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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR15-112 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement Commissioner ! moved adoption of the fol owing Resolution: BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COUNTY OF EAGLE,STATE OF COLORADO RESOLUTION No.2015- / /P RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE EAGLE COUNTY 2016 LEGISLATIVE POLICY STATEMENT WHEREAS, Eagle County follows state and federal legislative activity closely in order to identify any potential impacts on the county and its citizens; and WHEREAS, due to the nature of the legislative process and the ever-changing language of numerous bills of substance, it is critical that the Eagle County maintains an effective and responsive system for taking and communicating official county positions on relevant legislation; and WHEREAS, an integral part of this system is the adoption of an Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement, which identifies general legislative issues of interest to the county along with the county's policy principles on these issues; and WHEREAS,Eagle County officials and staff will utilize the 2016 Legislative Policy Statement as a guiding policy when reviewing and analyzing bills that may have an impact on the county's interests; and WHEREAS,the Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement incorporates Eagle County's Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives. NOW,THEREFORE,be it resolved by the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Eagle, State of Colorado: THAT, the attached Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement(Exhibit A)is hereby adopted representing the county's policy principles on these legislative issues. MOVED,READ and ADOPTED by the Board of County commissioners of the County of Eagle, State of Colorado, at its regular meeting held the 15th day of December 2015. APPR®'i AS TO F ,P.M By:. /d- Wl—,( Eagle County Attorney's Office By Eagle County Commissioners'Office tikR; 4 COUNTY OF EAGLE, STATE OF COLORADO by and Through Its ATTEST: BOARD OF CO ■T Y COM SSIO RS C= � � By. /, ,/l.�� L/ /III Ai�Lt Teak J. Simonton '`athy`handler-Henry , Clerk to the Board of Chair County Commissioners /' n Y• 0A-u—kAg eo nne McQueeney isioner / Ji '`n H. Ryan ' emmissioner Commissioner econded adoption of the foregoing resolution. The roll having been called,the vot was as follows: Commissioner Chandler-Henry /rr/ Commissioner McQueeney / Commissioner Ryan s-' _i I This Resolution passed b�7`�`vote of the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Eagle, State of Colorado. EAGLE COUNTY 2016 LEGISLATIVE POLICY STATEMENT • EAGLE COUNTY Exhibit A Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement TABLE OF CONTENTS OVERVIEW AND STRATEGIC PLAN 2 POLICY PRINCIPLES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 4 ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY 4 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 7 GOVERNANCE AND FISCAL ISSUES 9 HOUSING 11 HUMAN SERVICES 12 LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT 12 PUBLIC HEALTH 13 PUBLIC LANDS 14 PUBLIC SAFETY 15 TELECOMMUNICATIONS 15 TRANSPORTATION 16 1 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement OVERVIEW Eagle County's Legislative Policy Statement identifies the county's policy principles on key legislative issues. The following policy statements are necessarily broad and by no means all-inclusive. The county will utilize the Legislative Policy Statement as a guiding policy when reviewing and analyzing specific bills that impact Eagle County interests. Eagle County will take Official County Positions on a limited number of significant bills. Official County Positions are not automatically assumed on bills simply that are congruent with the policy statements contained in this document. The Board of County Commissioners(BoCC)will have discretion in determining Official County Positions. When significant legislation is identified that might warrant an Official County Position,the BoCC, other elected officials and county staff will coordinate review through the County Manager's Office. In coordination with the County Attorney's Office, the County Manager's Office will provide the BoCC with a brief summary of the substance of the legislation and, if warranted, a proposed Official County Position that is consistent with the principles of the Legislative Policy Statement. The BoCC will consider the Official County Position by resolution, and if adopted, the county will communicate the position to legislators and the public. Eagle County welcomes the opportunity to discuss the county's legislative priorities and positions. This Legislative Policy Statement provides a reference tool when considering legislation that may impact Eagle County. EAGLE COUNTY STRATEGIC PLAN With a mission of"Creating a Better Eagle County for All,"the Strategic Plan provides a roadmap as the county allocates resources, gauges progress and ensures delivery of quality services to constituents. The Strategic Plan identifies underlying principles on which decisions are based, and includes goals and objectives be achieved through 2020. Specific policy and management action items are identified for the coming year that work towards achieving these goals and objectives. 