Item A: Role of IGR Committee and Process to Establish Legislative Policy

Home Browse Search

EUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ~ Work Session: Discussion on Role of Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations and Process to Establish City Council Policy on Legislative Matters Meeting Date: April 11, 2007 Department: City Manager's Office www.eugene-or.gov Agenda Item Number: A Staff Contact: Brenda Wilson Contact Telephone Number: 682-8441 ISSUE STATEMENT At the request of Councilor Pryor, a work session has been set to discuss and review process and procedural issues related to the relationship between the City Council, Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (IGR), and City Manager on legislative positions per past agreements and Resolution No. 4139. BACKGROUND The Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relationships (IGR) is the only standing committee of the City Council. It was created in the 1980s as a way, in part, to more efficiently inform the City Council about legislation being considered in the Oregon Legislature. The IGR Committee is a three- member committee appointed by the Mayor. Processes and procedures for the IGR Committee have been developed and refined over the years due in part to the changing composition of the committee and the evolving methods to track and monitor bills. At the same time, the staff resource for legislative matters has decreased. Further, the composition of the Legislature itself changes every session and this creates new dynamics, new authorities, and requires staff who manage legislative matters to be very creative in the short period of the legislative session. When established, the purpose of the IGR Committee was to act on behalf of the full City Council to direct policy efforts regarding bills introduced in the Legislature. Guided by the legislative policies adopted by the City Council, the IGR Committee reviewed staff comments on proposed legislation affecting the City organization or of interest to the City, and then gave direction to the intergovernmental staff who lobbied for or against bills. Over the years, a ranking system was developed for the bills, ranging from "Priority 1" to "Priority 3" or "drop." This, in turn, then provides direction to staff in Salem as to the level of effort and intensity to direct toward a particular bill, be it harmful or beneficial for the City. Under the current process, bills are assigned to one or more legislative coordinators within the City organization. The bills are reviewed and staff enters comments into a tracking system. The comments offer possible impacts and results of the proposed legislation, specify who has introduced the bill and why and, finally, recommend a position for the City to take on the bill. LICMOl2007 Council AgendaslM070411 IS070411A.doc