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   Presentation by Sunrise Consulting RE: Legislative Session Wrap Up and CRA Legislation Compliance Review

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   Sunrise Consulting representatives Sean Foster and Sam Wagoner presented a wrap-up of the 2019 Florida legislative session, highlighting that New Port Richey secured $1 million for the Miller's Bayou pedestrian underpass while a $250,000 Beach Street Stormwater Project request did not survive conferencing. They reviewed key bills affecting the city including HB 9 (CRA reform), the firefighter cancer benefit, HB 829, SB 1000 (communications), and HB 5 (sales tax referendums), and previewed issues likely to return next session.

   📍Beach Street📍Meadow Lane📍Senate and Madison Street🏢Applicant Insight🏢Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)🏢Department of State🏢Florida League of Cities🏢Sunrise Consulting👤Councilman Murphy👤Debbie👤Ms. Meeks👤Representative Mariano👤Rick Scott👤Robert👤Sam Wagoner👤Sean Foster👤Senator Hooper👤Senator Jeff Brandes👤Senator Lee👤Senator Simpson#Beach Street Stormwater Project#Fertilizer and business license preemption#Firefighter Cancer Benefit bill#HB 5 (local discretionary sales tax referendum)#HB 829#HB 9 (CRA legislation)#Miller's Bayou pedestrian underpass#Motorized scooters#Parkland school funding#Plastic straw bill (vetoed)#Red light camera#Senate Bill 1000 (communication services)#Vacation rentals preemption#Water projects trust fund

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   [00:00:15] Thank you. We have one item and one item on the agenda only, so Ms. Meeks, would you take it away? [00:00:21] Yes. In the back of the room, we have Mr. Sean Foster and Sam Wagoner, who are representing the firm of Sunrise Consulting, [00:00:32] and they are before you this evening and have prepared a PowerPoint in that respect to provide a legislative session wrap-up. [00:00:42] And we're ready for you up front. [00:00:49] I'm glad you're not announcing adjourned and walking out of time. [00:01:02] Can I take this out? Pretty good. Well, thank you all for having this opportunity for us to come back here and talk to you this session. [00:01:09] I'd like to tell you this session was a lot easier, I would have thought it would have been, than what we had the past couple years. [00:01:15] Unfortunately, it was not. There was, again, another attack on home rule. It really was. [00:01:21] And it was down to the end with many bills. And what you'll see when we go through the rest of the presentation with Sam, [00:01:27] is they kind of took a conglomerate of many issues and put it into several bills. [00:01:33] And some of them died, and we'll go over some of those issues and our representation with you. [00:01:38] We'll kind of go over a cap at the beginning. And Sam, you've got the clicker right there. [00:01:42] Just kind of telling you how things started and what we went at. [00:01:44] When we had met last time, we were in the middle of the committee weeks. [00:01:47] We began developing a bill analysis and updates for the city. [00:01:50] The League of Cities has phone calls and meetings every week. [00:01:54] They have all their lobbyists and internal. [00:01:56] So you have your external affairs, which we are, your independent lobbyists, [00:02:00] and you have your internal affairs for the government affairs folks or some of the cities that come. [00:02:04] And we participate in those meetings every single week that we have. [00:02:07] And what those meetings have are not just talking about what's coming on in the amendments, [00:02:11] but it's also separating responsibilities for the lobbyists. [00:02:14] They'll find out who your relationship is, who you're close with. [00:02:17] They'll say, hey, we know you're close to Senator Simpson. [00:02:19] We need you to go talk to him, Sean, about this amendment. [00:02:22] And we'll talk about that and where that happened a little bit throughout session. [00:02:25] So it's an opportunity for us all to kind of strategize and put forth our plan for the week and throughout session. [00:02:34] Help organize and develop all legislative funding requests, which we did throughout session, [00:02:38] and making sure that they went through properly. [00:02:40] Hosted Senator Hooper here and met with our city manager. [00:02:45] We also had Representative Mariano actually take a tour on some of the projects, [00:02:48] and one of them that we actually ended up getting funded. [00:02:51] In session of 2019, we continue to obviously have those meetings with the League of Cities, [00:02:57] continue with the bill analysis, provided updates pretty much on a weekly basis, I believe, [00:03:02] and also following up with any input and items that would come before us [00:03:06] that we needed to know what kind of impact it was going to have with the city. [00:03:09] We would immediately contact Debbie. [00:03:11] And I think, Debbie, we actually did a couple letters that we hand-delivered back to them, [00:03:15] and we'll go over that. [00:03:17] Worked on multiple bills that impacted the city and secured funding for Miller's Bayou. [00:03:21] So go on to the next one. [00:03:23] Total budget, $91.1 billion. [00:03:26] As you can see right there on the side, it was the first time we've exceeded that amount. [00:03:30] And, Sam, eight years ago it was, was it $80 million? [00:03:35] $75 million, wasn't it? [00:03:38] When Rick Scott started off, just to give you an idea, [00:03:42] it has already grown from over $80 billion to over $90 billion now in that short time within 10 years. [00:03:48] The general