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Eagle County: • Supports the development of a statewide economic development strategy that addresses issues of business climate and economic direction at the State level but seeks local input and respects local control of economic development. • Supports appropriate State tax policies and incentive programs,including enterprise zones, business incentive agreements, or other legislative initiatives, that encourage business expansion, retention, and attraction through primary job creation, investment in capital equipment,and employer facility development. • Supports workforce development, including higher education funding, relevant pre- and post-secondary vocational training,and STEM curriculum for K-12. • Supports tourism centric economic development that can lead to job growth and economic diversification. • Supports small scale cottage industry that assist in broadening the economic base in resort tourist communities. • Supports efforts that respect county authority in fostering community beautification and enhancement. Protection of the natural, scenic, cultural, educational, and historical environments is key to the success of tourist resort communities and their economies. • Supports programs that further sustainable recreation while protecting the environment on which the economy depends (alpine skiing, nordic skiing, fishing, hunting, boating, hiking, biking,off-road vehicles,horseback riding,etc.) ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY CLIMATE ACTION Eagle County encourages and supports federal and state actions to address climate change through mitigation and adaptation/resiliency. Colorado should play a leadership role in advancing these and other strategies to address state-level action in support of its own Climate Action Plan and to contribute to development of a national solution, while also supporting the activities and contributions of its local governments. Eagle County: • Supports legislation, regulatory efforts, and other policy approaches to advance an aggressive energy efficiency and renewable energy agenda for Colorado. For example: expanding economic incentives for renewable energy and solar thermal energy; providing authority for Colorado local governments to implement community choice aggregation; supporting further construction of alternative-fuel vehicle fueling infrastructure; increasing state support of and engagement with weatherization efforts; and developing an energy efficiency performance standard for utilities. • Supports climate change preparedness and resiliency efforts. Eagle County supports the development and implementation of plans that can help the state and its communities prepare for and become more resilient to the impacts of climate change, and the development of improved strategies through ongoing planning efforts. 4 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement • Supports development of a statewide green building code and related policies and initiatives to improve the energy performance of new and existing buildings in Colorado. Residential and commercial buildings account for more than 42%of the electricity and natural gas consumed in Colorado.Research suggests that,through the use of such tools as green building codes,energy consumption disclosure requirements,and demand-side management programming,energy use in Colorado's buildings could be effectively reduced by more than 30%. Within this context, Eagle County's support efforts will lead to improvements in the energy performance of Colorado's building stock. • Supports enabling legislation to allow counties and statutory cities and towns to enact residential and commercial energy conservation regulations. Residential Energy Conservation Ordinances (RECOs) and Commercial Energy Conservation Ordinances (CECOs) are as effective policy tools for improving the energy efficiency and performance of the existing residential and commercial building stock. These tools can be designed a number of ways,but in general they require existing buildings to implement specific energy efficiency and performance measures if the property fails to meet a minimum energy performance standard. Currently, only Colorado home rule cities have statutory authorization to enact RECOs and CECOs. Eagle County supports enabling legislation to provide statutory counties this same ability. • Supports ongoing and sustainable funding for the weatherization assistance program (WAP). Low-income households spend a disproportionately large percentage of their income on energy utility bills. With Colorado's WAP programs funded through federal allocations and state severance tax dollars,both of which can be volatile sources of revenue, stability in annual WAP appropriations can be difficult to achieve. Eagle County supports long-term sustainable funding for Colorado's state weatherization program. • Supports the advancement of fuel-efficient vehicle usage and investment in related technology and infrastructure. Expanding the use of fuel-efficient vehicles and the necessary infrastructure to support them will play an important role in achieving greenhouse gas emissions reductions from the transportation sector, advancing Colorado's statewide carbon reduction goals and reducing dependence on foreign oil. Policy approaches that support the use of fuel-efficient vehicles include: investment in electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle charging infrastructure; fee-bate and other incentives for the purchase of highly fuel-efficient vehicles; and vehicle-to-grid technology, which enables electric and hybrid-electric vehicles to "plug" into the electric grid and provide power during the many hours that those vehicles sit idle. • Supports legislation to provide Colorado counties with permissive authority to implement a carbon tax. A carbon tax is a fee assessed on the carbon content of,a fossil fuel. Because the prices of gasoline, electricity, and fuels in general include none of the long-term costs associated with climate change, or even the well-quantified near-term health costs of burning fossil fuels, there is little incentive to develop and implement measures to reduce carbon emissions. A properly designed carbon tax will incentivize decision-makers at all levels to reduce carbon emissions through conservation, substitution, and innovation strategies, for example through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and conservation-based behavioral change. In Colorado, home rule towns and cities have authority to present a carbon tax to their citizens,which the city of Boulder did with success in 2006. Eagle County supports state legislation to provide the same permissive authority to Colorado's statutory counties. 