Council previews state and federal legislative agenda with public‑safety focus
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Council reviewed a BGIR committee legislative package that elevates public safety priorities — mental‑health investments, officer recruitment/retention, justice system resources, reestablishing a local juvenile detention center, and transit‑operator protections — and plans to adopt the agenda ahead of federal advocacy and the NC short session.
Councilmember Ashmira presented the BGIR committee’s state and federal legislative agenda during the Feb. 9 meeting, emphasizing public safety as the centerpiece of the package. The committee established tiered priorities: tier 1 highlights urgent requests to state lawmakers (mental‑health resources for crisis response, law‑enforcement recruitment and retention support, additional justice‑system resources including the district attorney and public defender offices, and reestablishing a local juvenile detention facility), while tier 2 includes other safety and planning items.
Ashmira said the agenda was shaped by broad stakeholder input, including the county, DA’s office and community groups, and noted timing pressures: federal advocacy meetings are scheduled in March and North Carolina’s short session begins in April. Councilmembers discussed several additions or clarifications — for example, support for aging‑in‑place legislation (Senate bill 349 referenced in committee conversation), concern about IOLTA funding for legal aid being withheld, and a request to consider more specific red‑light camera language. Staff said the legislative packet can be refined before the Feb. 23 vote to reflect council priorities.
Next step: staff will finalize the legislative agenda for council adoption at the upcoming meeting so the city can present unified policy asks at federal and state meetings.