government revenue there was $892 million, [00:03:53] .14 increase over fiscal year 18-19. [00:03:56] Total award, $7 billion. [00:03:59] I apologize. [00:04:01] But I will tell you, we continue to see that going up. [00:04:04] But one of the things you'll see part of this presentation, [00:04:06] even though we had that much money, one of the big items that came out of it was for the hurricanes. [00:04:12] $1.8 billion gone off that budget. [00:04:16] That is a huge amount. [00:04:18] If you read that into consideration of what happened last year, Parkland, [00:04:21] which was a tragic incident that happened, [00:04:24] only $500 million went towards Parkland and Harding schools and around the state. [00:04:31] And that was an absolute disruption to the process that we had last year. [00:04:35] So imagine, $1.8 billion came out of this year's budget. [00:04:39] And those are the things, obviously, you can't plan for another hurricane hitting this state, unfortunately. [00:04:45] Newport Richard received $1 million for the Miller's Bayou process underpass. [00:04:50] The Senate and House agreed to the funding, but we're still waiting on the governor's signature. [00:04:54] So what happens is the governor has 15 days once that bill hits his desk. [00:04:59] The preparations budget has not hit his desk yet. [00:05:03] What they do is they kind of stagger it. [00:05:05] 196 bills, and we'll go through that process in a minute, have passed the floor of the legislature. [00:05:10] Only about half of those right now have hit the governor's desk. [00:05:13] There is actually kind of a scary part. [00:05:15] Nothing in the Constitution says when the legislature actually has to release a bill to go over to the governor. [00:05:21] So what they do is purposely, because you don't want 200 bills hitting the governor's desk [00:05:25] and him having 15 days to review every single bill and decide how he's going to do it. [00:05:29] So right now we're waiting for that bill. [00:05:31] I will tell you, when that bill hits his desk, I don't believe he's going to wait 15 days. [00:05:36] I believe he'll have it done very quickly. [00:05:38] I think he knows the items which they're going to be vetoing. [00:05:41] I think they know the items that they're not going to be vetoing. [00:05:44] I think they're still giving them time. [00:05:46] They just got back from Israel. [00:05:47] I think a lot of us have seen that over there. [00:05:49] They just got back from Israel, and that's what's pushed us back a little bit. [00:05:53] So next one. [00:05:55] It kind of tells you how the session went. [00:05:57] 3,751 bills filed, 2,997 amendments, 196 bills passed. [00:06:05] A lot of people believe that's probably a good thing. [00:06:08] It's the lowest amount that we've had in over two decades of the percentage of bills passed [00:06:14] and the amount of bills. [00:06:15] So a lot fewer bills got passed this session. [00:06:18] Even last year with everything that happened with Parkland, a few more, 178 bills, I'm sorry, [00:06:24] 198 bills, and this one's 196, so just two bills less. [00:06:28] But one veto so far that actually impacted us. [00:06:31] It's been a second one. [00:06:32] That was, I call it the straw bill. [00:06:34] You all heard about the straw bill where they were going to stop cities [00:06:39] and counties from saying that they did not want to have straws and other items in their ordinances. [00:06:45] The governor vetoed that bill and said, [00:06:47] we will not mandate what the cities can do concerning that issue. [00:06:50] So I thought that was a good showing. [00:06:52] At least the first thing that he's doing is showing a kind hand to home rule [00:06:55] and to cities and counties around the state. [00:06:58] Can you go back because I think we missed one of the appropriations, [00:07:01] the Beach Street Stormwater Project. [00:07:04] We did, yeah. [00:07:05] I got ahead of myself, my apologies. [00:07:07] Thank you. [00:07:08] This was one, we were right there to the end. [00:07:10] We were in. [00:07:11] So what happens during the budget process, the House submits a bill, the Senate submits a bill, [00:07:16] and then they go into conferencing if they don't agree on it. [00:07:18] This is one of the items we did not get them to agree on that in the beginning. [00:07:21] We also, Mills Bayou wasn't fully agreed upon either. [00:07:24] I'll go back to that real quick. [00:07:26] Thank you for pointing it out. [00:07:27] Original House budget request of $250,000. [00:07:30] The ask was $500,000 over in the Senate. [00:07:32] However, the final budget allocations did not include the $250,000. [00:07:36] What does that mean? [00:07:38] The House had submitted. [00:07:40] It actually went into the conferencing. [00:07:42] We were in a negotiating posture for $250,000. [00:07:46] The Senate would not match it, therefore receiving and not receiving any funds. [00:07:51] We were literally up to the last committee meeting still in there. [00:07:55] You're holding on there. [00:07:56] So they went through five meetings of conferencing, [00:07:58] and through all four of them all the way to the end, we were in there and we were not. [00:08:03] I know where Beach Street is. [00:08:05] Robert? [00:08:06] St. Clair Field. [00:08:07] We talked about this last time. [00:08:08] Go ahead, Robert. [00:08:09] You did a lot better job than I did. [00:08:11] Beach Street is over there by Applicant Insight. [00:08:13] Can you tell us a little bit about what that project was for? [00:08:16] That project, we were going to – well, we are going to upsize the existing storm system [00:08:21] that is in that area around