Council discusses city's legislative priorities

At its Tuesday luncheon, Springfield City Council spelled out its list of 2009 legislative priorities.

Council named three priorities at the top of its list of most important issues:

· Red light legislation. The city wants the civil penalties assessed by its red-light camera system put into state statute, along with provisions to ensure that fines go to the city to pay for the camera system rather than to other subdivisions.

· Local governing power. As it has for several years, the city is asking the state and federal governments to refrain from limiting local authority on a variety of issues, including local franchising authority, taxation, smoking and business licensing.

· Public transit support. The city is asking for legislative support for public transit systems, noting that Springfield's bus system is subsidized by City Utilities.

Council also is asking for state legislation to provide tax credits for home builders to install automatic fire suppression systems in new homes. The request is a response to new guidelines in international fire code for sprinkler systems in new homes.

Other priorities include support of increases for the state Aviation Trust Fund, which supports public airports; Sunshine Law exemptions for police internal affairs records; and continued support for statewide economic development programs.

Council is expected to vote on the official priority list sometime in January; the Missouri General Assembly convenes Jan. 7.

Read more about the city's legislative priorities in SBJ's Dec. 15 issue.