Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 6 PM

Agenda 6 items

1. 1.
   23-1708 Committee Minutes Accepted

   Approval of the Minutes of the Legislative Matters Committee Meeting of November 14, 2023.

   Roll call: 5 aye

   • Lance L. DavisAye
   • Charlotte KellyAye
   • Willie Burnley Jr.Aye
   • Matthew McLaughlinAye
   • Jefferson Thomas (J.T.) ScottAye

   • 📎 Minutes - Leg Matters - 11-14-23 Full
2. 2.
   23-1781 Committee Minutes Kept in committee

   Approval of the Minutes of the Legislative Matters Committee Meeting of November 28, 2023.

   • 📎 Minutes - Leg Matters - 11-28-23 Full
3. 3.
   22-0838 Order Recommended to be marked work completed

   That the City Solicitor discuss this Council’s ability to ban landlords from passing real estate agent fees onto tenants.

   {\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\nowidctlpar\qj\f0\fs24 Solicitor Amara said that the Council would not be able to ban landlords from passing real estate agent fees onto tenants by ordinance; it would require a Home Rule Petition. She said that there is a pending state statute that is trying to do the same thing, though, and stressed that there would be issues of monitoring and enforcement even if Somerville were able to pass legislation. Councilor Burnley asked for more details on the pending state legislation, and Solicitor Amara said that she could follow up.\par \pard\cf1\f1\par }

4. 4.
   23-0622 Order Recommended to be marked work completed

   That the City Solicitor work with this Council to determine the legality of requiring businesses of a certain size to post in clearly visible spaces, Worker's Rights Bills, which shall include the right to form a union without retaliation and consequences for violating workers' rights.

   {\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\nowidctlpar\qj\f0\fs24 Solicitor Amara said that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has this provision in place and requires most businesses, with a few exceptions, to post employee rights such as the ability to organize. She said that she had not had conversations on what the Council would want to do beyond the NLRB\rquote s provisions. Chair Davis mentioned that the fact of whether a set of regulations was considered \ldblquote comprehensive\rdblquote had been discussed before as a factor in preemption, and he asked about the possibility of extending beyond what the NLRB requires. Solicitor Amara said that she would need more details on the applications. There was discussion on the role of franchises in the NLRB. Councilor Burnley asked if the city would be able to levy additional fines for NLRB violations, but Solicitor Amara said she was not aware of any place where \ldblquote parallel enforcement\rdblquote is allowed.\par \pard\cf1\f1\par }

5. 5.
   23-0461 Order Recommended to be marked work completed

   That the City Solicitor draft an Ordinance to protect homeowners from developer and realtor mail, phone and email harassment.

   {\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\nowidctlpar\qj\f0\fs24 Legislative & Policy Analyst Salisbury said that at the request of the Deputy City Solicitor, they contacted staff in Chicago, on whose legislation the drafted ordinance was based. Ultimately, this conversation led to the conclusion that Chicago\rquote s ordinance would not be viable in Somerville. This is because of the level of enforcement required and departmental capacity.\par \par Councilor Scott expressed interest in continuing the conversation on this issue and investigating how the city could license realtors. Analyst Salisbury said that they would coordinate with Intergovernmental Affairs and the Solicitor\rquote s Office after conducting some research.\par \pard\cf1\f1\par }

6. 6.
   22-0036 Order Recommended to be marked work completed

   That the City Solicitor draft an ordinance requiring pollution mitigation for new housing built along high transit roads and highways.

   {\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fprq2\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fnil\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue0;} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\nowidctlpar\qj\f0\fs24 Councilor McLaughlin said that he and local stakeholders would find a different venue for this issue.\par \pard\cf1\f1\par }