City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: DECEMBER 4, 2024
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
THROUGH: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
FROM: ALETHEA PREDEOUX, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER/INTERIM LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Introduction of the Proposed Alexandria Legislative Package for the 2025 General Assembly Session.
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ISSUE: Introduction of the proposed Alexandria Legislative Package for the 2025 General Assembly Session.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
1. Receive the proposals for the City’s 2025 Legislative Package (Attachment); and
2. Schedule the Draft Legislative Package for public hearing and final adoption on Saturday, December 14, 2024.
BACKGROUND: Each year, the City of Alexandria produces its General Assembly Legislative Package. The goal of the package is to prioritize the City’s state legislative and budget priorities and communicate them to the community, stakeholders, and legislators. Because Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, localities only have the authority expressly granted to them by the legislature by state statute or in their charter. Localities in Virginia, including Alexandria, therefore often request legislation to grant them enabling authority for specific powers they do not already have, which are often the core of the City’s Legislative Package.
The proposals in the draft Package originate from City Council members, City staff, and City boards and commissions. Staff work with Council members, City departments, and boards and commissions to develop the legislative and funding proposals included in the City’s draft 2025 Legislative Package for Council consideration.
DISCUSSION: The draft 2025 Legislative Package that is presented has proposals organized into two areas - Legislative Principles and Legislative Priorities. This year, the Principles and Priorities have been broken out into five areas of focus for the City for the 2025 session:
• Recognizing and Strengthening State Partnership with Localities
• Preserving and Expanding Local Authority and Funding for Localities
• Protecting and Supporting Vulnerable and Underserved Populations
• Enhancing Public Engagement, Health, and Safety
• Improving Resilience, Promoting Energy Efficiency, and Encouraging Clean Energy Investment.
The Legislative Principles are generally broadly crafted and focus on comprehensive legislative strategies rather than specific legislative tactics. The Legislative Priorities are intended to be specific revenue and legislative proposals that have been identified by City Council as the issues of greatest impact to the City. The City plans to expend significant political capital on these issues and will ask our General Assembly delegation to engage in on behalf of the City.
In addition to the input received from the Council Legislative Subcommittee at the November 22 meeting, the Package will receive input from the community and other stakeholders at the Public Hearing scheduled for December 14.
The 2025 General Assembly Session will be a short 45-day Session, beginning January 8, 2025. Capitol Square Strategies has been contracted to consult on state legislative affairs and represent the City at the General Assembly. The consultants will report to staff regularly on the status of the City’s legislative priorities as well as other legislative and budget issues of interest to the City.
The City Council Legislative Subcommittee will meet weekly once session begins which will continue until the Friday after the final day for bill introduction. These meetings allow the Legislative Subcommittee to review legislation that may have an impact on the City with the input of City staff subject matter experts and recommend positions on this legislation. These positions are subsequently reviewed by the full Council and communicated to the Alexandria delegation in the General Assembly for their consideration.
ATTACHMENTS: Proposed 2025 Alexandria Legislative Package
STAFF:
Alethea Predeoux, Interim Legislative Director and Deputy City Manager
Bonnie Brown, Deputy City Attorney
Alexis Quinn, Legislative Coordinator