5 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement • Opposes state legislation and other efforts to undermine Colorado's implementation of the U.S. EPA Clean Power Plan. Under authority of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan(CPP)is designed to reduce the emissions of existing U.S. coal-fired power plants, our nation's largest single source of carbon dioxide emissions contributing to global climate change. Eagle County supports the CPP and other efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and mitigate climate change. Eagle County will also engage with and support efforts to ensure that Colorado meets its CPP requirements. Eagle County will oppose any attempts to delay implementation of the CPP in Colorado,either by the General Assembly,as it proposed to do in SB 15-258, which was approved by the State Senate but defeated in the House of Representatives, or others, including the various lawsuits against the CPP that have been joined by the Colorado Attorney General. • Opposes state legislative, regulatory, or administrative action to weaken Colorado's net metering policies. Colorado's net metering policies ensure that electricity customers who own renewable energy facilities, primarily rooftop solar systems, receive a fair credit on their utility bills for the clean power that they contribute to the electric grid. Eagle County opposes any legislative,regulatory,or administrative action to weaken Colorado's net metering policies. WASTE DIVERSION AND RECYCLING Eagle County has a strategic plan objective to achieve a waste diversion goal of 30% by 2030. With investments already made and other strategies being developed for the future, the county is well on its way to hitting that mark. Eagle County: • Supports legislation to increase the level of recycling and composting in Colorado and provide Colorado's residents and businesses with increased access to waste reduction services. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Colorado recycles only 11% of its waste,excluding scrap metal,which is well below the national average of 34% calculated by the EPA. Residential curbside recycling is available in less than half of counties statewide and more than 65% of Coloradans never recycle or recycle only sporadically. Eagle County supports Colorado setting statewide recycling goals with interim targets,ensuring that all Coloradans have access to recycling services. • Supports legislation and other means for promoting and advancing product stewardship. Eagle County supports legislation, regulation, or other means to engage manufacturers,retailers., and consumers in strategies that maximize the economic benefits,reduce environmental impacts., and take the end-of-life product disposal management burden out of the hands of local government. For example, options include disposal fees, national bottle law and bottle deposits, computer take-back,recycling leftover paint,and control of toxics,particularly in electronics. • Supports legislation to provide statutory counties with authority to implement pay-as-you- throw pricing structures. Rate incentives in solid waste have strong and measurable effects on waste disposal behavior. Studies show that adoption of market-based pricing strategies similar to those used in the energy and water sectors, amongst others, will result in increases in recycling and composting rates and reductions in the overall amount of materials send to landfill. "Pay-as- you-throw"(PAYT)pricing,as it is often described,accomplishes this by charging the consumers the same amount for every unit of trash that they dispose of. In other words,volume discounts are prohibited. With aggressive recycling and zero waste goals, Eagle County would like statutory 6 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement authority commensurate with Colorado's home rule cities to require local waste haulers to utilize PAYT pricing structures to incentivize recycling and composting. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WATER RESOURCES Protecting the quality and quantity of Colorado's water is vital to its environment, economy, and people. A number of policy-making and regulatory efforts are underway,including new municipal separate storm system and sediment rules, state gray water implementation rules, and a new definition of waters of the U.S., all of which could impact Eagle County and all Colorado local governments. During these processes,Eagle County will advocate for legislation,regulations,and other policy approaches that focus on the critical goal of protecting water quality and quantity, conserving water resources and only developing new supplies(especially from other basins)as a last resort. Eagle County: • Supports Colorado's doctrine of prior appropriation of water rights, necessary water conservation efforts and reuse efforts to seek and maintain state primacy and county control. • Supports the application of county powers related to water resources, including 1041 powers, to address local impacts and protection of Colorado's water resources. 