Meadow Lane and going out towards Senate and Madison Street. [00:08:27] And then there's a section that doesn't have a system, [00:08:30] so we were going to install a new system and tie it into the upsized one. [00:08:35] I couldn't remember where Beach Street was. [00:08:37] Now that when you start naming the streets, I know where we're going. [00:08:41] Right by Eric Hall. [00:08:43] We can go back for that project. [00:08:44] That's another one if you guys are interested, obviously, [00:08:46] but I don't know what your timeline is. [00:08:48] Do you want to tell them about the trust fund? [00:08:50] Yeah. [00:08:51] So what happened during the session, one of the things that we were working on [00:08:54] and we found out about is they were supposed to be setting up a trust fund for water projects. [00:08:58] It's one of the reasons why they weren't funded necessarily on both sides. [00:09:01] There was a rumor the entire time in the Senate that was running, [00:09:04] and you know how rumors go in this process, [00:09:06] and basically what they were trying to say is we're going to set up a trust fund [00:09:09] that if you want to, from a water project perspective, whether you're a city or a county [00:09:14] or some sort of government entity, you can tap into that to build your storm water projects, [00:09:18] any type of water facilitated project that you want through DEP. [00:09:24] That was the intent. [00:09:25] That never materialized. [00:09:27] And that was one of the reasons why there were so many projects in the House and the Senate. [00:09:31] There was 50 projects over here, and then the other half were over there, [00:09:34] and they just didn't match up. [00:09:36] A lot of projects ended up like that because the intent was to set aside money and dollars [00:09:41] because there's so many water projects across the state they want to fund, [00:09:44] but they can't fund everybody. [00:09:46] So they have to pick and choose about who to fund, [00:09:50] and one of the processes they were going to set aside a trust fund. [00:09:52] So that may come back next year, so we'll see. [00:09:55] I would expect them to, and I'll give you an example. [00:09:57] Thank you, Sam. [00:09:58] So our library grants are kind of like the same way, what they do with the library grants, [00:10:02] and I think it would actually be a better process for these projects. [00:10:05] Library grants are put in, they come through the Department of State, [00:10:08] and as much money as the legislature puts in there, then they go down that list and do. [00:10:14] These projects, they do every single year. [00:10:16] First of all, you never know how much money is going to be. [00:10:18] It could be $35 million some years, $56 million, $60 million, $70 million, [00:10:22] and there's not actually even a classification of what projects and why the projects get funded. [00:10:28] I mean, it really comes down to who is their leadership, what county are they from, [00:10:35] honestly, do they have a lobbyist, what representation. [00:10:39] No rhyme or reason to actually of how valid the actual project is [00:10:43] and how needed it is for that city, unfortunately. [00:10:45] So I think that would be a good process for them to come back and do next year. [00:10:49] Next slide. [00:10:51] Okay, HB 9, this is one of those big ones, Sam, that we worked on with them. [00:10:56] Yeah, go ahead, I'll let you go ahead and work on this one real quick. [00:10:58] So this is the CRA bill, one of the things that we were working on this session, [00:11:03] and this HB 9 was originally proposed in the House, [00:11:06] but Senator Lee, one of our senators here in Pasco County, followed up with this bill. [00:11:10] Basically what it does, originally the House bill was a complete attack on home rule, [00:11:14] complete attack on cities, complete attack on CRAs. [00:11:17] The Senate came back and tempered it, and throughout that entire process, [00:11:21] the House bill flew through committees. [00:11:23] There were three committee stops and it flew through. [00:11:25] It was voted up every single one. [00:11:28] There were some challenges to it, but it was priority to get that bill through. [00:11:32] That's why it flew. [00:11:34] And basically what they ended up doing at the end of the day is they took the bill over in the House [00:11:38] and they sent it to the Senate, and they said, okay, this is it. [00:11:40] The Senate said, well, we've got to work out some kinks, and that's exactly what they did. [00:11:44] The Senate bill is much more amenable, much more palatable for the cities to handle. [00:11:50] But basically what it does requires some types of ethics training for city commissioners, [00:11:54] for county commissioners, depending on who the CRA was set up by. [00:11:57] Beginning October 1, monies in the trust fund may only be extended [00:12:01] for the annual budgets adopted by the board. [00:12:03] So whatever the board that governs it, whether it's city or county, they have to approve those funds. [00:12:07] It has to be only extended pursuant to that budget. [00:12:11] If it's created by a city, the proposed budget and the BUSCC have to agree on whether it's allocated [00:12:16] within 10 days after adoption. [00:12:18] So some of the things that we had worked on at the end that Sean and I were really successful at [00:12:22] was there was a big piece in there about making sure all CRAs had different types of reporting. [00:12:27] They had different types of, you had to go to a county-wide referendum to get these things approved. [00:12:32] And it had to be, it was only a majority just to defeat