Okaloosa County BOCC — March 18, 2013 — Agenda — reading text

OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA 2013 FEDERAL AGENDA JIM DAVENPORT, ESQ., PARTNER 2111 WILSON BLVD., 8TH FLOOR ~ ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22201 703-841-0626 ~ Davenport@Alcalde-Fay.com BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS & STAFF THE HONORABLE DON AMUNDS, CHAIRMAN THE HONORABLE DAVE PARISOT, VICE CHAIRMAN THE HONORABLE WAYNE HARRIS THE HONORABLE CHARLES WINDES, JR. THE HONORABLE NATHAN BOYLES JIM CURRY, COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR  TABLE OF CONTENTS OKALOOSA COUNTY’S LOCAL & REGIONAL PRIORITIES PAGE 1 SEQUESTRATION & APPROPRIATIONS PAGE 2 TAX & FINANCE PAGE 3 TRANSPORTATION & PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PAGE 4 WATER RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT PAGE 5 PUBLIC SAFETY & EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PAGE 6 AGRICULTURE PAGE 8 HEALTH CARE PAGE 9 TELECOMMUNICATION PAGE 9 OKALOOSA COUNTY’S LOCAL & REGIONAL PRIORITIES IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESTORE ACT REQUEST: Monitor implementation of the RESTORE Act. The Department of Treasury will propose rules pertaining to the distribution of the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund dollars. In particular, the eight disproportionately impacted counties, including Okaloosa County, are to receive 75% of Florida’s share of the State Allocation. The formula to distribute this money to the eight counties has yet to be determined, and we ask for your continued assistance in monitoring activity at Treasury. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES REQUEST: Support the County’s federal grant proposals for Economic Development Administration Public Works funding. This funding would support one of several County economic development initiatives, such as: (1) Fairchild Road Paving – main route to Crestview Industrial Airpark. Paving is needed for aerospace/aviation/manufacturing cluster development; (2) Foy Shaw Road Development – access to Crestview Industrial Airpark. Road is needed for continued development of airpark and cluster development; and (3) unmanned vehicle RDT&E facility OKALOOSA COUNTY SHORE PROTECTION PROJECT REQUEST: Seek $20 million in the fiscal year 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill for “General Investigations – Shore Protection”, which would support the County’s efforts to obtain funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a feasibility study of the Okaloosa County Shore Protection Project. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s latest Critically Eroded Beaches in Florida report identified 6.5 miles of Okaloosa County beaches and 0.8 miles of inlet shoreline as critically eroded. Due to major storms, hurricanes and severe weather patterns, the shoreline in this region has been subject to significant erosion. We are pursuing a feasibility study by the USACE to determine a long-term solution to the worsening countywide erosion problems. The next feasibility study would cost approximately $3,000,000, which entails the development of a work plan that will effectively safeguard our shoreline from further erosion. Page |1 SEQUESTRATION &APPROPRIATIONS SEQUESTRATION OPPOSE automatic across-the-board cuts to federal programs that support county initiatives. In addition to significant impacts to Eglin Air Force Base, sequestration will cut 5 – 8% to several federal programs that benefit the County, such as:  Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief and State and Local Programs  Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), Homeless Assistance Grants, and Public Housing Funds  Department of Justice’s State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Juvenile Justice Programs, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), and Violence Against Women Prevention  Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Programs  Federal Aviation Administration’s activities (i.e. funding of the Destin Airport Air Traffic Control Tower), including TSA security  Economic Development Administration’s Public Assistance Programs  Army Corps of Engineers Shore Protection  Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services FISCAL YEAR 2014 PROGRAMMATIC FUNDING REQUESTS FOR COMPETITIVE GRANTS SUPPORT federal programs in FY 2014 appropriations legislation that enhance County services through federal formulas and competitive grants and submit programmatic appropriations requests to the House/Senate Appropriations Committees that meet or exceed the President’s Budget Request, for the following:  Agriculture – Rural Development Programs  Commerce, Justice & Science – Commerce – Economic Development Administration; and Department of Justice – State and Local Assistance Programs  Energy & Water Development – Army Corps of Engineers– General Investigations (i.e. Okaloosa County Shore Protection Project), Construction Page |2  and Operation and Maintenance; and Energy – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy  Interior & Environment – EPA Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund; and Land & Water Conservation Fund (i.e. County reclaimed water system)  Homeland Security – State and Local Programs; and Federal Emergency Management Agency programs  Labor, Health and Human Services and Education – Health and Human Services – Community Health Programs; and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Programs  Transportation & Housing and Urban Development – Federal Aviation Administration Programs (i.e. Destin Air Traffic Control Tower); Federal Highway Administration Programs (i.e. Hare Street, PJ Adams Road, SR 123, and Bob Sykes Airport Main Entrance); and Housing and Urban Development Programs – including CDBG More specific funding requests will be submitted during the Fiscal Year 2014 Appropriations solicitation process. TAX & FINANCE MUNICIPAL BONDS SUPPORT the current tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. Businesses need quality infrastructure to grow and thrive that is provided through tax-exempt financing of capital projects, such as airports, roads, electricity distribution and generation, water and sewer facilities, and flood control projects. Retaining tax- exempt financing for state and municipal governments will encourage continued local investment in these types of capital projects. REMOTE SALES TAX COLLECTION SUPPORT legislation that would create a Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, similar to The Marketplace Fairness Act that failed in the 112th Congress, that would permit the collection of sales and use taxes from remote sellers. States Page |3  and local governments are losing billions of dollars in uncollected sales tax revenue every year, estimated at over $23 billion in 2012 alone. ONLINE TRAVEL COMPANIES (OTCS) OPPOSE legislation that would preempt local taxing authority over Online Travel Companies (OTCs). Hotel taxes are a vital revenue source for counties in Florida and our tourism industry. This tax revenue source is being threatened by efforts of the OTCs to obtain preferential tax treatment at the expense of local government budgets. OTCs collect all funds from the consumers at the time rooms are booked, including taxes and fees. But they only remit taxes based on what it owes the hotel, rather than what it collected from the consumer, short‐changing local governments while pocketing the difference. This practice is currently the subject of numerous lawsuits across the country. Consequently, OTCs are seeking federal legislation to preempt the authority of state and local governments to impose and collect hotel taxes from the OTCs. TRANSPORTATION & PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION REAUTHORIZATION SUPPORT new surface transportation authorizing legislation that would support County roads and transportation projects. The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) transportation reauthorization bill expires on September 30, 2014. The bill provides level funding from the previous SAFETEA-LU Bill, and more robust funding is needed to keep up with local transportation infrastructure improvements. Specifically, the County needs to make improvements to the following:  Hare Street – upgrade with curb, gutter, associated drainage and paving = $4 million  PJ Adams Road – construction of the south segment of PJ Adams with roadway improvements (2 lane to 4 lane) from SR 85S to Wildhorse Drive = $10 million  SR 123 – construction of the south segment of SR123 with roadway improvements (2 lane to 4 lane) from north of SR85S to north of Toms Creek = $20 million Page |4 NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE BANK SUPPORT legislation to establish a national infrastructure bank. Legislation in the 112th Congress envisioned the bank as a $5 billion fund housed within the Department of Transportation that would provide loans, loan guarantees, and grants for infrastructure projects only. The County would support a bank that would enrich public-private investments in local infrastructure. TIGER AND TIFIA PROGRAMS SUPPORT targeted investments in highways, transit, rail, and aviation. Continue to provide funding for the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) programs. Investments in job-training programs in the construction sector help modernize infrastructure and to create jobs. WATER RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT (WRDA) SUPPORT a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) that allows for post- disaster assistance and water infrastructure financing. The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s WRDA draft that was released in 2012 created new authority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to conduct post disaster watershed assessments and to implement critical flood control and ecosystem restoration projects. The new title also establishes an innovative financing mechanism, known as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), to allow the USACE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide loans and loan guarantees for flood control, water supply, and wastewater infrastructure projects. A WIFIA program could provide potential assistance for County water and wastewater infrastructure. WATER AND SEWER REGULATIONS MONITOR Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory policies that would have a direct impact on local communities. The EPA released its Semiannual Regulatory Plan, which outlines the significant regulatory policies and priorities the Page |5  Agency intends to review in the coming months. Many of these issues could affect our community, including:  EPA’s Pending Clean Water Protection Rule (aka "Waters of the U.S." Rule);  National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for Lead, Copper, and Perchlorate;  NPDES Permit Requirements for Municipal Sanitary Systems, Municipal Satellite Collection Systems, Sanitary Sewer Overflows, and Peak Excess Flow Treatment Facilities;