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Council forms three-member legislative affairs subcommittee to shape College Station's state agenda
Summary
During a workshop discussion the council agreed to create a council subcommittee on legislative affairs, assigned three council members to begin work with staff and lobbyists, and asked staff to draft a resolution formalizing the committee's charge and terms.
The College Station City Council on Jan. 23 agreed to form a three-member subcommittee on legislative affairs to develop and shepherd a city legislative agenda for the 2025 session and interim work.
Ross Brady, chief of staff in the city manager's office, said the item was aimed at giving the council a standing group to work with the city's lobbyists, identify priorities and maintain continuity between legislative sessions. "A couple of things that we would like direction on would be the composition of the committee... the role or activities you envision the committee performing, and the length of term for that committee," Brady said.
Councilmember David White urged quick action and proposed a two-year term so the committee can follow items through the interim and into the next session. "I think the role is to work with our lobbyist to identify the areas that really impact College Station," White said. "I think that we need to come up with our legislative agenda fairly soon, develop that agenda, run it by council, get approval, and then start implementing it, being very active in Austin."
Council discussion settled on a three-member council committee that will work with staff and could invite additional experts or stakeholders to participate as needed. Mayor John P. Nichols identified Councilmembers White, Tonya McElhinney and Mark Wright as volunteers; the council asked staff to draft a resolution or ordinance to formalize the committee's charge and term and to return to council with that document at a future meeting.
Next steps: Staff will prepare a resolution establishing the subcommittee's composition, role and term and return to the council for formal adoption. The subcommittee may begin work informally with staff and the city's lobbyist before final adoption so the city can act during the current legislative session.
Ending: The council did not adopt a resolution at the Jan. 23 meeting; it identified members and asked staff to prepare a formal document for a future meeting.
