Agenda - Council - 05/27/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE POLICIES FOR 1981 One of the most important purposes of the Lea- gue is to serve as a vehicle through which munici- pal officials throughout the state can define their mutual problems and develop positive policies and proposals for their solution. To accomplish this purpose, a three-step consul- tative process has been established providing for the study of issues by committees of municipal of- ficials, the review of the resulting recommenda- tions by the Legislative Committee of the League composed of the Board and all study committee chairpersons, and final adoption at a biennial legis- lative conference attended by representatives of all member municipalities. The proposed legislative policies are intended to be of a continuing nature, subject to review and amendment every two years. Thus, they will pro- vide the League Board and the staff with a con- tinuing source of guidance when testifying before legislative committees and taking other actions which have legislative or policy implications. Since the effectiveness of the League in the legis- lative process depends heavily on the commitment of municipal officials to the legislative program and their willingness to participate in achieving it, muni- cipal officials should also be involved in every step of the process of formulating the policies and issues which will be supported. Member officials are urged to read and comment on the proposals on the following pages. There are still opportunities to comment on the policies de- yelped by the study committees and to suggest additional policies. First, comments or suggested amendments may be given to any member of the Board, the study committees, or the League staff. Second, all the policies will be discussed and debated at the Annual Meeting held during the Annual Conference on Thursday, June 12_ in Duluth. Final adoption of policies and the set- ting of priorities will take place at that time. At the Conference, as well as before, staff mem- bers will be available to consult on policies or to assist in drafting amendments. Priority designation. Priorities for each policy were selected for the first time in 1978 by the study committees which developed the policies governing the League's legislative action in 1979 and 1980. The priorities gave additional guidance to the League Board and staff in implementing the League's legislative program. This year, the committees again ranked their proposed policies, and their indications were for- warded to the Legislative Committee along with the policies for consideration. Time ran out, however, before the Committee could act on the priorities. Before the debate and approval of policies at the Conference, the Legislative Committee will present its decisions on priorities on a separate sheet which will be available for all delegates when they' register. Municipal officials will want to keep the priority ranking of each policy in mind as they read through this pamphlet, using the fol- lowing description as a guide. "A" priority indicates a major issue, one where the League would introduce legislation or would work actively with other groups to seek new laws and regulations. An asterisk (*) indicates top priority. "B" priority indicates items that are important to cities but where the League would probably spend substantially less time unless the legislature or other groups mounted a major effort to which we had to respond. While the League might initiate legislation on "B" priority items, these would be relatively non-controversial items, or those where most of the research has already been completed. "C" priority indicates items where the League would respond only when the issue is raised by other groups. ooo III