a CRA. [00:12:36] The city had to present and then go to the county to do it. [00:12:39] It was just exceptional oversight. [00:12:40] That was the House bill. [00:12:42] The House bill was meant to attack the cities. [00:12:44] And that was one of the things that we were very successful at the end to defeat. [00:12:47] Yeah. [00:12:50] And that's what I'll say real quick too. [00:12:52] That's where we came in. [00:12:53] Some of the lobby came in. [00:12:54] Councilman Murphy, you were texting me. [00:12:56] We were telling you exactly the time when we were trying to get in touch with Senator Simpson in his office. [00:13:01] And Debbie, you were doing the same thing with Senator Hooper in their office. [00:13:05] And that's part of that collaboration we were telling you with the League of Cities. [00:13:08] And we all would get back and we'd give them feedback. [00:13:10] Okay, this is the information I just got back from this senator and that representative. [00:13:13] And, you know, this is the plan we need to make when this bill goes over to get them to accept it [00:13:18] because if they do this, this one's going to be much more damaging for us. [00:13:21] So I just wanted to say first thank you guys for being part of that. [00:13:23] That's part of that process, kind of getting that phone call or that text message to the right person at the right time. [00:13:30] And you'll notice one of the first things up there, the first bullet point, [00:13:33] it talks about the majority vote to continue a CRA. [00:13:36] Like I said before, the idea from the House was that it took a majority vote just to defeat it [00:13:41] because the intent was to get rid of CRAs. [00:13:43] Any questions on that? [00:13:46] The firefighter cancer benefit. [00:13:48] So this bill's tough because this is a direct impact. [00:13:52] It's a $25,000 payout if a firefighter is impacted by one of 21 different cancers that are outlined in the bill. [00:13:58] If you guys want an exact list of all 21, I'll get them for you. [00:14:01] So you have to qualify with one of the 21. [00:14:05] It's a one-time payout of $25,000. [00:14:08] And that covers, the intent is that that covers types of expenses, chemotherapy rate, [00:14:12] what else is you're treated for when you're on cancer, I'm not sure. [00:14:16] But you have to meet the conditions. [00:14:19] The conditions are you have to be a full-time firefighter for five years within that district. [00:14:23] So a New Port Richey City firefighter has to be within the district for five years. [00:14:27] If they're there for, you know, four years and 364 days, they don't qualify. [00:14:32] The original bill did not have it. [00:14:34] That was one of the amendments that they had made to agree on to have less of an impact. [00:14:38] The original one had somebody who just started right off the bat. [00:14:41] And they can't use any type of tobacco products whatsoever, whether it be any type of dip, [00:14:46] whether it be a cigar, whether it be a cigarette, can't use it at all. [00:14:49] If you've used it in the past, you're disqualified. [00:14:52] They put a lot of exemptions in there to disqualify firefighters because it's not related to the job. [00:15:00] and that cities are impacted financially with these issues. [00:15:02] So they wanted to make sure also [00:15:03] that they're hitting their target audience, [00:15:05] which are folks who are actually impacted [00:15:07] by different types of fires. [00:15:09] And it provides a disability and a death benefit [00:15:11] to firefighters and to their wives, [00:15:14] but that goes to the disability side. [00:15:16] So the second that they become disqualified [00:15:18] as a firefighter, i.e. they become impacted [00:15:22] by one of the one of 21 different types of cancers, [00:15:26] they're considered disabled, they move over, [00:15:29] they get a workman's comp for the time period they are, [00:15:32] and then they're no longer a firefighter. [00:15:34] They can no longer serve. [00:15:36] And that's how it works. [00:15:37] And that was the, this is the best version of this bill. [00:15:41] It's the least amount of impact that we could have got. [00:15:44] The League of Cities came under pretty much of an attack [00:15:46] at the end, I will tell you. [00:15:47] They asked the governor to veto the bill. [00:15:51] The CFO came out against them quite hard [00:15:53] and said that they should not be asking them, [00:15:55] even though they were trying to explain [00:15:57] some of the processes then and the impacts [00:15:59] it would have on the cities. [00:16:00] But they came under quite a bit of attack [00:16:01] before the governor signed that bill. [00:16:03] Next one. [00:16:07] HB 829, we'll go through, requires the court [00:16:10] to award attorney's fees. [00:16:11] This is the one we were talking about when we came here [00:16:13] and we did our meeting right before session started. [00:16:16] Damages to the prevailing party [00:16:18] when the challenge goes directly to the adoption [00:16:20] and enforcement of a local ordinance, [00:16:21] that is expressly preempted by the state constitution. [00:16:24] No fees and costs may be awarded [00:16:27] if the local government body receives notice [00:16:29] of the preempted ordinance and notices of its intent [00:16:31] to withdraw or repeal within 30 days. [00:16:35] That was a big one coming through there [00:16:36] all the way to the end. [00:16:37] Senate Bill 1000, communication services, [00:16:39] another one we had reported on you before [00:16:40] you're familiar with. [00:16:42] Further strips cities of the ability to regulate [00:16:44] the