Understanding Intergovernmental Relations Alan W. Kemp Executive Director Dustin Miller Government Affairs Manager

Opportunities for Intergovernmental Relations Intergovernmental Relations Occur Vertically – Federalist System Laterally – Political Subdivisions Spatially - Inter-organizational Relations

Federal Government State Government School City County

Opportunities for Intergovernmental Relations Cooperation versus Collaboration Cooperation is a passive decision to interact or comply - compliance with mandates Collaboration is an active determination to interact - decision to enter into 28E agreement

Opportunities for Intergovernmental Relations Regulations and Mandates Legislative Branch Executive Branch – Administrative Agencies Judicial Branch

Opportunities for Intergovernmental Relations Regulations and Mandates Legislative Branch - IPERS Executive Branch – City Budget Forms Judicial Branch – Franchise fee decision

Opportunities for Intergovernmental Relations Reality- complex interaction of many players Congress passed the Clean Water Act Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was directed to promulgate rules directed at state environmental agencies Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) determines rules in Iowa based on EPA guidance, legislative policy and state-level administrative rules Environmental groups seek court interpretation of CWA with direction to EPA which is then imparted to IDNR

Reasons to Collaborate with Other Local Governments Effective Delivery of Services Improve existing service delivery Maintain service levels Retain service levels – survival Obtain specialized services Comply with federal & state mandates

Reasons to Collaborate with Other Local Governments Efficiency of Services Delivery Reduce costs Maintain costs Mitigate increasing costs Enhance managerial capacity Hire and retain quality workforce

Reasons to Collaborate with Other Local Governments Forces pushing for regionalization and service sharing Federal government – i.e. Homeland Security State Government – i.e. Flood Plain Management Economic Forces

Reasons to Collaborate with Other Local Governments Collaboration and Public Networks Cities determine whether or not to pursue collaborative projects Cities, along with other governmental entities and non-governmental organizational entities, operate in a network or a web of relations City may collaborate as trade-off for future benefits on other projects. Various models of collaborative management

Models of Collaborative Management Active Jurisdiction-based Donor-recipient Collaborative Activity Top-down Reactive Contented Abstinence Inactive Passive Opportunistic Collaborative Strategy

Challenges to Intergovernmental Collaboration Need to develop a joint understanding of the problem Problems addressed through collaboration do not need to be identical for each partner Collaboration does need to provide some kind of benefit to parties involved Benefits can be actual or perceived

Challenges to Intergovernmental Collaboration Need to develop a joint understanding of the possible solution Identification of problem is first part of equation Collaborative solution needs to satisfy the parties involved in the manner they expect

Challenges to Intergovernmental Collaboration Negotiate an agreement to share responsibilities and costs Role of the written agreement is to memorialize the determination of the partners’ responsibilities and costs See Attachment B – 28E Agreement Checklist See also the 28E website - https://www.sos.state.ia.us/28E

Challenges to Intergovernmental Collaboration Determine a management structure This is vital if the collaboration creates a governmental entity The structure needs to address Governance Financial obligations Liability issues Termination procedures

Challenges to Intergovernmental Collaboration Bring other interests into the agreement Intergovernmental collaboration has impacts beyond policy makers Staff is impacted by change in operations Operational culture of collaborating organizations can have impact Agreements impact citizens – agreement may make perfect sense to everyone but the citizen

Challenges to Intergovernmental Collaboration Agree to methods of evaluation How do you know that the collaborative arrangement is working? Are there measurements of success or expected outcomes?

Challenges to Intergovernmental Collaboration Agree to address changes which may occur over time. Determine an “exit strategy”

Unique area of Intergovernmental Relations Participation in legislative and regulatory process Who represents city interests? Iowa League of Cities Some cities have their own city lobbyists Some cities are part of regional groups – such as NW Iowa League, MAC, Metro Coalition, etc… Variety of intergovernmental groups represent some aspects of cities issues Other Groups - Chamber of Commerce Cities have their own lobbyists – Des Moines, WDM, Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Iowa City, etc. Business – ABI, PDI, etc.

League of Cities – Legislative/Regulatory One staff lobbyist – Dustin Miller Fiscal Analyst – Erin Mullenix Legal Counsel – Terry Timmins & Bruce Bergman One contract lobbyist – Jessica Harder

League Legislative Team: What do we do Track all Legislation and Amendments and review to determine impact on cities Attend meetings to represent interests of cities Work to form alliances and cooperate with ALL interests who share the same position on an issue ex. Open Meetings/Records, Competitive Bid Issues - Counties, Schools, Regents, Hospitals, Rural Water, Municipal Utilities In the off-season, right now, we are working on our own legislative agenda – to do this we consult first with the membership and then with other groups to find out what types of legislation they will be working on

Iowa Legislative process: Current Political Makeup House of Representatives 53 Republicans 47 Democrats Senate 26 Democrats 24 Republicans Governor Terry Branstad (R) Cities have their own lobbyists – Des Moines, WDM, Cedar Rapids, Coralville, Iowa City, etc. Business – ABI, PDI, etc.

Iowa Legislative Process How A Bill Becomes A Law - Flow chart makes it sound SO logical – a bill goes from here to there Its very hard to pass a bill and VERY few bills are passed each year – many proposals have to be introduced for many, many years in order to be passed. Ex: took the city of DSM ten years to increase their parking ticket fees from $10 to $15.

