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City staff brief committee on legislative changes for housing, ALPR rules and public-safety tax certification
Summary
Staff summarized the 2026 legislative session’s relevant outcomes: limited gains on indigent defense funding, capital-budget funding for manufactured-home preservation, a STEP housing law affecting local siting, and new state regulations for automated license-plate readers with privacy provisions; staff also described the certification process tied to a public-safety sales tax option.
Jennifer briefed the committee on legislation that could affect city policy and budgeting. She said advocacy on indigent defense funding produced little direct state support for cities this session and that proposals to expand sales taxes on services could have revenue impacts for municipalities.
On housing, Jennifer said the capital budget included funding for manufactured-home-park acquisition and preservation and that the STEP housing law (shelter, transitional, emergency and permanent supportive housing) codifies processes cities use to site and operate certain housing types. She said staff will provide more detail on how the capital funding and STEP law intersect with local projects.
Jennifer told the committee the state passed regulations for automated license-plate readers that include privacy protections and exemptions from disclosure and permit cities that have ALPR systems to use them for felony and gross-misdemeanor investigations; she said the city’s existing vendor is Flock.
Council members asked whether the state changes require tweaks to local management-plan or permitting ordinances for shelters and supportive housing; Jennifer said the city currently treats management plans as a parallel, collaborative process and that staff will watch for needed adjustments. She also described the public-safety sales-tax option tied to House Bill 2015: the city has submitted paperwork to the Criminal Justice Training Commission seeking certification required to avoid penalty provisions in the law before a council chooses to implement the tax option.
No formal votes were taken. Council members asked staff to return with more detailed analysis on funding implications, ordinance implications for management plans and any adjustments needed for ALPR operations in light of the new state rules.
