Thursday, September 24, 2015

Research Q of the Week: City Policies and Legislative Action (9/24/15)

Question: How does the League of Minnesota Cities decide what legislative action is best for cities?

Answer: We don't decide. You do! Before the League’s team of intergovernmental relations (IGR) staff step into the fray of the legislative session they have already gone through an extensive education process to learn what cities need from state government.

The process starts every summer when current city officials and staff (over 150!) meet on policy committees to discuss issues important to cities. At the last policy committee meeting of the summer, draft policies are approved.

These are then published so that all city officials and staff can take a look and add their comments. Later in the fall, the LMC Board of Directors meets to discuss the draft policies and comments received from members.

After the Board has approved the draft policies, IGR staffers work with the Board to set their priorities for the session based on these policies.

If you served on one of the four policy committees, thank you for being a part of this important process. If you weren't able to participate but would like to take a look at the results and submit your comments, the member comment period runs through Oct. 30. Policy comments can be sent to policycomments@lmc.org.

Written by Amber Eisenschenk, staff attorney with the League of Minnesota Cities. Contact: aeisenschenk@lmc.org or (651) 281-1227.

This blog post conveys general information. It’s not legal advice. Please check with your city attorney before acting on this information.