Item 2C: Ratification of IGR Committee Minutes

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what Mayor Piercy wanted, and believed she had done that when she made her suggestions. Ms. Wilson said that this was true, the COE might oppose bills that the LOC supported as a result of the priorities the CCIGR indicated should be prioritized. If specific bills came out of specific priorities the COE supported, staff would still review the bills for their impact on the COE, inform the CCIGR of these impacts and ask for direction. Ms. Ortiz declared that priority I, “9-1-1 tax on pre-paid cell phones,” would impact the immigrant commu- nity. Nevertheless, she supported it, agreeing that it was a good idea, not only from an equity standpoint. h. Priority R – Address tax equity issues in the context of state telecommunications laws including removing existing preemptions that had led to declining revenues Ms. Wilson noted that there was only one priority under Telecommunications – priority R, “Address tax equity issues in the context of state telecommunications laws including removing existing preemptions that had led to declining revenues,” and that she had grayed it out. She said that if this was one of LOC's priori- ties, they would also work toward an alternative tax system, and that it would most likely take more than one session. The COE's only interest in legislation that would come out of this priority would be for the COE to be grandfathered in. The COE was one of one four cities in the state that taxed wireless, and the COE had its own telecommunications tax and fee structure, which the COE would protect at all costs. I. Priority Q – Eliminate the requirement for employers to provide identical health benefits for retirees as they do for active employees Mr. Poling mentioned priority Q, saying that his feeling about it would depend on the answer to his question. He asked if the elimination would pertain to current retirees, or current employees who were considering retirement. Ms. Wilson said that it affected both current retirees and current employees who were considering retire- ment. At this time, there was a requirement that employers provide identical healthcare to retirees as they did employees. Mr. Poling said that he might have to declare a conflict of interest as a current retiree. Ms. Wilson said that it was very difficult to retroactively change employee benefits, and she imagined the legislation would impact only those employees who had yet to retire. J. Priority H – Allow local governments a more flexible use of transient lodging tax to meet the in- creased demands placed both on essential services and infrastructure created by tourism activities. Mr. Poling asked if more transient room tax funds were taken and put back into general fund monies, how would it affect Travel Lane County, for example. Would they get less in their budget if this occurred? Ms. Wilson said that this would depend on how the bill was structured. She said that it would give the COE more flexibility to use the funds already received. The purpose of this particular legislative concept was to provide more control to local governments rather than increase the funds they received. MINUTES—Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations June 30, 2010 Page 5