1041 powers must be broadly and liberally construed to ensure maximum flexibility and authority for counties. • Supports cooperative statewide water planning efforts that do not negatively impact the basin of origin communities and are supported by those communities. • Supports efforts to maintain and seek state primacy of federal water quality programs and that adequately fund counties to ensure compliance with the federal Clean Water Act. • Supports legislation that promotes the efficient use and conservation of water. The Colorado State Water Plan provides sustainable water resource management practices and public policy incentives and regulations to achieve greater conservation and more efficient use of Colorado's water supply. • Opposes any attempt to limit the application of local 1041 powers. • Opposes attempts by the Federal government to usurp the system of prior appropriation in the issuance of necessary federal permits. • Opposes federally reserved water rights. FOOD SAFETY Food safety programs are significantly under-resourced in Colorado. Restaurant licensing fees, which reside in state statute and were last increased in 2009, are nominal and average less $300 per year per restaurant. This only supports approximately 40% of current food safety program costs. Increasing restaurant licensing fees will better balance the public and private investment in food safety programming, allow Colorado's public health agencies and its restaurant industry to move closer to national best practices for food safety programs and better protect the public from food-borne illnesses. Eagle County: • Support legislation to increase the license fees for retail food establishments. AIR QUALITY Outdoor air quality is a genuine concern in Eagle County. Under the Clean Air Act,the EPA establishes air quality standards to protect public health,with special attention to the health of"sensitive"populations (children under 10 years, adults over 65 years, and asthmatics). Poor air quality has significant public 7 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement health and environmental impacts, from increasing doctor and hospital admissions, to compromising the unique value of our open space lands, to negative effects on wildlife and habitat. Eagle County supports state legislative, regulatory, and other efforts to protect public and environmental health by reducing the emissions of harmful pollutants. Eagle County: • Support state regulation and other policy means to protect air quality. WILDFIRE MITIGATION AND FOREST HEALTH Wildfire mitigation measures modify the forest environment surrounding a structure that is at risk from destruction by a wildfire, while forest health efforts improve the conditions of Colorado's forests to restore ecosystems to a healthier state. Together, these efforts have the benefit of minimizing the destructive effects of wildfire on Colorado's communities, land, and environment. Activities such as developing and maintaining defensible space and a safe home ignition zone around homes, forest thinning, and prescribed fire are common and proven tools for reducing wildfire risk. Local governments have access to an array of tools to reduce the risk of wildfire by considering the amount and type of development that occurs in areas at risk for wildfire and establishing requirements for wildfire mitigation measures for any development within these areas. Eagle County: • Supports funding for wildfire mitigation efforts through the reauthorization of the Department of Natural Resources'Wildfire Risk Reduction Grant Program. • Supports legislative efforts that promote forest health and restoration projects that improve overall forest conditions. • Supports forestry projects that reduce fuels for fire and create fuel breaks and safe escape routes. • Supports increased private homeowner awareness and participation in the creation and maintenance of defensible space and a safe home ignition zone; and increased use of ignition-resistant building materials in residential construction, renovations, decks, and additions in the wildland urban interface. NATURAL RESOURCES Colorado's environment defines its quality of life and economy. Recognizing this, the state and its local government partners have developed an array of public policy and programmatic initiatives designed to preserve and protect Colorado's land and natural resources; examples include the Conservation Easement. Tax Credits and Great Outdoors Colorado. Eagle County will continue to utilize these tools to protect our local environment and will advocate for their continuation and expansion to ensure the preservation of the environment and quality of life that Coloradans have grown to expect. Eagle County: • Supports the development of tools the state and local governments may use to conserve and protect natural resources • Supports efforts to protect floodplains and riparian areas from encroachment, ie., protective purchases;incentivize non-encroachment. 8 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement GOVERNANCE AND FISCAL ISSUES UNFUNDED MANDATES In order to effectively serve the needs of their communities,county officials must have the resources and authority commensurate with the responsibilities placed on them by state and federal laws, regulations and court decisions. In all decision making, state and federal governments should refrain from solving budget shortfalls with county government resources. State and federal government should base decisions about laws and regulations affecting county governments on comprehensive data and measurable outcomes. Relying on these two standards to scrutinize existing and proposed laws and regulations will help reduce unnecessary, unfunded or underfunded mandates, streamline government and utilize limited resources more efficiently. Eagle County: • Supports the provision of adequate funding for any future state or federally-imposed mandates upon local government, including the need for technology improvements necessary to fulfill these mandates. • Opposes cost shifting from the state and federal government to local governments. LOCAL CONTROL AND FLEXIBILITY Eagle County believes that the authority to address issues that pertain to the county must reside firmly with the county, where state or federal authority does not already exist. Local governments are best: suited to identify solutions to local issues,particularly in regards to the services we provide and the land use decisions that we make. Local authority