The attached State and Federal Legislative Priorities agenda provides the platform that establishes City of Flagstaff positions on issues, policies and projects of legislative interest.  Materials that guide our lobbying and communication efforts and comprise the context for this legislative agenda include:

• League's 2014 Municipal Policy Statement (governs 2015 Legislative Session)
• League of Arizona Cities and Towns 2015 Legislative Resolutions that were adopted at the annual conference last August will guide the League's lobbying efforts in the next state legislative session on behalf of municipalities. (change to this process for next year described below)
• City of Flagstaff Guiding Principles

Issues identified may impact the Council's vision and mission in fulfilling City goals and objectives, promoting community values and protecting residents' quality of life.  A final Legislative Priorities agenda will be drafted based upon Council comments and direction relating to the attached draft and brought back for adoption following tonight's discussion.

It should be noted that with this upcoming year, the League Resolutions Process has changed so there will not be the familiar process for future Resolutions. 

In May, the League Executive Committee approved a change in the Resolutions process. The new system will allow for more in-depth research and greater involvement by elected officials and staff in developing the League’s Municipal Policy Statement. There will be five separate policy committees that will more thoroughly vet the issues. These policy committees will be chaired by a member of the Executive Committee, and will consist of elected officials and municipal staff. At times, other stakeholders may be invited to participate to provide needed expertise and perspective. League personnel will coordinate and staff these committees.
 
The five policy committees and their chairs will be:
• Budget, Finance and Economic Development, Mayor Kenny Evans of Payson;
• General Administration, Human Resources and Elections, Mayor Lana Mook of El Mirage;
• Neighborhoods, Quality of Life and Sustainability, Councilmember Gilbert Lopez of Coolidge;
• Public Safety, Military Affairs and Courts, Mayor Jerry Weiers of Glendale; and
• Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Works, Mayor Jonathan Rothschild of Tucson.
 
The chairs of these committees and League staff will review and assign the submitted ideas to the relevant committees. Each committee will meet to discuss and process these ideas, and will craft the actual resolution to be submitted to the Resolutions Subcommittee. Completed resolutions will then go to the full Resolutions Committee at the Annual Conference. The chairs of each committee will be responsible for presenting these new resolutions to the full Resolutions Committee.
 
In this new process, cities and towns will be able to submit policy ideas to the League at any time during the year and do not need to have a co-sponsoring city or town. If a city or town wishes to submit an idea for consideration, it will be conveyed via an email with a brief yet thorough explanation. Creating a full resolution as was done in the past is no longer necessary. However, cities may be consulted to provide more information on the idea and also may be invited to speak to the issue at one of the policy committee meetings. As in past years, Resolutions will be debated for final passage at the League’s Annual Conference.

Elected officials and municipal staff are welcome to volunteer to participate in these committees. If you are interested, please submit your name, title and committee of interest. These committees are expected to meet a few times a year. The actual committee membership and meeting schedule will be set by the committee chairs. Since we are just initiating this process, the first set of meetings will occur as soon as practical but targeted for after the 2015 League Resolutions are finalized in the fall. In the future we expect committee work to be conducted year round as needed.