Each year the City Commission adopts a legislative agenda packet listing the policies, projects and special interests of the City of Oakland Park, to be presented to local, state and federal legislative bodies and agencies, to further our goals and objectives.

The legislative agenda includes issues identified in past legislative agendas that remain a concern/priority at the federal, state and local levels. The 2022 Legislative Agenda also includes the following priorities of interest at the local level that require a broader attention by County,  State and Federal level as follows:

• Support for comprehensive Climate Change legislation that provides supporting resources to actively reduce the underlying causes of Climate Change, promotes sustainability, and provides communities with the resources and resiliency tools needed to plan and implement strategies to mitigate and adapt to sea-level rise and other environmental issues, including financial support for critical infrastructure improvements.

•  Support legislation that addresses the increasing cost and lack of availability of property insurance.

•  Support for legislation that restricts retail pet stores from selling puppies and kittens from "puppy mills or kitten factories" (On December 6, 2017, the City Commissions adopted ordinance O-2017-018 regulating the sale of dogs and cats).

•  Oppose additional pre-emption legislation that would impact local zoning regulations and place those restrictions on certain businesses like Group Homes, Vacation Homes, and Massage Parlors.   

•  Installation of solar powered school indicator lights for safe school zones.

•  Support of the combined efforts of the CDC and DOJ to curtail the overprescribing of opioids.

•  Denouncing of Hatred, Intolerance, Extremism and Discrimination.

•  Support legislation that removes preemption on municipal authority as it relates to the regulation of short-term rental properties (On March 21, 2018, the City Commission amended Chapter 7, Licenses and Business Regulations, by adopting ordinance O-2018-008 regulating Vacation Rentals).   

•  Encourage opposition to exploratory oil drilling and fracking in the Everglades in order to protect the Biscayne Aquifer. 

•  Obtain the support of federal and state transportation agencies to regulate railroad operations that impact municipalities. 

•  Continue to explore partnership and potential reuse efforts of the downtown Post Office with the United States Postal Service. 

•  Support the efforts of FDOT, Broward County and other components of  the Coastal Link commuter rail to support the locally preferred option that designates a commuter rail stop in Oakland Park. 

•  Support of issues that will further Conservation, Agriculture/Ecological, Job Creation, Environmental and Economic Development.

•  Support a fair and equitable State and Congressional reapportionment process that provides appropriate representation for Oakland Park.

•  Support for local governments to retain the authority to enact appropriate regulations as it relates to electric scooter and bicycle sharing.

•  Support legislation that creates a dedicated, recurring revenue stream at the state level to fund school resource officers.

•  Advocate support from Florida Department of Emergency Management to curtail price gauging on Disaster debris removal and disposal services and ensure availability of resources to address post-storm recovery.

•  Support for state legislation participating in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) that would allow for their employees who chose not to join the FRS at the time the local agency joined FRS to have a second, one-time election option to join FRS if that local agency's retirement program's pension system was later frozen after the agency joined FRS*. 

•  Support for Affordable Housing

The Florida League of Cities (FLC) approved Action Agenda for 2022 is attached, as is the draft 2021 Broward County State Legislative & Executive Program. The Broward League of Cities (BLC) 2022 Legislative Action Plan is pending at time of the item's publication. The City Commission may choose to provide general support for these legislative priorities, as not all issues may apply to the City.

Key Legislative Dates are listed below:

• January 11, 2022 –Legislative Session Convenes
• March 11, 2022 – Legislative Session Adjourns

The full list of major legislative dates is attached.

Upon adoption of the FY 2022 Legislative Agenda, the City Commission (individually and/or collectively), the City's lobbying consultant and appropriate staff will be authorized to advocate on behalf of the City of Oakland Park in person or in writing in an effort to move forward with the legislative agenda objectives. Additionally, funds are included in the FY 22 adopted budget to provide for City Commissioners and/or staff to periodically attend key legislative meetings locally and out-of-town as the need arises

*This request results from actions by the City more than a decade ago that first closed and then subsequently froze the General Employee Retirement Plan thus impacting those employees who elected to remain in the plan rather than joining FRS.