Evacuation and water quality top Longboat's legislative priorities

Improving evacuation routes for barrier island residents and water quality concerns – with an emphasis on red tide  - have been moved up the Longboat Key commissioners 2019 legislative priorities list.

These priorities will be presented later this month to the Sarasota and Manatee county delegations for the upcoming 2019 Legislative session in Tallahassee.

The priorities, developed by Town Manager Tom Harmer, Town Attorney Maggie Mooney and David Ramba, the town’s Tallahassee-based lobbyist, emphasize Longboat Key’s needs, wants and concerns going into the new year.

“These are based on recommendations from our lobbyist,” Harmer said.

The other nine priorities on the town’s list include:

• Support state funding for beach nourishment.
• Support changes to existing state law relating to vacation rentals that permit grandfathered local governments to modify existing short-term rental regulations.
• Support the maintenance of local business tax, communications services tax and tax-exempt municipal bonds.
• Support legislation that recognizes and addresses the need for planning for sea level rise concerns.
• Support legislation that provides opportunities for increased and alternative revenue sources for municipal transportation infrastructure projects.
• Oppose legislation that pre-empts local governments’ home rule authority, including legislation relating to local impact fees.
• Support legislation to expand usage of collected tourist taxes for both public safety services and infrastructure maintenance, repair and replacement in municipalities where substantial portions of a county’s tourist taxes are collected.
• Support the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government conducting an independent evaluation of the unique impacts of being in two counties.
• Advance funding for implementation of immediate and long-term recommendations identified in the Barrier Island Traffic Study to address significant seasonal traffic issues.

The town’s legislative priorities will be presented at the Manatee County Legislative Delegation Hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19 at the Manatee County Commission Chambers, 1112 Manatee Ave. West, Bradenton. A date for the Sarasota County Legislative Delegation hearing has not yet been scheduled.