Legislative Policies for the 2007 Oregon Legislative Session

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_ City of Eugene Legislative Policies for 2007 Oregon Legislative Session City of Eugene Legislative Policies for 2007 Oregon Legislative Session U~ . PUBLIC SAFETY dedicated funds from being expended for any purpose other than 9-1-1 services. In the 3rd Special Session of 2002, $7 million was diverted from the PSAP (Public Safety : Answering Point) Consolidation Incentive Fund and $2 million from the Enhanced 9-1-1 A. COURT Sub-Account (to pay for Phase II wireless location implementation) tocredit the. State's Municipal Court has a focus on ensuring that sanctions are enforced, including collection General Fund. This diversion of 9-1-1 funds from the intended purpose for which they of fines. The court is also responsible for ensuring other sanctions are available such as were collected from the public, set back significantly the implementation oflife-saving work crews, community service, jail and deferred prosecution programs. Enhanced 9-1-1 technology which would enable 9-1-1 operators to locate wireless callers and dispatch necessary information to emergency responders. A1. Funding for County Jail Space and Programs The Ciry will oppose efforts to reduce local funding forjail facilities. The City supports B2. 9-1-1 Telephone Excise Tax-Adequacy andbistribution increases forjail programs, including road and work crews. The Municipal Court depends Revenue from the 9-1-1 telephone excise tax needs to be closely monitored to ensure that on the availability of jail space for municipal offenders who are given mandatory jail it adequately covers the full local cost of providing this mandated service. Where this is sentences and uses road and work crews for non-violent offenders in an effort to give .not the case, the City of Eugene supports legislation to increase revenue to local these offenders an opportunity to make a contribution to their community while satisfying jurisdictions to operate the system andlor to reevaluate the 1 % guaranteed distribution their court obligation. floor to counties that is inequitable. A2. Local Government and Community Standards 63. Flexibility For. PSAP Alignment Local government should have the right to set community standards and be able to The City recognizes-that some consolidation of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) maintain those standards through public safety and justice activities. While recognizing should occur statewide. However, aone-size-fits-all approach of consolidating to a single the limited jurisdiction of municipal courts, the City will oppose legislation which would PSAP per county could prove costly and reduce levels of service in Lane County and other mandate the types of cases which may or may not be heard in municipal courts. Municipal regions. Lane County includes four PSAPs geographically spread out across the Oregon courts provide a speedy and cost-effective way to deal with violations of the law, many of Coast, Willamette Valley, and Cascades, providing high standards of emergency response! which would not be heard in Circuit Court. that a single PSAP alignment would be hard pressed to meet. Additionally, consolidation to a single PSAP might necessitate costs for new facilities. A3. Unpaid Fees, Fines and Parking Citations The City supports legislation to allow recovery of unpaid parking fees and fines by Recommendation withholding vehicle registration renewals. The City supports legislation to allow recovery ~ Supportlegislationauthorizingmerit--based flexibilityformultip/eP$AP of other court unpaid fees and fines by attaching income tax refunds through the State configuration in a county, usinglevels ofservices and realized costsavings as Department of Revenue. The City supports continued use of collection agencies. The criteria. City supports legislation to allow local authority in application of garnishments as a collections tool without being required to register with the State Department of Revenue. B4. Non-Emergency Number The City also supports legislation to balance the burden of uncollected fines and fees The City opposes any legislation to establish a single, statewide non-emergency number.. between the City and the State. Instead, the City supports local control in listingnon-emergency police agency numbers in the front section of the telephone book. A4. Increases in Bail Schedule, Fines and Fees The City will oppose unilateral increases in fines or assessments as means of increased C. POLICE AND ENFORCEMENT support to State-sponsored programs or activities. The City will support legislation to allow C1. Law Enforcement Mandates judicial discretion in the amount of assessments imposed, as well as legislation to Crime-related laws should be designed to limit administrative burdens. The City opposes reimburse the City for the cost of collecting the mandated State and County assessments. State requirements for additional paperwork, information collection and forms, unless such additional paperwork is used for long-term data collection and/or research. Local law A5. Court Security Funds enforcement resources should continue to be directed at crime suppression and The City supports legislation allowing local governments to equallyshare court security prevention. funds. The Ciry opposes any attempt to impose user fees on agencies and local governments using the State-run Law Enforcement Data System (LEDs). B. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND 9-1-1 SERVICES 61. Reauthorization and Protection of 9-1-1 Tax Revenues C2. Reimbursement for Negligent or Reckless Behavior The 9-1-1 excise tax is set to sunset on December 31, 2007. In FY06, the tax provided In some instances, there are high public costs for public safety responses to incidents $1.2 million in revenue which equated to 24% of the total Communications Center budget. caused by the negligence or reckless behavior of individuals. For example, a citizen may In addition to ensuring that the taxis reauthorized to continue seamless 9-1-1 service swim or boat in a river, find himself stranded, and require an expensive rescue operation throughout Lane County and the State of Oregon, it is important to work to keep those with costs that are not recouped by the City. 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