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Communications as an area of responsibility for the Council Committee, and added that, if <br /> in agreement, staff would bring the item to Council as a Receive and File. <br /> MOTION: Adopt Council Committee Bylaws to include Communications to <br /> Powers and Duties: <br /> MOTION: Solorio SECOND: Sarmiento <br /> VOTE: AYES: Sarmiento, Solorio, <br /> NOES: None (0) <br /> ABSTAIN: None (0) <br /> ABSENT: Tinajero (1) <br /> The Committee expressed best wishes to Alma Flores, Strategic Communications <br /> Manager, as she leaves the City. <br /> 3. Federal Legislative Update from Holland & Knight <br /> Dan Maldonado and Leslie Pollner provided a federal legislative update which included FY <br /> 2018 appropriations, immigration issues such as the travel ban and DACA and the tax <br /> reform. Dan Maldonado explained that concerns have been raised with the tax reform plan <br /> at the state and local levels because it's believed that the House and Senate will move to <br /> eliminate the state and local tax (SALT) deduction which would impact local government. <br /> He added that Holland & Knight have been meeting with members of the California <br /> Republican Delegation to urge them to support retaining the SALT deduction. <br /> Councilmember Sarmiento asked if any announcements have been made by the <br /> Administration on punitive measures on cities that have declared themselves as sanctuary <br /> cities. Dan Maldonado responded that the issue is primarily in the court system and that <br /> because of some of the disasters there has been a step back on the enforcements, <br /> however, he believes we will start seeing some effort as we get to border security funding <br /> issues and a focus on interior enforcement. <br /> Councilmember Sarmiento mentioned that the Committee had requested a timeline of <br /> pending grants at the last meeting, and staff advised him that once the Schedule for <br /> Expenditure of Federal Awards numbers from the previous fiscal year are available, a report <br /> will be presented to the Council, most likely in November. <br /> 4. State Legislative Update from Townsend Public Affairs <br /> Casey Elliot reported that the California State Legislature concluded their legislative <br /> session on September 15th and there are about 500 bills on the Governor's desk. He added <br /> it was a productive session and shared some of the important items affecting Santa Ana <br /> that were able to be addressed such as affordable housing and the Park Bond. Casey <br /> Elliott also presented a summary of efforts undertaken by Townsend Public Affairs on <br /> behalf of the City during the last legislative session. <br /> Councilmember Sarmiento asked for the status of SB 231 and clarification on whether <br /> banning outdoor cannabis cultivation would make Santa Ana ineligibility for State grants. <br /> Casey Elliott mentioned that it's his understanding that local governments will not be <br /> eligible for grants if they do a complete ban of outdoor cannabis cultivation. <br /> Councilmember Solorio mentioned we want to avoid having City restrictions that would be <br /> Legislative Affairs, Ethics and Transparency Council Committee Minutes <br /> October 4, 2017, Page 2 <br />