HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982 Resolution No. 048I
I
RESOLIJl'ION N;J , _A.a
SERIES OF 1982
A RESOLIJl'ION REQUESTING UNITED STATES CONGRES S TO PROVIDE
APPROPRIATE EX™PrIONS FOR MUNICIPALITIES FRCJ'l FEDERAL ANTITRUST
LIABILITY.
WHEREAS , the exposure of municipalit i es in Colorado and
t hroughout the c ountry to federal ant itrust lawsuits have been
greatly expanded as a r esult of recent decisions of the Uni ted
St a t es Supre me Co urt; a nd
WHEREAS, the pote ntial for trebl e damage a ward s and the
s ub stantial e xpen se of defending ant i trust 1 i tigati o11, e ven if
successful, may inhibit municipali ties from e nacti ng o r e nforcing
regulations whi c h a r e inte nded to protect the public he alth , safety
and welfare, but which also may be deemed to r estrict compe tition;
and
WHER EAS , the cos t to the taxpayers of one Co lorado
muni c ipali ty in defending one of these lawsuits, whi c h was settled
prior t o tri al , exc eeded $250 ,000 ; and
WH J::REAS , muni c ipalitie s dif fer from private enter prise in
that private e nterprise i s not charged wi th protecting the public
health, safe ty a nd welfa r e ; and
WHE REAS , nume rous protec tions from muni c i pa l regulations ,
other than trebl e dama ges unde r the fede ral ant itrust l aws , a re
ava ilable s uc h as public no ti ce , public hea ring , publi c me eting and
pub lic reco rd requirements , court revi ew o f act i ons, pe riodic
elections and the rights of initiated r efe rendum and r ecall , and
the cont :r,uing author ity o f the s tate Gene r al Assembly o r the
people of Colo r ado t o modi(y the statuto r y and cons titutiona l
authority of Co l o r ado • s muni c ipalities ; and
WHERl::AS , state legi s lation does not prov i de a ny ce r tain
solut ion ~o the problem a nd yea r s of litigation will be necessa ry
to d.'<:ide wh ethe r any s tate legi s lation meets th.a test established
by the U,S , Supreme Co ur t fo r local government a ntitrust irrrnunity;
a nd
WH;;HJ::AS , fede r al legi s lation can add r ess the probl em d irectly
by seek ing a spec i fic e xempt i on from the federal a nti t rust laws fo r
local governments and all or some of the ir act ivities ; and
WHEREAS , l ocal governments should not be impe ril ed when
engay ing i n tradit i o nal local government r eg ulatory activities such
zo ning , e nac ting a nd e n fo r cing bu ilding ar.d fi r e codes , r eg ulating
the use of public rights-of-way, licensing , f r a nc hi sing and the
my riad of o the r r eg ulat~ry act ivities traditionally e ng aged i n by
l oca l governmen t s;
No,/, 'l'HEREFORE, !lE I'l' 11ESOLVED BY CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
El>K:LEl-100D, COLORADO:
'!hat the Congress of the United States should act as quickly
as possible to provide appropriate exemptions for municipalities
from te<l e ral antitrust liability.
AOOl'l'ED AND APPROVED t ne 6th d ay of December, 1982.
Attest:
/s / Gary R . Hig b ~e
ex of ficio City Clerk-Treasure r
/s / Euge ne L. Oti•
Euge ne L. 0t1s, Mayor
l, Gary R. Higbee, ex officio City Cle r k-Treasur e r of the
Ci• · Englelo\'.lOd , Colorado, hereby certify that t he above and
for . rng is a true, accurate, and complete copy o f Resolution
No .~, Se ri es of 198 ?..
/s / Gary R. Hig!:>ee
Gary R. Higbee
I
TO:
FROM,
DATE ,
SUBJECT,
Colorado Municipal Leagu e
R E C [:. \ . j i:. 1 _,
Mayors and Managers or ClcrkH
Nil~ l ;i \90c.
Susan Ori H 1 tha, CML Goner al Counsel ·c C'
CHY t11AN l1Ullt'> llhl '
12 November 1982 ENGtEW OO D
Adoption of Resoluti or, Urging Federal l\ntitrust Exemption
Le g islation for Municipali tlos
With the recent elections c oncluded, no" i s an excellent time t o urge aupport
fr om our U.S . representatives and se notora for fed eral l cglsla t lon to p(ov t Jc
mun icipalities appropriate exemptions from (edo ral antitrust .li[j lJ tlity. f\
special Cl-IL commlttee of munlcipal offlcials met during the su1M1er to st ,<l y
munici pal ant itr ust conce rns , The corrunittee, chalred by Pat Aie 1 ... u ,
councilmember from Wheat Ridge, asked the League staff to draft a san,?l e
resolution which can be adopted by mu n icipalities urging such s uppor t from
Colorado I s Congressional delegation . The League 's Executi vo Board approved
the idea and • copy of the sam ple resolution is enclosed.