also includes the flexibility to determine use of funding for specific initiatives. The most effective governance results from local, state and federal officials working in true partnership toward the development and implementation of programs and services. Eagle County: • Supports legislative efforts that strengthen and preserve local control and authority of county governments. • Opposes legislation that reduces local control or weakens administrative flexibility of county governments. SALES AND USE TAX COLLECTIONS The issue of taxing remote sales has compounded in recent years due to the extraordinary development of the Internet as a retail marketplace. As a result, state and local governments have lost billions in uncollected sales taxes and Main Street businesses find themselves at a significant competitive disadvantage to various online sellers. Eagle County: • Supports legislation to permit the collection of existing sales and use taxes from remote sellers. RULE MAKING We believe county commissioners are important and necessary stakeholders in any rule-making process. Eagle County: • Opposes the exclusion of counties from participating in legislative and regulatory efforts to promulgate rules and regulations that interpret the law in a manner negatively impacting counties. 9 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement INTERGOVERNMENTAL PARTNERSHIPS Eagle County recognizes the important role all levels of government play. We respect the unique and important roles of the federal, state and local government, and believe counties are more than an administrative arm of state government. Commissioners represent the interests of their constituents,and counties must be viewed as partners,not as a"special"interest. Eagle County: • Supports involvement of counties in executive department restructuring that directly affects operations and programs administered by county government. • Supports commissioner representation on state boards, commissions and working groups appointed by members of the executive,legislative or judicial branch whose decisions affect county government. LONG-TERM FISCAL STABILITY OF THE STATE OF COLORADO Eagle County recognizes the importance of a state government that operates in a fiscally responsible way and advances the economic vitality and well-being of all Coloradans. We appreciate the transparency in the state budgeting process and the opportunity to provide input, and we seek collaboration with the state, especially with regard to decisions and processes that affect our organization or our constituents. The state and its counties are intertwined in many different, significant ways when it comes to the delivery o services to Colorado residents. The conflicting priorities of the Gallagher Amendment, Amendment 23, and the Taxpayer Bill of Rights present a complex set of circumstances that must be addressed. Eagle County: • Supports and will continue to engage with any substantive effort to evaluate and address the ongoing structural and budgetary challenges that negatively impact the fiscal stability and sustainability of the State of Colorado and by extension,its local government partners. GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY Eagle County recognizes that the complexity and diversity of its operations and services required to meet the needs of the community may expose the county, its officers, and employees to liability for damage and injury. The county strongly believes that public officers and employees need to be assured that this liability will not impair the lawful and proper provision of necessary services to the public. Eagle County: • Supports legislation that protects the interests of counties, their officers, and their employees in the lawful and proper performance of their duties and responsibilities. • Supports legislation that discourages baseless and frivolous claims and demands made against counties,their officers,and their employees. • Supports the availability of public liability insurance at reasonable costs and the ability of counties to reduce these costs through self-insurance. • Opposes legislation that expands or increases county liability,or,conversely,further limits county immunity. WORKERS'COMPENSATION Eagle County recognizes that the Colorado Workers' Compensation Act was developed as a no-fault: system established"to assure the quick and efficient delivery of disability and medical benefits to injured workers at a reasonable cost to employers, without the necessity of any litigation, recognizing that the workers' compensation system in Colorado is based on a mutual renunciation of common law rights and defenses by employers and employees alike." The county is concerned about any legislation that will. erode the ability of an employer to control their claim costs and inhibits an employer's ability to get competitive quotes from the market for quality insurance coverage. Eagle County: 10 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement • Supports legislation that maintains the spirit of the Colorado Workers' Compensation Act, for the protection of both Colorado employers and employees. • Opposes legislation that creates presumptive eligibility coverage within the law, promotes litigation or adds significant insurance premium costs or administrative burdens to employers. ELECTIONS As with other counties across the state,most responsibility for administering local elections falls on Eagle County. To that end,Eagle County: • Supports equitable sharing of the costs of elections by all governmental entities with a stake in elections. MOTOR VEHICLE FEE RESTRUCTURING The Motor Vehicle responsibilities in county offices, directed by the Colorado Department of Revenue, are customer service centric, complicated and demanding. Despite the fact that sales of new and used cars and corresponding registration fee revenues have increased in recent years, county revenues