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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-09-25-7.1 - Resolution - 01/09/2025Proclamation A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, ADOPTING THE 2025 LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM FOR THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS; DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER OR HIS DESIGNEE TO ACT WITH REGARD TO THE CITY'S 2025 LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the 89th Session of the Texas Legislature will convene on January 14th; and WHEREAS, it is anticipated there will be many legislative issues affecting local government considered; and WHEREAS, City staff prepared the recommended 2025 Legislative Program attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and the 2025 Legislative Program has been reviewed by the City Council of the City of College Station; and WHEREAS, the City Council maintains such a 2025 Legislative Program is in the best interest of the City and the College Station community (i.e., residents and businesses), and thus should be adopted, and forwarded for consideration by the State Legislature; and WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to direct the City Manager to take action with regard to the 2025 Legislative Program as outlined below; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS: PART 1: Exhibit "A" is hereby adopted and approved as the 2025 Legislative Program for the City of College Station. PART 2: The City Manager is directed to communicate the items included in the 2025 Legislative Program to members of the Texas Legislature, in general, or to the appropriate legislative staff, committees, or committee members. PART 3: For those items designated as "support" by the City Council, the City Manager is directed to actively pursue passage of the appropriate legislation. The City Manager's efforts to obtain passage of the legislation may include drafting appropriate legislation, seeking a sponsor, and actively pursuing passage of such legislation by providing testimony and through other means. PART 4: For those items designated as "oppose" by the City Council, the City Manager is directed to attempt to impede the passage of any such legislation. PART 5: It is recognized this policy will often be implemented in the context of great numbers of legislative proposals being considered within short time periods. City representatives, under the direction of the City Manager, shall be authorized 2025 Legislative Program Resolution Resolution No. 01-09-25-7.1 Page 2 of 5 to act on behalf of the City consistent with the necessary broad policy concerns set forth in this program. PART 6: This Resolution shall take effect immediately from and after its passage. ADOPTED this 911 day of January, 2025. ATTES APPR WEp :'� City Secretary Mayor 2025 Legislative Program Resolution Page 3 of 5 Resolution No. 01-09-25-7.1 EXHIBIT A 2025 LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM The 2025 Legislative Program is a guide for City of College Station ("City") positions and priorities. The purpose of the City's legislative efforts is to serve the citizens and businesses of College Station by advocating for policies which will be in the best interest of the College Station community. Many significant decisions affecting Texas cities are made by the Texas Legislature, During the 2023 session, out of the 8,000 bills or resolutions filed, more than 1,800 bills would have affected Texas cities in a substantial way. LOCAL CONTROL The City maintains that citizens and businesses are best served by policies made at the level of government closest to the people. It is the elected members of the city council who best understand the needs and expectations of their communities. Therefore, the City will seek to preserve home rule authority by opposing bills which will allow the state to preempt municipal authority or erode the City's authority to govern locally. The city will oppose legislation which will: • Impose further revenue and/or tax caps of any kind without sustainable offsetting revenue • Erode the ability of a city to issue debt • erode municipal authority related to development matters, including annexation, eminent domain, zoning, building codes, tree preservation, short-term rentals, the extraterritorial jurisdiction, and manufactured housing. • Erode the authority of a city to be adequately compensated for the use of its rights -of - way and/or erode municipal authority over the management and control of rights -of - way. • Limit or prohibit the authority of city officials to use municipal funds to communicate with legislators. PROTECTING WATER RESOURCES As the population and economy of Texas grows there will be additional demands on the State's natural resources. One of the most concerning of these resources is groundwater. The potential transfer of groundwater from the region to other areas poses a threat to the stability of the City's water supply and infrastructure. Additionally, increased water use driven by droughts and regional growth will continue to impact the city's primary drinking water source —deep underground aquifers. The City will support legislation which will: 2025 Legislative Program Resolution Page 4 of 5 Resolution No. 01-09-25-7.1 • establish the prioritization of water rights based on the date at which an entity's claim to the groundwater was filed with the State of Texas, similar to the priority date system of permitting used to regulate access to surface water, • allow a municipality to count their service territory as part of an area legally controlled as far as acreage and drilling wells. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (TxDOT) FUNDING FOR PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS ON FM60 Northgate has become the densest residential district in our City, with over 8,000 current beds, and an additional 2,300 coming soon through projects which have already been permitted. This is a 758% increase since 2011, when there were only 1,200 beds in Northgate. East of Northgate, an urban, mixed -use development known as Century Square, has developed. This thriving district hosts restaurants, hotels, retail, and entertainment spaces. However, these two growing neighborhoods are separated from the TAMU campus by FM60, also known as University Drive, a highway with over 48,000 vehicles traversing it each day. The City will pursue efforts to secure funding for two grade -separated pedestrian crossings linking Texas A&M University with Northgate and Century Square, establishing a safe connection between campus and these two neighborhoods. The need for these crossings has been recognized for years. In 2018 the Bryan College Station MPO conducted a connectivity study which identified the need for safer bicycle and pedestrian crossings in this area. The City has requested federal community project funding to assist with design. The funding was passed through the House Committee for Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and is expected to pass with the Federal Budget, in March. TxDOT funding is needed for construction, which may begin in 2028 or 2029. Texas A&M University and the MPO are in support of this project. EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION (ETJ) REGULATIONS College Station believes cities have a right by statute to regulate their ETJ. In the 88th Legislative Session SB 2038, was passed with the intent to allow property owners to petition to leave a municipality's ETJ. The City has concerns about the negative impacts SB 2038 will have on our community, current and future taxpayers, quality of life, infrastructure, and core services. SB 2038 violates Article II, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution (the separation of powers) because its petition mechanism constitutes an unconstitutional delegation of authority to private parties. Also, SB 2038 violates the City's grant of legislative discretion to reduce the ETJ by ordinance or resolution under Texas Local Government Code section 42.023. The City seeks a resolution to this issue through revisions to SB 2038 which will remove the constitutional conflict. HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX (HOT) FUNDING FOR A CONVENTION CENTER 2025 Legislative Program Resolution Page 5 of 5 Resolution No. 01-09-25-7.1 The City supports legislation which will allow College Station to utilize HOT revenues to promote tourism through the construction of a convention center.