placement of communications in the right of way. [00:16:46] This is a bill that's been before us [00:16:48] for the past couple of years. [00:16:49] Requires to the shot clock to apply [00:16:51] to all permit applications for all communication. [00:16:55] And the bill limits what local governments can require [00:16:57] during the registration process and awards attorney fees. [00:17:01] The last one here, that's a big one. [00:17:03] That was a big one. [00:17:04] HB 5 requires a referendum to adopt [00:17:07] or amend a local government discretionary sales tax [00:17:10] to be held only during general elections. [00:17:13] I believe that goes into place after the 2020. [00:17:16] So folks who are doing it, some are considering not, [00:17:20] I'm sorry, some are considering doing it [00:17:21] before when this goes into place, election. [00:17:25] A county will have to furnish a copy [00:17:26] of the resolution of APAGA, 180 days. [00:17:29] I mean, again, more restrictions [00:17:30] that were not there before. [00:17:31] Some of them, I guess some of them would understand [00:17:33] they would not do it during a primary, [00:17:35] make it a special election and cost supervisor elections [00:17:38] and others quite a bit of money. [00:17:40] So, but I know that one's another mandate. [00:17:45] Issues likely to return. [00:17:46] I thought let's talk about this real quick. [00:17:48] Things that did not pass that will come back. [00:17:50] Some more mandates on taking on home rule [00:17:53] when it comes to vacation rentals. [00:17:55] Next year, motorized scooters. [00:17:56] We have Senator Jeff Brandes in this area [00:17:58] who is very big on getting these things into cities [00:18:01] and doesn't want too many restrictions on them. [00:18:05] So I think there'll be some more attack [00:18:07] on the home rule there. [00:18:07] The red light camera issues, [00:18:10] fertilizer and business license. [00:18:11] And I think they will come back [00:18:13] for the plastic straw bill again. [00:18:16] I even know the governor vetoed it. [00:18:17] I have a feeling they're gonna come back [00:18:18] and try that one again. [00:18:19] A lot of cities and those are now going into, [00:18:23] we just started reading here in the past couple of days, [00:18:25] setting ordinances for that. [00:18:27] So we'll see if the legislature comes back at that again. [00:18:31] Next one. [00:18:32] Kind of tells you things are gonna start off real quick. [00:18:34] Again, we are here. [00:18:36] Summer vacation is gonna be very short. [00:18:38] Our committee week start in September [00:18:40] all the way through December. [00:18:42] It goes into January half of March. [00:18:45] What they do in election seasons, [00:18:46] they meet in January and February. [00:18:47] They changed the law a few years ago. [00:18:49] In non-election years, they meet in March and April. [00:18:51] So that's why you're seeing the differences [00:18:53] from March and April. [00:18:54] It's been March and April for the past 20 years [00:18:56] until last year before the election. [00:18:58] And then again, it'll be in this January through March. [00:19:01] So a lot of things I would obviously encourage you to do. [00:19:04] We put together the plan and strategy [00:19:05] or the session before the committee week start in September. [00:19:10] And last one. [00:19:13] We'll need to be, sorry, yeah, [00:19:15] the last one here, [00:19:16] preparing kind of what we did last time, [00:19:17] but we had a lot shorter time. [00:19:18] We had a few weeks working with you, [00:19:20] looking at some of the bills [00:19:21] that you want to have next year [00:19:23] coming forth and legislation that would impact the cities. [00:19:26] I understood this doesn't impact you, [00:19:28] but I do understand there could be a, [00:19:30] what's called a local bill coming next year, [00:19:32] which would be happening in October [00:19:33] that is considering repealing New Port Richey. [00:19:36] So that would be happening at their time in October. [00:19:40] They would have that at a local meeting. [00:19:43] They would discuss it in October [00:19:44] at their local legislative delegation meeting. [00:19:46] If they did decide to do that, [00:19:48] they would then have to go to the legislature. [00:19:50] If the legislature votes on it [00:19:51] and the governor would have to vote on that also. [00:19:54] So I do know that there is a legislator [00:19:57] that is considering proposing that [00:19:59] at the next delegation meeting also. [00:20:02] Pardon me? [00:20:03] Local? [00:20:04] Yes, they are. [00:20:04] They have to be. [00:20:05] So it's a good question. [00:20:06] When you do a local bill, [00:20:08] you have to be part of the delegation that it would impact. [00:20:11] So far I've heard of exactly two people [00:20:13] that are interested in that. [00:20:14] They both have the same last name. [00:20:17] You're probably right. [00:20:19] College projects. [00:20:21] Pardon me? [00:20:22] What is that one? [00:20:23] Our focus will be developing on projects [00:20:25] that were similarly funded by the legislature [00:20:27] and governor this past session. [00:20:29] Looking at the type of items that they funded, [00:20:31] the appropriations projects that they supported, [00:20:33] and looking at the leadership that would be there [00:20:35] in those projects in the same manner. [00:20:36] So we kind of wanted to put that out there for you. [00:20:39] We'll get the college one done, right? [00:20:42] Last one. [00:20:43] Just to take any questions for you guys. [00:20:45] First, it's just been an honor. [00:20:47] Obviously