Agenda

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LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	10/03/2019
Subject: State Legislative Advocacy Contract Procurement Process
Submitted For:	LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
Department:	County Administrator
Referral No.:	2019-26
Referral Name:	State Legislative Advocacy Contract Procurement Process
Presenter:	L. DeLaney	Contact:	L. DeLaney, 925-335-1097

Information

Referral History:

At its September 9, 2019 meeting, the Legislation Committee directed staff to return this matter to the Committee for further consideration at its October meeting. Staff had prepared for the Committee's consideration a report on the state advocacy services contract which included a proposed timeline for a procurement process for a contract effective January 1, 2020. Staff was requesting input and direction from the Committee.

Referral Update:

Following the conclusion of a procurement process conducted by County Administrator staff in the spring/summer of 2019 to select a contractor to provide state legislative advocacy services to the County for a three-year period of time, a short-term contract with Nielsen Merksamer, a qualified responder, for the period of August 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 was executed and services are now being provided by a team of advocates that also includes water policy specialists from Cruz Strategies.

A "Legislative Training and Platform Input" session has been scheduled on October 9, 2019 for the Nielsen Merksamer team to conduct for the benefit of County department heads and other key staff. The Nielsen Merksamer team has also attended a County Administrator-hosted Department Head meeting in August 2019 to gather input on legislative and policy priorities. Nielsen Merksamer is actively engaged in the County's advocacy efforts and has expressed an interest in extending the contract beyond the period of December 31, 2019.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

PROVIDE input and direction to staff related to a contract for state legislative advocacy services for the period beginning January 1 2020.

Fiscal Impact (if any):

The County Administrator's Office budget includes appropriations for the County's legislative advocacy services.

Attachments
No file(s) attached.