Official Publication of the National League of Cities OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES
NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY
Volume 34, Number 44 | December 5, 2011
IN THIS ISSUE
www.nlc.org
PAGE 3
PAGE 3
Report Highlights Growth of ‘Bank On’
Programs in Cities Nationwide
PAGE 4
Green Cities Conference Offers Cities
Strategies to Advance Sustainability
PAGES 8-9
Constituency Groups Meet, Honor
Officials at Congress of Cities
National Municipal Policy Adopted at Congress of Cities
by Federal Relations Staff
The 2011 NLC Congress of Cities
and Exhibition culminated last month
with the 88th Annual Business Meeting.
In addition to electing new officers for
the organization, nearly 700 delegates
from cities and towns across the country
approved additions and changes to the
National Municipal Policy (NMP) for
the coming year. The NMP consists of
policy statements that guide NLC’s fed-
eral advocacy efforts on a wide range of
issues impacting municipalities, includ-
ing transportation, federal funding, sus-
tainability and tax reform.
nications network and acceleration of
broadband deployment nationwide. An
additional resolution ratified in Phoenix
highlights NLC’s positions on an issue
that remains front and center both in
Arizona at across the nation: comprehensive immigration reform.
At meetings in Washington in
December and January, NLC’s leadership will use the NMP to set the organization’s federal legislative priorities
for 2012.
A more detailed overview of the pol-
icy and advocacy committees’ work fol-
lows.
After focusing its work this year on
studying federal tax policies that would
promote city fiscal health during these
challenging economic times, the Finance,
Administration and Intergovernmental
Relations Committee (FAIR), chaired
by Homewood, Ala., Councilman
David Hooks, introduced a resolution
calling for a balanced approach to deficit
reduction. The resolution asks Congress
and the Administration to partner with
NLC members discuss the National Municipal Policy during the Annual Business Meeting at the
Congress of Cities and Exposition in Phoenix./ Photo by Steve Schneider
cities and towns in all related efforts and
to maintain critical investments in our
nation’s hometowns.
In addition, the FAIR committee recommended three changes to the NMP:
(1) clarification that the American
Community Census has been implemented by the U.S. Census Bureau;
( 2) addition of an introduction to the
existing section on Federal Budgetary
Practice; and ( 3) incorporation of a resolution calling for reforms to federal court
imposed consent decrees into permanent
NLC policy.
The Energy, Environment and
Natural Resources Committee (EENR),
chaired by Cleveland Councilman Matt
Zone, focused its work this year on the
topics of natural gas and the potential
impact on drinking water resources;
electric vehicle infrastructure and the
need for smart grid technology; and sustainability as it relates to public health
— including the nation’s farm and
food systems. Additionally, an EENR
subcommittee took a special look at the
NLC nuclear policy language in light of
the earthquake and Tsunami that shut
down several Japanese nuclear reactors
earlier this year.
The committee recommended several
see page 12, column 1
House, Senate Not Likely to Agree on Long-
Term Transportation Bill This Year
by Leslie Wollack
Newspaper Handling
In remarks at a transportation
meeting in Washington, D.C., last
week, House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Chairman
John Mica (R-Fla.) announced that the
House would not move on a long-term
surface transportation bill before the end
of the year. Mica cited the lack of time
on the House calendar as the reason
for the delay after House Speaker John
Boehner (R-Ohio) had promised to pass
a transportation bill before the end of
the year. The current short-term exten-
sion of federal transportation programs
expires in March 2012.
It is highly improbable that Congress
will reach an agreement by that time,
and thus it will likely be forced to enact
a ninth extension of federal transporta-
tion programs since the current pro-
gram, known as SAFETEA-LU, expired
in September 2009.
see page 12, column 1