I live here. [00:20:48] Being part of the city. [00:20:50] Representing you all. [00:20:51] And we appreciate your support during the time, Debbie, [00:20:53] when we needed it. [00:20:54] You were there to answer the phone calls [00:20:55] and emails quickly to get out there. [00:20:57] And for the rest of you, [00:20:58] for the phone calls that you made [00:21:00] and you helped us out with, [00:21:01] we really appreciate it. [00:21:05] It's a difficult thing up there, and I'll say this. [00:21:09] The legislature is a leadership-driven process. [00:21:12] I kind of look at it sometimes, [00:21:13] and I'm like, a third of the members [00:21:16] were either school board members, [00:21:18] city council, or county commissioners. [00:21:19] One third of those currently up there in Tallahassee [00:21:22] were in those positions before they were elected [00:21:24] into the state house and state senate. [00:21:26] So it still just bewilders me when they come up there now. [00:21:29] They were up there before as advocates for their city, [00:21:33] their county, and their schools, [00:21:34] asking them not to do these things at the legislature. [00:21:36] Now they're in those positions [00:21:37] and they're doing the same things [00:21:38] they were asking the legislature not to do years before. [00:21:42] And it's very frustrating. [00:21:43] And I'll be very honest with you. [00:21:44] Like I said in the beginning when we started, [00:21:46] I did not think this was gonna be the year [00:21:48] that we had as much as an attack. [00:21:50] What I am very pleased to see, [00:21:52] some of the messages already coming from this governor. [00:21:55] He is supporting, he also vetoed a local bill. [00:21:58] That was his second bill he actually did [00:22:00] right after we made this. [00:22:01] He just did that this week. [00:22:03] He vetoed a second bill, and that was a local bill [00:22:06] that he felt that, again, was attacking Homeroom [00:22:08] down in Broward, and he vetoed that. [00:22:11] So his first two bills have been something [00:22:12] that impacted cities and counties that he vetoed. [00:22:15] So that's a good note. [00:22:17] And I hope looking forward to the next session. [00:22:19] But he's got some more bills. [00:22:20] One right there, the 7100 that we were talking about before, [00:22:23] he's being asked to veto also. [00:22:25] And I know he's been talking to some of the legislators [00:22:28] and leadership about it. [00:22:30] And we'll see where he goes for the rest of his vetoes. [00:22:33] But we're here to take any questions [00:22:35] and direction from you. [00:22:36] Questions, anyone? [00:22:37] I have one right off the bat. [00:22:39] You had that whole list of committee meetings [00:22:41] starting in October, a couple, couple, couple. [00:22:44] Is every committee meet every week, [00:22:48] or is it certain committees, certain weeks? [00:22:50] In other words, should we be paying attention? [00:22:52] You could call and say, OK, this committee's on board. [00:22:54] You can, actually. [00:22:55] Yeah. [00:22:56] Yes, sir. [00:22:56] So they do plan sometimes. [00:22:57] They take them off. [00:22:59] But usually, especially early in the session, [00:23:01] they want to try to get those bills through. [00:23:03] But you can, actually. [00:23:03] We have a Florida channel. [00:23:05] You can watch us speak there at the meetings [00:23:07] or be there and hear some of the debates. [00:23:09] And sometimes, we even want to let you know, hey, [00:23:10] you may want to watch us at the time [00:23:12] so you can see something. [00:23:12] We're there, and we're going to give you notes afterwards. [00:23:14] But you can actually watch it on the Florida channel, too. [00:23:16] No, that's not really my question. [00:23:17] I'm sorry. [00:23:18] Let's say it's home rule, or let's say it's straws. [00:23:23] Who's handling that? [00:23:23] Is that going to be through all those lists of six or eight [00:23:26] weeks? [00:23:27] Yes, sir. [00:23:27] They start in September. [00:23:28] The local affairs committee is one of the busiest ones [00:23:30] because they have so many bills coming through there. [00:23:33] But the Senate and the House each [00:23:35] has what we call a local affairs committee [00:23:37] that those bills go through. [00:23:38] And I would say it. [00:23:39] So all the committees are going to meeting all those dates? [00:23:42] Yes, sir. [00:23:42] OK. [00:23:43] They do cancel some. [00:23:44] They'll schedule them, but if there's only two or three [00:23:47] bills, they won't hold a two-hour meeting for it. [00:23:49] They'll hold those bills for the next week. [00:23:51] But most likely, the bills that impact us [00:23:53] do meet every single week because there's [00:23:55] so many bills that come through that process that [00:23:58] affect local rule. [00:24:01] Anybody else? [00:24:02] Debbie? [00:24:03] Yeah. [00:24:03] Yes, ma'am. [00:24:04] From the outside looking in, it didn't [00:24:06] appear that there was a lot of talk, [00:24:07] this legislative session, about red light cameras. [00:24:10] So I'm curious why you're predicting it's [00:24:12] going to come up next session. [00:24:14] Leadership is a little bit more amenable to it. [00:24:18] And I would say, I'll use the firefighter one as an example. [00:24:21] That bill has been around for five years. [00:24:22] It's not 100% the same shape it was when it presented. [00:24:26] So five years, it got actually worse. [00:24:29] But the bill, with that impacting it, [00:24:33] more and more folks, that's one of the good positives, [00:24:35] those folks who used to be in