HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.2 Support Roth Amendment (2) CITY OF DUBLIN
AGENDA STATEMENT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: October 28, 1991
SUBJECT: Letters in Support of the Roth Amendment
(Prepared by: Bo Barker, Management Assistant)
EXHIBITS ATTACHED: Draft Letters of Support
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the Mayor to execute letters in support of
he Roth Amendment
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FINANCIAL STATEMENT:None
DESCRIPTION: Senator William Roth has introduced new language to amend
the Defense Authorization Act. The Amendment would clarify Section 8125,
regarding conveying closed military bases to the neighboring local
communities .
The bill previously did not state this as the original intention of Section
8125 . Without the Amendment, the State would have control over the land
and decide to keep the base or to designate some other entity to receive
it. The Roth Amendment would return control of closed military bases to
local governments . The National League of Cities has written all
California Cities to muster support for the "Roth Amendment . "
Staff recommends letters be sent to Congressman Julian Dixon and
Congressman Jerry Lewis . These are the two California representatives on
committees in which the bill is scheduled to be heard.
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COPIES TO:
ITEM No. AWAo C ITY CLERK
FILE 0 0
DRAFT
October 29, 1991
Honorable Jerry Lewis Honorable Julian Dixon
2312 Rayburn HOB 2400 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515 Washington, D.C. 20515
RE: Roth Amendment to Defense Authorization Bill
Dear Mr. Lewis and Mr. Dixon:
At the regular City Council meeting on October 28, 1991 , the City Council considered the
legislation referenced above. On behalf of the City Council and the residents of the City
of Dublin urge you to support an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill that Senatoro
William Roth has submitted.
The Roth Amendment will clarify and improve the language of Section 8125 adopted by the
Senate Appropriations Committee. The Committee language is identical to an amendment
recently adopted (67-30) by the Senate on the Defense Authorization Act. The stated purpose
of that language is to convey closed military bases to the neighboring local communities.
Unfortunately, that would not be the effect of the section without the amendment. Through
an oversight in the drafting of that section, local communities would not receive the
property from the federal government. Instead, it is the State which would decide whether
to keep the base itself or to designate some other entity to receive it.
It is clear this was not the intended result of the legislation from the findings and
purposes provisions of Section 8125. For example, one excerpt reads: the purpose of the
section is to help impacted local communities "by authorizing the real and excess related
personal property, on which the military installations are located, to be conveyed to the
impacted community as soon as possible after a decision to close the military installation
is made."
We are also concerned with the committee language in the provisions allowing the Department
of Defense to retain five bases which could be sold to the highest bidder. Our concern is
that in those instances, the local communities are not given zoning authority prior to the
sale of the land by the Department. Such authority is vital if those communities are to
ensure that the development which occurs on the excess property is needed and can be
supported by existing infrastructure.
Senator Roth's amendment will address the concerns mentioned and assure that this section of
the bill actually achieves the desired result. Without its adoption, that section will do
little to help those communities impacted by a base closing.
Sincerely,
DRAFT
Peter W. Snyder
Mayor
City of Dublin
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cc: Congressman Fortney "Pete" Stark, 9th District