Item 41 - Federal Legislative Advocacy Services

Home Browse Search

Holland & Knight will research and track federal legislative and regulatory developments of interest to the City, including providing ongoing political intelligence regarding developments within Democratic and Republican Party caucuses, House and Senate committees, the White House and federal departments and agencies to help the City gain insights on proposed legislation, rulemaking and funding opportunities. When legislation or regulations are introduced that poses a threat or opportunity for the City, our team will share and provide analysis to the City. We are available 24/7 to answer questions about the political and policy landscape in Washington. Every Monday, we provide an update on key developments for the week ahead that may be of interest to the City. This includes Committee hearings, press events and major Administration announcements. We also send out our Eyes on Washington report at the end of the week recapping major developments in the Capitol. Federal Funding Holland & Knight understands the full range of funding opportunities that the City may choose to pursue and has the expertise to help the City secure additional critical resources. Whether helping to navigate the federal grant and appropriations process or accessing national philanthropic dollars, our team has an unparalleled track record of success. Appropriations: Our team will work closely with the City to determine how your priorities may benefit from the annual appropriations process and use our extensive relationships with the Senate and House Appropriations Committee members to achieve your funding priorities. Holland & Knight understands how to use the appropriations process to advance our clients' priorities and with the return of earmarks — Community Project Funding (CPF)/Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) — there is an unprecedented opportunity to secure funding for the City. Last year, we helped the City secure $2.5 million for the City's Downtown Business Improvement Initiative, which provided funding for a dedicated wireless network throughout the City's Business Improvement District as well as upgrades to the City's downtown parking structures for visitor, customer and employee use. This year, we have helped advance a $3.5 million CPF request to help expand and support the Santa Ana Multi -Disciplinary Response Teams (SMART), which is a pilot program that deploys trauma - informed social workers and mental health clinicians to respond to non -emergency 911 calls reducing the burden on the City's public safety system. SMART provides an immediate response to calls for service to the city and to the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) involving individuals experiencing mental health crises and/or substance abuse disorders. For both opportunities, we helped the City identify the potential project and arranged meetings with Rep. Correa's staff to discuss the projects' merits. We then helped craft the project narratives and assisted with submitting the applications to Rep. Correa's office. We provided strategic guidance to the City on letters of support. Our approach helped the City secure these highly competitive Community Project Funding requests. If selected to continue to represent the City, we will continue to shepherd the City's projects through the process from beginning to end. advocating for City projects before the appropriate congressional members and staff. Holland & Knight Confidential Presentation for City of Santa Ana 14