to administer these services are relatively flat. Eagle County: • Supports increasing the Clerk's fee, the county share of late fees or creating a new fee to enable counties to keep pace with the necessary costs of providing this service at a level that meets customers'expectations. E-RECORDING SURCHARGE FEE EXTENSION In 2006, the state instituted a surcharge on all recorded documents of $1.00 per document. This surcharge was intended to help counties pay for systems, equipment and training for electronic recording of legal documents. Eagle County made this transition several years ago, but there are ongoing costs to maintain and upgrade the system every year. As protectors of the permanent public records related to real estate transactions,marriage and death certificates, loans, covenants,plats and maps, it is imperative that we preserve these documents in a manner that is readable for modern technology capabilities. The surcharge is about to sunset. Colorado's recording fees are among the lowest in the nation. Eagle County: • Supports legislation to extend the e-recording surcharge fee permanently, as well as to increase the amount per document by$1.00 for a total of$2.00. HOUSING Affordable housing is a critical workforce issue in Eagle County and across the state. Eagle County: • Supports legislation that will fix barriers for attainable and affordable housing. • Supports legislation that will increase the supply of affordable housing in multifamily buildings(condominiums)by limiting construction defect litigation. • Supports legislation that identifies a permanent funding source for the statewide Affordable Housing Trust Fund. 11 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement HUMAN SERVICES Eagle County Human Services aims to connect people and strengthen communities by providing essential services for those who are most in need. Eagle County: • Supports increased funding to child welfare to address the shortfall of caseworkers identified through the child welfare workload study. • Supports increased funding for modernization of the TRAILS child welfare administration system. • Supports funding for caseload increases resulting from the implementation of the child abuse and neglect reporting hotline,and funding for enhanced training that professionalizes hotline workers and increases their effectiveness. • Supports increased funding for the HB 04-1451 Collaborative Management program and ongoing funding for the cost-saving IMPACT Managed Care Program. • Supports funding to address increases in Adult Protective Services caseloads resulting from the implementation of mandatory reporting for elder abuse. • Supports the federal-state-local structure for financing and delivering Medicaid services. • Supports expansion of quality initiatives for early childhood development,including but not limited to services and supports for communication materials targeting positive child development for Colorado's family,friends and neighbor care population. • Supports policies that reduce the"cliff effect" for people moving off public benefits toward self-sufficiency,including but not limited to child care assistance funding. • Supports funding to address the service gaps for children and adults needing mental health assessments,evaluations,and culturally competent in-home evidence-based treatment. • Supports state-level efforts to provide paid sick leave to all workers which reduce negative economic impacts to, and improve the health of, women and minorities who have disproportionately lower access to paid sick leave. • Supports sustainable funding for veteran services in Colorado. • Opposes legislation that would further shift federal and state Medicaid costs to counties. LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT Eagle County seeks to create communities with a sense of place. Land use authority is critical to shaping well-planned,livable developments. Eagle County: • Supports legislation that would maintain, or increase county construction review and oversight authority, including: timely adjudication and appropriate penalties of building code violations. • Supports efforts to work with State Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) to allow counties to have control over fee structure on Electrical Permits. • Supports giving boards of county commissioners the authority to approve the use and the amount of the county portion of revenues designated in a proposed urban renewal plan for tax increment financing. • Supports the establishment of mechanisms to ensure that a proposed urban renewal project meets the current statutory requirement of ameliorating blight or slum conditions. • Supports legislation that will increase and enhance local government authority to regulate oil and gas extractive industries, as well as, all ancillary land uses necessary to support oil and gas land use activities. • Supports right-to-farm ordinances and the acquisition of conservation easements and conservation leases to maintain agricultural uses. 12 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement • Supports current Colorado open range laws and fence laws and oppose any changes that weaken the existing laws. • Opposes legislation that would supersede, override, or preempt local land use authority; both from a regulatory perspective, as well as, a comprehensive master planning perspective. • Opposes legislation that would reduce county construction review and oversight authority. • Opposes any state or federal effort to preempt or further limit local government regulatory authority over any extractive industry. PUBLIC HEALTH HEALTH DISPARITIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE Eagle County supports the development, expansion and monitoring of programs to reduce disparities in health. Persistent health inequities and disparities mean that millions of Americans suffer from a disproportionately high burden of