the cities and counties [00:24:37] and now up in the legislature, there [00:24:40] was a lot stronger disdain for that with previous. [00:24:44] And they just didn't get some support from one or the other. [00:24:47] I'll say the Senate was for them. [00:24:49] The House was against it. [00:24:50] I see more House members going over to the Senate [00:24:53] and, again, being more receptive now in the Senate [00:24:55] to get rid of them statewide. [00:24:58] I honestly think if there was two or three [00:25:00] very powerful senators who went the other way, [00:25:03] you'd see those bills come through. [00:25:05] And that's what it is. [00:25:06] And that's why I say it's a leadership. [00:25:08] And, unfortunately, some of the times with the folks [00:25:09] that we want them to vote a different way, [00:25:11] it's a leadership-driven process, unfortunately, [00:25:14] sometimes. [00:25:15] And some of the bills that impact us, [00:25:16] you have the leadership putting the thumb on them [00:25:18] and, unfortunately, kind of being directed on how to vote. [00:25:22] I don't see that being so much with the red light cameras [00:25:24] next year. [00:25:25] Featured questions? [00:25:27] Just a couple of comments. [00:25:29] First, back on your discussion of the CRA [00:25:34] and the changes that were made, and you [00:25:36] indicated in one case a change that [00:25:38] required for the governing body to adopt any budget. [00:25:44] Well, we are the governing body, so it really [00:25:46] doesn't affect us. [00:25:47] And I think the information we got [00:25:50] was that largely the CRAs managed [00:25:53] to get through this undamaged. [00:25:58] I'm curious as to the level of effort [00:26:00] that you all made some claims to being significant in making [00:26:06] that happen. [00:26:08] I'm assuming that's in conjunction [00:26:10] with all of the efforts of the FRA and the League of Cities. [00:26:15] Yes, sir. [00:26:15] I mean, one of the provisions that were in there, [00:26:18] you had some who had different provisions of going off an RFP. [00:26:21] And so that was one of the things they said. [00:26:23] If you're going off an RFP, it shouldn't [00:26:25] be any less stringent than what the city is [00:26:28] or the county that has a CRA in it. [00:26:30] And so that was one of the provisions they wanted to have. [00:26:32] We had some CRAs who had a couple of bad decisions [00:26:38] with their RFP process and how things went out. [00:26:40] And so that was one of the things that was agreed upon [00:26:42] on there, that same RFP process that the city uses, [00:26:45] the CRA would use. [00:26:47] But yes, that was one of those coordinated efforts, [00:26:49] absolutely, with the League of Cities, that each of us [00:26:52] went after the folks in leadership. [00:26:53] And we also went after those in the committee [00:26:55] that we knew were voting on these bills. [00:26:57] Some we got the support of, some we did not. [00:26:59] We did not get the support of Ed Hooper. [00:27:01] But then he turned around and got an award [00:27:03] from the League of Cities for being a supporter. [00:27:06] That was unbelievable, one of those big ones. [00:27:08] But they are willing to listen to us. [00:27:12] One of the things that I got from our representative, [00:27:14] Mariana, when I called, and I said, hey, [00:27:16] I really would like to see you vote differently on this bill. [00:27:19] And she's like, it's different than how I voted last year. [00:27:22] She's like, you're asking me to vote differently. [00:27:24] I said, well, the bill is a little bit [00:27:26] than what it was last year. [00:27:27] She's like, and she knew her bill. [00:27:29] She said, yeah, it was a lot more difficult for the CRAs [00:27:34] to operate on it. [00:27:35] This one here is a lot less difficult [00:27:37] that we're willing to support. [00:27:38] So they were supportive in listening to us. [00:27:42] They weren't always supportive in listening [00:27:43] to the vote against it. [00:27:45] But the ones that we needed to in the process [00:27:47] to get that bill changed were needed to. [00:27:49] And Senator Simpson was one of the ones [00:27:50] that came through very big on us. [00:27:52] Those were the ones where we were able to change that bill. [00:27:55] Thank you. [00:27:55] The other comment that I would like [00:27:57] to make from the one private meeting [00:27:59] I think I had with your firm in some discussion [00:28:03] about understanding whether there was any ability [00:28:08] to get assistance from the state to allow our fire department [00:28:12] to deliver our patients to the hospital. [00:28:16] The blockage of our fire department [00:28:18] and the men in the fire department [00:28:20] to fully activate their talents has [00:28:24] been a cause of some trepidation and concern. [00:28:30] Hopefully, we'll work something out with the county [00:28:32] so that we can continue to be as rapid responders [00:28:38] and getting our people to the hospital. [00:28:44] Do you have any feedback or any knowledge [00:28:46] about what's going on or if there's [00:28:48] any hope for the city to accomplish [00:28:52] some kind of improvement here? [00:28:53] Well, there was a great, I don't know the bill [00:28:55] if you can think of it or look at it real quick. [00:28:56] There was one that was actually going [00:28:58] to get rid of the total COPCN process [00:29:00] so the county could not be in control of it [00:29:02] and not give a local municipality the COPCN. [00:29:05] There was a bill that was out. [00:29:06] It's the first time that that bill's [00:29:07] been out there in