1. Council Workshop
December 18, 2012

2. COLLEGE STATION LEGISLATIVE PLAN
 Purpose
- Influence legislation at the state level, which may impact the city
 Goals
- Establish the City Council’s broad policy direction for staff
- Identify College Station’s specific requests for legislative actions
- Lend College Station’s voice to important legislative issues
- Establish effective communications with legislative delegation

3. 2013 LEGISLATIVE SESSION DATES
 January 8th Session begins
 March 8th Deadline for filing bills
 May 27th Session ends
 June 16 Last day Governor may sign or veto bills
 August 26th Bills without specific effective dates
become law

4. LEGISLATIVE MAKEUP
 House of Representatives
- 95 Republicans
- 55 Democrats
- 41 Freshman / 25 Sophomores
 House of Representatives
- 19 Republicans
- 12 Democrats
 Local Members
- Sen. Charles Schwertner, Georgetown
- Rep. John Raney, Bryan
- Kyle Kacal, College Station

5. 2013 KEY ISSUES
 General Administration
 Economic Development
 Law Enforcement
 Public Utilities and Infrastructure
 Parks and Recreation

6. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
 Elections
- Monitor the modification of election laws including proposals
related to SB100 (82nd Leg.) and support or oppose them as
necessary
 Open Meetings & Open Records
- Support only changes to the open meetings and open records
requirements that do not increase the burden on cities to
comply
 Annexation
- Oppose legislation that would restrict current annexation law

7. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
 Appraisal & Revenue Caps
- Oppose legislation that would impose revenue or appraisal caps
thereby limiting the City’s ability to raise and collect revenue
necessary to provide services to its citizens
 Municipal Authority
- Oppose legislation that would diminish municipal authority
including the ability to enact and enforce ordinances
- Oppose any legislation that would restrict the zoning authority
of cities
 Unfunded Mandates
- Oppose any legislation that would result in an unfunded
mandate on the city

8. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
 Vital Statistics and Records
- Oppose any legislation that would consolidate local registrar
functions and/or erode local control and maintenance of vital
statistics and records
 Newspaper Notices
- Support legislation that would allow municipalities to rely more
on posting notices online rather than through print media
 Texas Windstorm Insurance
- Oppose any legislation that would result in an unfunded
mandate on the city

9. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
 Payday Lending Regulation
- Support legislation that would stop usurious lending by payday
and auto title lenders and bolster cities’ authority to adopt
ordinances that would curtail the exploitation of economically
vulnerable citizens

10. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
 Economic Development
- Actively support any locally initiated legislation for economic
development purposes and seek the support of community
leaders
- Support legislation that promotes economic development
opportunities through the expansion of state economic
development funds and statutes
- Support legislation beneficial to Texas A&M University and Blinn
College
- Oppose attempts to restrict the use of economic development
tools such as tax abatement and/or tax increment reinvestment
zones

11. LAW ENFORCEMENT
 Law Enforcement
- Monitor and likely support many of the initiatives proposed by
the Texas Police Chiefs Association

12. PUBLIC UTILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE
 Water / Waste Water
- Monitor and support as necessary, legislation that protects our ability
to provide an adequate water supply to our citizens and safely treat
and discharge effluent; promote water conservation; and maintain
local authority over water management
- Support legislation pertaining to the State Water Plan so long as it
does not create any unnecessary burdens for local governments or
water systems
 Electric Utility
- Support any legislation or regulation that encourages resources
adequacy, reliability, market viability, and customer protection
- Oppose any loss of local control for Municipally Owned Electric
Utilities
- Oppose any changes to current mandated discounts to universities by
extending those discounts to other entities

13. PUBLIC UTILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE
 Sanitation
- Oppose legislation that would limit municipal authority to grant
and maintain franchise agreements for the use of public
roadways, ROW easements
 Transportation
- Support state-funded and local-option funding choices to be
utilized for transportation purposes
- Support legislation that would discontinue th te diversion of
transportation revenues to non-transportation purposes and
appropriate all revenues from highway user fees and taxes to
fund transportation projects

14. PARKS AND RECREATION
 Texas Parks and Wildlife Funding
- Support the preservation of dedicated state funding for parks

15. INTERGOVERNMENTAL PARTNERS
 TML
 BCS Chamber
 Texas A&M
 Blinn College
 City of Bryan

16. DURING THE SESSION
 Regular updates
- Filed bills relevant to this plan
- Action on bills relevant to this plan
- Information on bills that may impact city that were not foreseen
- Advice and recommendations from Consultants
- Outline of our Consultants’ activities
- Information on other “big” bills / issues
- Insider information on what is going on at the Capitol

17. Questions
------------------------------
Discussion