Title
Approving the City of Saint Paul's 2014 Legislative Agenda.
Body
Amended 2/5/2014
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul is a major center of commerce and business activity; and
WHEREAS, cities provide important public services including police, fire, public works, code enforcement, libraries, parks and recreation, housing and economic development, and city administration; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul, as the capital city, must protect and enhance its community cultural, educational, and entertainment assets of statewide importance which contribute to our regional economic competitiveness; and
WHEREAS the City of Saint Paul continues to act with purpose to ensure that people in our region can live and work in a diverse, vibrant community with quality educational opportunities, safe streets and modern infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, the Central Corridor light rail transit project and redevelopment of University Avenue marks an undertaking of statewide significance that must leverage private investment and provide support for existing businesses in order to maximize job creation; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul is challenged to address the societal impacts related to the mortgage foreclosure crisis, academic achievement gap, employment disparities, and the concentration of poverty; and
WHEREAS, the Governor and Legislature restored $80 million of Local Government Aid during the 2013 session, of which $10.1 million was for Saint Paul, helping the City stabilize its budget with a flat levy and without cutting critical services.
Now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the following items are the legislative agenda of the City of Saint Paul for the 2014 Minnesota legislative session:
Revenue, Taxes and Finance
· Advocate for the continued restoration of previous cuts to LGA, a reduction in the year-to-year volatility of aid levels that cities received, and add a growth factor for the cost of providing city services.
· Oppose state-imposed levy limits and ensure maximum flexibility for local revenue options.
· Support strategies for a regional tax base including fiscal disparities and sales tax equalization.
· Advocate for an extended use of the Event Tax Increment Financing District.
Capital Investment and Economic Stimulus
· Advocate for the following projects in the 2014 state bonding bill:
o Minnesota Children's Museum Expansion ~ $14 million
o Como Park Transportation Access & Circulation Improvements ~ $8.9 million
o The Historic Palace Theater Renovations ~ $6 million
o Twin Cities Public Television Renovations / Media Public Commons ~ $9 million
o Regional Public Safety Facility in Saint Paul ~ $6.5 million
o Great River Passage Environmental Learning Center (Design) ~ $1.56 million
o Como Zoo Habitat Preservation Exhibit Renovation ~ $13.83 million
o Dorothy Day ReVision: Emergency Shelter and Connection Center ~ $18 million
· Support the following projects:
o The Building Jobs Coalition legislative bonding position for 2014.
o Metropolitan State's Metro State Science Center construction project request.
o Saint Paul College's Culinary Arts Lab and Machine Tool renovation project requests, and the Health and Science Alliance Center addition project request.
o The Ordway Center renovation project request.
o The Minnesota Museum of American Art predesign project funding request.
o MnDOT Bridge Funds for the following projects:
§ Replacement of the Dale Street Bridge over I-94;
§ Replacement of the Aldine pedestrian bridge over I-94; and
§ Betterments and facade improvements to I-94 bridges east of downtown.
o Saint Paul Port Authority's bonding priority requests, including:
§ Saint Paul harbor infrastructure improvements, as part of the Minnesota Ports Association's bonding request; and
§ University Enterprise Laboratories expansion.
o Capital investment appropriation of $500,000 to predesign, design, and engineer improvements to Pig's Eye Regional Park and Pig's Eye Lake.
o Capital investment appropriation of $3.5 million for renovation of the Wakan Tipi Center at the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary.
o Metropolitan Council's $11 million request in state bonds to match $7.33 million of Metropolitan Council bonds to improve and expand the Metropolitan Regional Park system.
o Ramsey County's bonding request list.
o Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission's request for planning dollars to design an Urban Regional Sports Center.
o The Homes for All Coalition request of $100 million in bonds for affordable housing.
o The Saint Paul Domestic Abuse Intervention Project Violence Center project.
Transportation
· Support tax increment financing for Transit Oriented Development.
· Support a new comprehensive transportation financing package that gives cities the resources and funding tools they need to meet our growing needs.
· Support additional funding for transit projects across the region, including a ½ cent sales tax increase for metro transit, and strongly encourages a renewed and balanced look at transit projects in the East Metro.
· Support the implementation of streetcars, including recognition of streetcars as a potential transitway mode for metropolitan regional planning, and the identification of funding for planning, study and construction.
· Oppose any efforts to increase the speed limit on I-35 through Saint Paul, as determined by a federal lawsuit settlement.
· Support additional funding for the transit network in the City of Saint Paul. Saint Paul encourages the Metropolitan Council to maintain much needed bus service during and after the construction of Central Corridor.
· Support MnDOT's efforts in continued maintenance funding and other additional resources to better meet the department's needs.
· Support funding for the statewide Complete Streets policy, requiring that all new and reconstructed streets accommodate all users of those streets, including motor vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, and people in wheelchairs.
· Support funding of a statewide effort to educate motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians about the rules of the road and best practices in order to increase safety and decrease crashes, injuries, and fatalities. Support an increase in penalties to those causing injuries and fatalities.
Parks and Trails
· Support and equitable distribution of funds through the Legacy Amendment.