five years. [00:29:09] Just want to let you know that it was out there [00:29:10] about five years ago, but it hadn't come around. [00:29:13] You've got to help me out, Sam. [00:29:16] But it passed one committee in the House [00:29:18] and two in the Senate, and it was starting to go. [00:29:21] So when it's starting to move like that [00:29:22] and you see it going on one end and not on the other, [00:29:24] you're thinking, wow, this thing may have an opportunity. [00:29:27] If you see it going, meaning moving in the House [00:29:29] but not going in the Senate, you know this bill's dead, [00:29:31] but it actually moved through two committees [00:29:32] and it was going to obliterate the COPCN process. [00:29:35] So you can understand, Florida State County, [00:29:38] of course, is fighting it at the same time. [00:29:40] There was a bill out there that did do a little bit [00:29:42] of a change and it's actually going to allow Uber, [00:29:45] or I should mention Uber, Uber and Lyft [00:29:47] and other ride sharing to do some of the things [00:29:50] that you had to have under COPCN with Medicaid [00:29:53] and Medicare, the ride sharing, like going to the doctors. [00:29:56] The reason I mention that is that that was a little bit [00:29:59] onto the... [00:30:00] you know, the COPCM process making that change. [00:30:02] Yeah, I honestly think, obviously, we're not the only city. [00:30:04] When we talked about it, and you have to say to folks, [00:30:07] you know, our men and women are there, [00:30:09] right there on the scene, and then the county comes [00:30:11] and we have to pull back, it's very surprising [00:30:15] when we had mentioned it to some of the legislators. [00:30:16] And I definitely think it can be an issue [00:30:18] that we can bring up again for your next session. [00:30:21] Well, that was good. [00:30:22] Well, thank you for replying on that. [00:30:24] Yes, sir. [00:30:26] Yeah, again, I was pleased that one of them [00:30:28] made it out of committee, out of two of them. [00:30:31] So, and one of them was the local affairs committee, [00:30:33] which I heard that you had talked about. [00:30:37] Anything, questions? [00:30:38] Anything, any rumors about next year [00:30:42] as far as anything crazy happening? [00:30:45] Well, again, I would have stood before you last year [00:30:47] and said we wouldn't have had much of an attack [00:30:49] in the home roll. [00:30:51] The two have gone along very well. [00:30:52] I mean, to be honest with you, most folks have said [00:30:54] they looked at our governor and they've been very pleased [00:30:57] so far with his responses and relationship [00:30:59] with the legislature. [00:31:00] It was a pretty calm session. [00:31:03] I will leave you with this is, I still, [00:31:05] and I didn't bring this up during the slide, [00:31:07] is we also have an opportunity to get some grant money [00:31:10] between now and that summer. [00:31:11] As soon as the bill gets signed by the governor [00:31:14] for Miller's Bayou, I was talking to your city manager. [00:31:18] We had a great meeting with Senator Mayfield. [00:31:22] She was actually the chairwoman of the committee [00:31:24] that approved the $1 million appropriation. [00:31:27] Her husband's name was Stan Mayfield, [00:31:29] and they actually have a grant named after a process [00:31:32] that would allow us to go for more funds [00:31:34] similar to Miller's Bayou. [00:31:35] And she did say to us, she goes, [00:31:37] as soon as that bill gets passed by the governor, [00:31:39] please let me know. [00:31:39] We want to help you in that part of that process [00:31:41] to get you more grant money. [00:31:43] We explained to her the total funds were between 2.5 [00:31:46] and 3 million for Miller's Bayou. [00:31:48] Am I right? [00:31:48] Is that the money, is the amount we were needing [00:31:50] for that, the county? [00:31:51] We're not certain. [00:31:52] Not certain yet, but it was around that, right? [00:31:55] We haven't done the study. [00:31:56] It hasn't come back, right? [00:31:57] That's right. [00:31:58] Give or take a zero. [00:31:59] Give or take a zero, we'll say. [00:32:00] And she understood that situation. [00:32:02] And she came right out and said, hey, let me know. [00:32:04] I want to make sure we can help you guys. [00:32:06] It's a great project. [00:32:07] So you have the senator who helped get us [00:32:09] the million dollar funding. [00:32:10] Her husband's name was named after that grant. [00:32:13] And she also wants to make sure that we can get us [00:32:15] some money for that grant program. [00:32:16] So it's something we can help you here [00:32:17] in the next couple of months. [00:32:21] John, thank you very much for your hard work. [00:32:23] Thank you. [00:32:25] Sam, this is his first time during session. [00:32:26] Putting the issues that affect the cities and counties [00:32:29] was like putting them in front of a water hydrant. [00:32:31] This guy, learning all the process. [00:32:33] But he did a great job and was hard working with us. [00:32:36] And I want to thank you guys again for that opportunity. [00:32:39] Thank you. [00:32:39] Don't hesitate to call us when you need us. [00:32:41] Thank you very much. [00:32:42] Same here. [00:32:43] Thanks. [00:32:43] And the restrooms are right out there if you need them. [00:32:47] Any kind of water hydrant. [00:32:48] No further business. [00:32:50] We will adjourn the work session and reconvene at seven.

   This text was generated automatically from the meeting video. It is not a verbatim or official record. For exact wording, consult the video or the city clerk.

3. 3Adjournment