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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-13-26-8.5 - Resolution - 08/13/2026RESOLUTION NO. 08-13-26-8.5 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, ADOPTING THE 2027 LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM FOR THE CITY OF COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS; DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER OR HIS DESIGNEE TO ACT WITH REGARD TO THE CITY'S 2027 LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the 90th Session of the Texas Legislature will convene on January 12th 2027; and WHEREAS, it is anticipated there will be many legislative issues affecting local government considered; and WHEREAS, utilizing input from citizens and statewide elected officials the city council's Legislative Engagement Committee prepared the recommended 2027 Legislative Program attached hereto as Exhibit "A"; and WHEREAS, the City Council maintains such a 2027 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 regarding the 2027 Legislative Program as outlined below; and WHEREAS, when representing or speaking on behalf of the City or the City Council, all councilmembers will adhere to the statements made in this legislative program; 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 2027 Legislative Program for the City of College Station. PART 2: The City Manager is directed to communicate the items included in the 2027 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. 2027 Legislative Program Resolution Page 2 of 6 Resolution No. 08-13-26-8.5 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 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 13th day of August 2026. ATTEST: APPFv Ma or 4201k City Secretary APPROVED: City ottA rney 2027 Legislative Program Resolution Page 3 of 6 Resolution No. 08-13-26-8.5 EXHIBIT A 2027 LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM The 2027 Legislative Program is a guide for City of College Station ("City") positions and priorities. The City of College Station recognizes the need for an active legislative program to ensure the interests of the City's residents and businesses are protected an enhanced. The City Council, and the Council's Legislative Engagement Subcommittee, has worked collaboratively with the community and elected legislative officers to create this legislative platform which reflects the values and interests of College Station. As directed by the City Council, the City will participate in the 90th Texas Legislative Session (2027) through monitoring and actively advocating for or against legislation appropriate to support or safeguard the interests of the City. FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY Cities exist to provide essential services to residents and businesses. To do this, a city must be financially sustainable and be able to operate with reasonable certainty of future resources. The City will support legislation which: • Provides flexibility for local elected officials to utilize taxes, fees, debt and other funding sources to meet the needs of their communities. • Allows a city to utilize user specific non -tax revenue sources, such as fees, to maintain a low tax rate for the general population. • Defines a tax increase in terms of the tax rate rather than revenue for taxing units. • Maintains local sourcing of sales and use taxes for interne orders. The City will oppose legislation which: • Imposes further expenditure caps, revenue caps, and/or tax caps without a sustainable source of offsetting revenue. • Requires a popular vote, by default or be petition, for all property tax increases. • Limits property appraisals to a frequency of less than once per year. • Further restricts a municipality's ability to issue debt. • Imposes unfunded mandates upon the community. • Does not provide adequate time for the City to adjust its financial planning to accommodate the proposed legislation. CLOSEST PROXIMITY REPRESENTATION 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 hinder the Council's ability to respond to the needs and demands of the citizens who elected them. 2027 Legislative Program Resolution Page 4 of 6 Resolution No. 08-13-26-8.5 The City will support legislation which: • Protects the autonomy of local officials to make decisions in the best interest of their communities. The City will oppose legislation which will: • Limit or prohibit city officials from advocating on behalf of the community or communicating with legislators through trade associations and consultants. • Interfere with the ability of the city to determine how to best operate local programs, services, and activities. PROTECTING WATER RESOURCES As the population and economy of Texas grows there will be additional demands for 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: • Replace the existing groundwater conservation district structure of governance with governing bodies designed at the aquifer -level. • 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 when calculating necessary water wells and historical usage. RELIABLE AND AFFORDABLE POWER SUPPLY The City is committed to ensuring our residents have access to dependable, cost-effective electricity. As a municipally owned utility (MOU), College Station's electric department is governed by the city council and is accountable to the citizens it serves, not to investors. This allows us to maintain fixed rates, which are consistently below the state average, and maintain reliability standards far exceeding the state and national average. The City will oppose legislation which will: • Impede our citizen's access to reliable and affordable power. • Force every MOU into the deregulated retail market. 2027 Legislative Program Resolution Page 5 of 6 Resolution No. 08-13-26-8.5 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Texas is rapidly growing. Housing and infrastructure must be built at a pace which can accommodate the state's growing population. However, this growth must be accomplished in a responsible way to the benefit of both new and existing residents. Innovation occurs when local leaders are given the freedom to meet the needs of their community. College Station has proven this by proactively implementing middle housing, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and special zoning districts to meet the housing needs of the community. Additionally, the City will actively monitor, evaluate, and act on legislation that creates or modifies special districts within the City and its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). The City will support legislation which will: • Preserve the City's authority to establish lot sizes, parking requirements, density, and ADU requirements within city limits • Address consequences to infrastructure (such as water, wastewater, stormwater, parking, and transportation) which arise from legislative changes to lot size and density. • Protect and clarify a city's role in requests for removal from their ETJ. • Provide consistency of regulation in the city and ETJ to ensure safety and preserve property values. The City will oppose legislation which will: • Diminish municipal authority related to development matters, including annexation, eminent domain, zoning, building codes, tree preservation, short-term rentals, 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. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (TxDOT) FUNDING FOR PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS ON FM 60 Texas A&M now has the largest student population in the nation, with more than 74,000 students enrolled at the College Station campus. A significant number of these students live in the rapidly growing Northgate District, just north of campus and separated from the university by FM 60. Every day, thousands of students cross this heavily traveled roadway to get to class, work, and campus activities. A safe, grade -separated pedestrian crossing on FM 60 has become a necessity, as recognized by TxDOT in their 2025 study of the roadway. The City of College Station has requested federal funding to aid in the engineering design, right-of-way acquisition, and utility relocations necessary for the project; and the City is committed to matching federal funds. The City will actively seek TxDOT funding for the remaining cost to fund the project. 2027 Legislative Program Resolution Page 6 of 6 Resolution No. 08-13-26-8.5 Texas A&M University and the Bryan College Station Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) support this project. HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX (HOT) FUNDING FOR ATHLETIC FACILITIES College Station supports legislation which will allow the City to continue utilizing HOT revenues to construct new athletic facilities.