Both the Committee and t he Board are concerned over the increa sed ant i tr ust
oxpoe:u re of municipalities in Colorado and throughout the country resu lting
f rom recent U.S . SJpreme Court cleclsions . As you kno..,, the League worked with
inte r ested cities anij other local government asaociationn in 1982 f o r adoption
of: s tate leg i s l a tion to addrP.ss the antitru s t i ss ues. Wh ile the 19 02 stt.Lc
legislation wa s reported out of a House committee, it was opposed by various
interest groups and failed to pass the full House . An interim committee o f
Colorado legi •~la t ors voted 12-0 not to recommend any local government
i"lntitru s t exe·n ption legi sla tion for the 1983 stote legislative session.
Even if st:1 te legislation had been adopted , however, it would have pro vided
little corrfort because o f the un c l ear and changeable nature of the fede ral
court dec !.sions an the subject of local governme nt an t itrust i mm un ity , Ye ar s
o f lit ig ac.ion would have been necess acy to decide whether the s tate e xe mption
l egislation effec t ively resolved mu n iclpal concer ns. Federal legislation on
the other hand , can di r ectly and effectively address munic ipal concerns.
At least fou r Colorado m·J nicipalities --Pueblo, Boulder, Aspen and Grand
Lak e --already have been sued under the federal ar .t 1.~cust laws with total
claimed da mu9es , when t r eb led , exceedi ng $100 million. Ooultilr spen t in
excess of $250,000 defending i ts a ntitrust s uit and that suit wa s s ettled
prior to trial. Aspen expects to spend many thousands of dollars defending
its antltrust suit. Tt,o iss ues rai s ed in the suits vary. T"'o of the Colorado
cases involve local government land use regulation, one involves r e g ulation ol:
the use of public rights-of-way by a cable cvmp any, and one involve s ope ration
of a municipal airport. Cases brought agains t loca l governme nts i n o ther
states challenge mauy other t ypes of local government action. 'l'hu s th ,·
municipal e xposure to suit comes i n many ar eas and the r e liitc d cos l s .i11 u
attorneys fees can be great even if successfully defended .
(ove r)
. 1155 Sherman Street , Su ite 210 • Den ver. CO BG203 • (303 l (J 31 -Gll 1 I
The Na tlonnl League of Cities actiYely aupporta federal legislation in thi s
area. While interest has been expreseed by some mombere of Congress,
additiona l 'grassroots" au pport is neceasary in this controYersial areo . CML
and a fe w Colorado muni c i palitieo have contucted Colocado 1 a Congrc9olonal
delegation urging federal legislation. By this memo 1 we encourage you to
bring tht enclosed ■ample or e limilar ruolution before your city council or
board of tru ■tua for adoption and tranamittal to your Roproaantative and
Senator.
Copi es of the resolution adopted by your city or town should be sent to your
Repreaentative and Senator, at the addresses listed below, and to the Leagu e.
The Honorable Guy Hart
u ited Statea Senator
221 Russell Sena te Office Bldg .
Washi ngton , D.C. 205 10
The Honorable Ken f.::amer
Hou se of Repceae ntn~iv111
ll4 C•nnon Houso r..'.!ice Bldg.
Washington, D.C' . .z,C:\15
The Honorable Ray KogoYaek
House of Rep re sentativeu
430 Cann on House Office Dldg .
Washing ton , D,C, 20515
The Hono ra bl e Pate i.cia Schroeder
House of Representatives
2410 Rayburn Hous e Office Bldg.
Washington , o.c. 20515
The Honorable William L. Armstrong
United States Senator
l32l Dirksen Senate Off Ice Bldg.
Washington, O.C . 20 510
The Honorable Timothy E, Wirth
House of Representatives
2454 Rayburn House Office Dldg.
Washington, O,C. 20515
!'":e Honor able Hank Br r ,,n
HoJse ot Representath«!S
1319 Longworth House Office Bldg .
W~•hington, D,C. 20515
The Honorable Jack Swigert
5809 S. Broadway
Littleton, CO 80121