disease, disability, and premature death. These disparities also impose an unacceptable fiscal cost. Eagle County: • Supports funding for effective strategies that work to reduce health disparities and better understand the underlying causes of health disparities. • Supports initiatives and efforts to better define and support environmental justice efforts to promote health equity. HEALTH CARE ACCESS Eagle County promotes the availability of and access to preventive and primary health care when not otherwise available through the private sector,including acute and episodic care,prenatal and postpartum care, evidence based home visitation programs, child health, family planning, school health, chronic disease prevention,child and adult immunizations,testing,and screening services,dental health,nutrition, and health education and promotion services. Eagle County: • Supports legislation that promotes health care access and improves the affordability of that care. FAMILY PLANNING AND LONG-ACTING REVERSIBLE CONTRACEPTIVES By providing greater access to voluntary contraception, including long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), Colorado has become a national leader in reducing unintended pregnancies. Since 2009, the Colorado Family Planning Initiative has increased health care provider education and training and reduced the costs of the most effective forms of long-term contraceptives, such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants. As a result,the number of Colorado women choosing these methods has increased dramatically and Colorado has seen unprecedented declines in the birthrate and number of abortions. From 2009-2013, the teen birthrate in Colorado fell 40% and teen abortions declined by 42%thanks to a six-year program that distributed free LARCs to teens and young women(New York Times). Unintended pregnancies have serious health ramifications for mother and baby, as well as high economic and social. costs for the new family. Eagle County: • Supports legislation that funds LARC distribution efforts for family planning purposes. • Eagle County supports policies that dedicate funding and resources to Title X Family Planning Clinics in Colorado to ensure the programs' success is sustained in communities across the state. 13 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement PUBLIC HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PLANS Colorado's local public health agencies and the state have developed public health improvement plans as required by the Public Health Act of 2008 (SB 08-194). Developed through a stakeholder engagement process,these plans assess and set priorities for the public health system and guide the system in targeting core public health services and functions. Eagle County: • Supports implementation funding of local public health improvement plans. Adequately funding these state-required plans will provide accountability in the system and assure positive public health outcomes through program development, implementation, and. evaluation. COLORADO IMMUNIZATION INFORMATION SYSTEM(CIIS) The Colorado Immunization Information System(CIIS)is a confidential,population-based,computerized. system that collects and disseminates consolidated immunization information for Coloradans of all ages. Operated by the Colorado Immunization Program at CDPHE, CIIS works to increase and sustain high. immunization rates by consolidating immunization records from multiple providers,allowing providers to generate notices for individuals who are not up-to-date, minimizing over-immunization, and identifying missed opportunities for immunization. First implemented in 2011, CIIS has struggled with technical and other issues that have limited its acceptance and use by health care providers, an outcome which. ultimately compromises its effectiveness. Broad, statewide implementation of CIIS will meet multiple public health priorities,especially for children.Eagle County: • Supports funding and other approaches to expand implementation of the Colorado Immunization Information System(CIIS) PUBLIC LANDS Approximately 85% of the land area in Eagle County is comprised of public lands. This greatly elevates the importance of federal and state policies related to public lands. Eagle County: • Supports full Congressional appropriation of Payment-In-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILT) to compensate counties for the costs associated with the presence of federal tax-exempt lands. • Supports all efforts to compensate counties for lost property tax revenue from tax-exempt lands. • Supports legislation that encourages the State and Federal governments to provide sufficient funding to local governments to alleviate the burden from the negative impacts attributable to wildfire, fuel loads, road maintenance, search and rescue efforts, law enforcement, wildlife, predators, pests, noxious weeds, and undesirable plants originating on State and Federal lands. • Supports control of the allocation of U.S. Forest Service moneys pursuant to C.R.S. 30-29- 101(3)must remain solely with the boards of county commissioners. • Support proposed legislation that would allow the State Land Board to sell land directly to local governments. • Supports legislation that encourages public land managers to develop and implement vegetation management programs that create and maintain healthy, diverse wildland communities and are consistent with affected county policies. • Supports legislation intended for the recovery and preservation of endangered species considering all potential impacts and subject to local government involvement and approval. 