Iowa Legislative Process: Reality Very few bills actually become law – 2009 session – 2,043 bills were introduced, but ONLY 184 were actually passed. That means that only 9% of the bills that were introduced were actually passed and became law - .090% Of those bills, 12 were appropriations-related legislation that pass every session. So, if you eliminate those - .084% of other legislative ideas actually passed. Amendments are an important part of the process – 3,193 were drafted and 1,149 were filed Its very hard to pass a bill and VERY few bills are passed each year – many proposals have to be introduced for many, many years in order to be passed. Ex: took the city of DSM ten years to increase their parking ticket fees from $10 to $15.

Iowa Legislative Process: Difficulty of Passing a Bill The system we operate within is set up so that bills DON’T pass It is much easier to kill a bill than to pass one At every step along the way there are obstacles, both overt and hidden Key is to have a legislative champion to work on the inside to support the issue and to have a STRONG collaborative group working for passage and to KNOW the process.

Iowa Legislative Process: Citizen Legislators Part-time Varied backgrounds 3+ month time period with 100s of bills Committee assignments Committee staff

Iowa Legislative Process: How A Bill Becomes A Law First a bill must be sponsored by a Legislator or Committee Drafted by nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency Filed by legislator as a H.F./S.F. or HSB/SSB Assigned a Subcommittee Subcommittee Hearing Pass Subcommittee – 3/5/7 members – apptd by Chair Brought up and pass Committee – usually 21 members in House and 15 in Senate – need majority of Committee to pass a bill, only a majority of those present to pass an amendment A bill can be proposed by an individual legislator, or sponsored by a legislative committee of the House or Senate, for example the Local Government committee. The party in power – the majority leader, committee chair – decide what bills will get a subcommittee. If they pass out of a subcommittee, usually three people (two of the party in power and one of the minority party) then they go to the full committee for consideration.

Iowa Legislative Process: How A Bill Becomes A Law Pass floor – must be placed on debate calendar and receive Constitutional majority to pass need 26 in the Senate and 51 in the House - don’t need 150 people amendments need a majority of those present Message to other Chamber and do it all again Conference Committee

Obstacles At every step along this route, there are obstacles to overcome and hidden ways in which a bill can die – there is so much process to the process Back rooms and closed discussions – say one thing and do another Not all legislators have same ability, clout Schedule and rules – funnels Drafted wrong Poison Pill Amendment

Iowa Legislative Process Its very hard to pass a bill and VERY few bills are passed each year – many proposals have to be introduced for many, many years in order to be passed. Ex: took the city of DSM ten years to increase their parking ticket fees from $10 to $15.

How can YOU work collaboratively with us? Stay Informed – weekly Legislative Link and Action Calls Attend legislative meetings sponsored by League or other groups to keep you updated Attend forums with your legislators – ask questions Develop a relationship with your legislators NOW – they are elected to serve the public and cities are an important constituency for them If there is someone you think would be good – help them get elected – yard signs, host a fundraiser, $$ Talk about the fiscal conditions survey and regional meetings

Senator for Newton Dennis Black (D) Standing Committee Assignments Agriculture Appropriations Natural Resources and Environment (Vice Chair) Veterans Affairs Ways and Means Time in Legislature Senator Since 1995 Rep from 1983 to 1995 Its very hard to pass a bill and VERY few bills are passed each year – many proposals have to be introduced for many, many years in order to be passed. Ex: took the city of DSM ten years to increase their parking ticket fees from $10 to $15. Background Retired conservationist. Resides in Grinnell. Received B.S. in forest management and M.S. in natural resource economics from Utah State University. Member of Izaak Walton League, Iowa Sister State Taiwan Committee, Jasper Community Foundation Board of Directors. Same barber as Dustin Miller.

Representative for Newton Dan Kelley (D) Standing Committee Assignments Agriculture Environmental Protection Ways and Means Time in Legislature Member Since 2011 Background Profession: Realtor, owner and operator of Dan Kelley D. J. Service. Education: Received B.A. with honors in communications studies from the University of Iowa. Memberships and Activities: Served as president of Newton Board of realtors; 2007 Newton Board of Realtors; executive board of directors, Newton Housing and Development Corporation; Board member Newton Chamber of Commerce. Birth and Residence: Born in 1970 in Marshalltown. Raised and resides in Newton. Its very hard to pass a bill and VERY few bills are passed each year – many proposals have to be introduced for many, many years in order to be passed. Ex: took the city of DSM ten years to increase their parking ticket fees from $10 to $15.

Senators for Urbandale Jake Chapman (R) Standing Committee Assignments Commerce Economic Growth (Ranking Member) Labor and Business Relations State Government Ways and Means Its very hard to pass a bill and VERY few bills are passed each year – many proposals have to be introduced for many, many years in order to be passed. Ex: took the city of DSM ten years to increase their parking ticket fees from $10 to $15. Brad Zaun (R) Standing Committee Assignments Education Judiciary Local Government

Representatives for Urbandale John Forbes (D) Standing Committee Assignments Commerce Local Government Transportation Ways and Means Jake Highfill (R) Standing Committee Assignments Appropriations Local Government Natural Resources State Government (Vice Chair) Its very hard to pass a bill and VERY few bills are passed each year – many proposals have to be introduced for many, many years in order to be passed. Ex: took the city of DSM ten years to increase their parking ticket fees from $10 to $15. Ralph Watts (R) Standing Committee Assignments Appropriations Commerce Labor State Government

COMMUNICATE Most important thing you can do during session is communicate with us to let us know what you are hearing in your community Dustin Miller dustinmiller@iowaleague.org (515)883-0925

QUESTIONS?