and local decision-makers and their constituents regarding the need for infrastructure investment.
ALTERNATIVES
This is a DRAFT – therefore, we are looking for feedback. Alternatives to the passing of this legislative agenda are as follows:
City Council may:
City Council may:
- Approve to create and pass a new legislative agenda or forgo having a legislative agenda for the 2021 session of the Montana State Legislature or;
- Disapprove to create and pass a new legislative agenda or forgo having a legislative agenda for the 2021 session of the Montana State Legislature.
FISCAL EFFECTS
Creating our legislative agenda has little direct cost. Success or failure throughout the 2021 legislative process typically has significant fiscal impacts both short and long term. I expect the pandemic will dominate most of the discussions during the legislative session.