14 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement • Supports legislation that would create special land designations that are consistent with land use policies within and are supported by the county within which the designation is proposed. All future proposed wilderness legislation should be premised on county input. • Supports efforts by the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife to manage species appropriately from a cost-benefit and economic impacts perspective. • Supports efforts to improve hunting and fishing within the county consistent with local authority while minimizing and mitigating impacts from hunting and fishing on other affected areas and private property. • Opposes mandatory linkages among federal payment programs that reduce county receipts. • Opposes proposed legislation that would designate wild and scenic rivers or any designation where Eagle County has not participated in the designation,or where the designation would conflict with local land use policies. PUBLIC SAFETY The Eagle County Sheriffs Office has inmates with mental health issues that need to be evaluated and treated. Due to the nature of criminal charges, they need to go to a secure facility. Some inmates plead not guilty by reason of insanity and a judge typically orders a competency examination. The waiting list for Pueblo is months long and meanwhile,these persons are housed in county jails. Mind Springs(mental health service provider) bed space for mental health holds is also lacking and they are working on expanding their facility in Grand Junction. The county has recently had situations where all of our holding cells at the Eagle County Detention Facility are full of inmates with mental health needs. These inmates have to be checked every 15 minutes due to their condition and this presents resource issues. If these inmates were in a proper mental health setting,they could be medicated and potentially placed with other inmates. Eagle County: • Supports funding for more mental health bed space at the state mental health facility in Pueblo and expansion of bed space on the western slope. TELECOMMUNICATIONS Eagle County stands behind the principle of local government retaining the ability to determine the services and amenities it will provide to its residents. This includes the provision of low-cost,high-speed broadband Internet access to residents.Unfortunately,the state statutory landscape is presently a barrier in pursuit of this goal. Signed into law in 2005, SB 152 preempts local governments from providing telecommunication services, without a vote of the people. Eagle County believes that Colorado's local governments should not be handicapped in this fashion, and will support legislative efforts to re-establish the right of local governments to engage in activities focused on improving broadband Internet services. • Supports legislation to re-establish the rights of Colorado local governments concerning the provision of broadband internet services. • Supports telecommunications policies that encourage equitable access to telecommunications services(especially high speed internet access)in both urban and rural areas but that does not unduly burden any single segment of the telecommunications market. • Supports the development of federal resources and other mechanisms to assist providing telecommunications services,including both data and voice transmission,to all areas. • Supports universal service funds, which should be paid into by all communication service providers and should be used for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing service in high cost areas. 15 Eagle County 2016 Legislative Policy Statement TRANSPORTATION Eagle County believes that the movement of goods and people is vital to the continued economic success of the State of Colorado and to the maintenance of the high quality of life that Coloradans enjoy. In order to preserve these, the State Legislature must be willing to make significant investments to maintain and improve the State's transportation network including roads,bridges, and other multimodal systems. With the Colorado Department of Transportation's funding challenges, municipal and county governments have taken on greater construction,maintenance,and financial responsibilities. Eagle County: • Supports new/existing revenue efforts for transportation and transit needs of Colorado. • Supports long term transportation funding and county priorities in MAP 21 re- authorization. • Supports federal payment in lieu of taxes(PILT)for road and bridge needs. • Supports efforts to reduce closures on I-70 during the winter months caused by vehicles with inadequate tires attempting to get over various mountain passes. • Supports an equitable HUTF allocation formula and restrictions on the use of"off the top" diversions. • Supports legislation that ensures local shareback is provided for transportation projects from all transportation revenue sources. • Supports state funding for the Safe Routes to School program. • Supports methodologies, including, but not limited to bonding, public private partnerships and the issuing of state tax credits as options for expediting transportation projects. • Supports using state general fund dollars for maintenance and construction of transportation projects. • Supports extending transfers from the state general fund to transportation (enacted under SB09-228), and supports expanding the uses of these funds for maintenance, provided new funding for transportation construction projects is in place. • Supports initiatives and programs that provide multi-modal funding opportunities, including trails. • Supports legislation and programs that support affordable, safe and efficient public transportation in tourist/resort communities. • Opposes efforts to pass along additional State roadway construction or maintenance responsibilities to local governments without increased and adequate funds to meet these additional responsibilities. • Opposes funding mechanisms which eliminate or reduce local shareback for transportation projects. • Opposes any reduction in the Funding Advancements for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery Act of 2009(FASTER). 16