· Support fully funding the Metro Parks biennial budget at 40 percent of parks financial needs.
· Support state or other funding designed to help Saint Paul and other communities slow the spread of Emerald Ash Borer and move toward reforestation of their urban forests, including trees that provide millions of dollars in economic, environmental and social benefits.
· Monitor efforts by state agencies to fund Asian Carp mitigation and population control programs.
· Monitor the Critical Areas rulemaking process.
Education and Workforce
· Support legislative efforts that increase access to high quality early care and education opportunities, particularly for 3- and 4-year olds whose families are the most financially challenged, to ensure all children are prepared to succeed in school and in life.
· Support efforts to improve the DEED grant program for youth job corps funding.
· Support efforts to increase funding for job search assistance, skills training, childcare, and related programs to help people find and retain employment.
· Supports additional state resources and policies to encourage green energy investment for revitalizing communities and creating jobs.
· Support tax incentives for companies that hire and retain disadvantaged workers.
· Support legislation prohibiting discrimination for school lunch, including no child turned away, no child stigmatized, and no collection agencies for school lunch debt.
· Support efforts to implement the City's Promise Neighborhood initiative.
Public Safety
o Support legislation to amend criminal trespass statutes to make the third offense a gross misdemeanor when there are two prior convictions within the past 10 years.
o Support legislation setting as a felony the filing of fraudulent or other improper financing statements against a police officer, chief of police, or a Department of Corrections employee, for performing official duties.
o Support permanent funding for Survivor Resources.
o Support legislation to allow access to Department of Vehicle Services records, including photos, for processing a permit to purchase/permit to transfer firearms application.
o Support legislation establishing a 90-day retention period for Automated License Plate Reader data, in order to balance law enforcement's use of ALPR data for public safety purposes and the public's interest in the protection of their privacy.
o Support legislation requiring a half-way home or other government-sponsored housing to report when a person deemed a predatory offender makes an unplanned move to another location away from their documented housing.
o Support creation of a model affidavit of the right to sell a scrap vehicle, standards for implementation, and the use of the Automated Property System (APS).
o Support legislation to address the challenges with investigating and prosecuting the manufacture, sale, use and possession of synthetic drugs.
o Support a classification for criminal intelligence data consistent with our partners in law enforcement.
o Support inclusion of Saint Paul public safety services in the planning and design of a Statewide Emergency Operations Center, and use of the current statewide plan for regional training centers.
o Support establishment of a Disaster Contingency Fund.
o Support appropriations changes to the Minnesota Fire Safety Account to fund critical services.
o Support initiatives in favor of community policing.
o Support efforts to reduce prostitution and human trafficking, streamline statutes in order to more effectively prosecute prostitution-related offenses, and support legislation designating funding for treatment and creation of transitional housing programs to support prostituted people.
o Support for the driver diversion program.
o Support efforts at the State and Federal levels to reduce gun violence.
o Monitor legislation mandating criminal forensic lab accreditation.
o Monitor legislation extending term sentences for electronic communications used in the commission of certain offenses.
o Monitor legislation to allow for use of racketeering statute for prosecution against organized criminal groups.
o Monitor legislation to require termination of a peace officer who has lied or deceived in an official capacity.
o Monitor legislation to authorize/mandate officers to carry naloxone hydrochloride to administer in overdose situations under the Good Samaritan laws.
o Monitor legislation dealing with Secure Communities and immigration issues.
o Oppose legislative changes to the state's forfeiture laws.
Housing, Economic and Community Stability
· Advocate for the passage of local government tools to address housing and community challenges brought on by the mortgage foreclosure crisis, including support for more incentives for the mediation and avoidance of foreclosures when feasible.
· Support an increase in the minimum wage of at least $9.50.
· Support land use and economic development incentives to benefit redevelopment and job creation at the Ford Plant Site.
· Support legislation to grow the micro-distilling industry in Minnesota to allow for both the sale of cocktails and the sale of bottled products on the site of the distillery.
· Support dedicated State funding for programs at the Department of Employment and Economic Development focusing on women and minority-owned businesses, redevelopment areas and transit improvement areas.
· Support UFCW efforts to create a fund for construction of grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods in urban and rural areas.
· Support modifications to liquor laws clarifying a city's ability to impose license restrictions.
· Renewable and Distributed Generation: Support incentives, mandates, and policies that increase distributed generation technologies, such as solar photovoltaic, solar thermal production, wind, combined heat and power for both public and private entities.
· Support expansion of programs to provide low cost financing to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes and buildings, particularly those in low and moderate income communities hit hard by the foreclosure/vacant housing crisis.
· Support programs to fund loans and grants to businesses along Central Corridor during construction of Light Rail Transit.
· Monitor activities regarding governance of the Metropolitan Council.
· Monitor efforts to change current practices with regional watershed districts.
Support legislation that allows a city to assess the costs of installing new sewer and water pipes at a demolished building.
General Municipal Advocacy
· Support the 2014 legislative agendas of the League of Minnesota Cities, Metro Cities, Ramsey County, the Saint Paul Port Authority, and the Saint Paul Public School District, except in cases of conflict.
· Oppose legislating through use of constitutional amendments due to public policy implications.