BILL NUMBER: AB 520 CHAPTERED 07/07/03 CHAPTER 36 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 7, 2003 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 7, 2003 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JUNE 19, 2003 PASSED THE SENATE JUNE 16, 2003 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2003 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 13, 2003 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Salinas FEBRUARY 18, 2003 An act to amend Section 56886 of, and to add Sections 57001.1 and 57202.1 to, the Government Code, relating to local agency reorganization. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 520, Salinas. Local agency reorganization: Santa Cruz County. (1) The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 requires that after the adoption by the local agency formation commission of a resolution ordering a change of organization or reorganization without an election or confirming an order for a change of organization or reorganization after confirmation by the voters an effective date be fixed. The effective date may be fixed in the terms and conditions of the resolution, but may not be earlier than the date of execution of the certificate of completion nor later than 9 months after the election in which the voters confirmed the change of organization or reorganization. This bill would provide that, in the case of a reorganization requested by a city in Santa Cruz County that has adopted a voter approved urban limit line, those conditions shall not apply and the effective date of that reorganization shall be fixed in the commission resolution. The bill would also make a conforming change. (2) The act also requires that if a certificate of completion for a change of organization or reorganization has not been filed within one year after the commission approves a proposal for that proceeding, the proceeding shall be deemed abandoned unless prior to the expiration of that year the commission authorizes an extension of time for that completion. The extension may be for any period deemed reasonable to the commission for completion of necessary prerequisite actions by any party. This bill would provide that, in the case of a reorganization requested by a city in Santa Cruz County, that has adopted a voter-approved urban limit line, these time limits shall not apply if the commission's resolution making determinations includes terms and conditions that allow for the completion of the reorganization in 2 or more segments. (3) The bill would prohibit the commission from using the provisions of the bill for any reorganization approved or conditionally approved after January 1, 2009. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 56886 of the Government Code is amended to read: 56886. Any change of organization or reorganization may provide for, or be made subject to one or more of, the following terms and conditions. If a change of organization or reorganization is made subject to one or more of the following terms and conditions in the commission's resolution making determinations, the terms and conditions imposed shall constitute the exclusive terms and conditions for the change of organization or reorganization, notwithstanding the general provisions of Part 5 (commencing with Section 57300). However, none of the following terms and conditions shall directly regulate land use, property development, or subdivision requirements: (a) The payment of a fixed or determinable amount of money, either as a lump sum or in installments, for the acquisition, transfer, use or right of use of all or any part of the existing property, real or personal, of any city, county, or district. (b) The levying or fixing and the collection of any of the following, for the purpose of providing for any payment required pursuant to subdivision (a): (1) Special, extraordinary, or additional taxes or assessments. (2) Special, extraordinary, or additional service charges, rentals, or rates. (3) Both taxes or assessments and service charges, rentals, or rates. (c) The imposition, exemption, transfer, division, or apportionment, as among any affected cities, affected counties, affected districts, and affected territory of liability for payment of all or any part of principal, interest, and any other amounts which shall become due on account of all or any part of any outstanding or then authorized but thereafter issued bonds, including revenue bonds, or other contracts or obligations of any city, county, district, or any improvement district within a local agency, and the levying or fixing and the collection of any (1) taxes or assessments, or (2) service charges, rentals, or rates, or (3) both taxes or assessments and service charges, rentals, or rates, in the same manner as provided in the original authorization of the bonds and in the amount necessary to provide for that payment. (d) If, as a result of any term or condition made pursuant to subdivision (c), the liability of any affected city, affected county, or affected district for payment of the principal of any bonded indebtedness is increased or decreased, the term and condition may specify the amount, if any, of that increase or decrease which shall be included in, or excluded from, the outstanding bonded indebtedness of that entity for the purpose of the application of any statute or charter provision imposing a limitation upon the principal amount of outstanding bonded indebtedness of the entity. (e) The formation of a new improvement district or districts or the annexation or detachment of territory to, or from, any existing improvement district or districts. (f) The incurring of new indebtedness or liability by, or on behalf of, all or any part of any local agency, including territory being annexed to any local agency, or of any existing or proposed new improvement district within that local agency. The new indebtedness may be the obligation solely of territory to be annexed if the local agency has the authority to establish zones for incurring indebtedness. The indebtedness or liability shall be incurred substantially in accordance with the laws otherwise applicable to the local agency. (g) The issuance and sale of any bonds, including authorized but unissued bonds of a local agency, either by that local agency or by a local agency designated as the successor to any local agency which is extinguished as a result of any change of organization or reorganization. (h) The acquisition, improvement, disposition, sale, transfer, or division of any property, real or personal. (i) The disposition, transfer, or division of any moneys or funds, including cash on hand and moneys due but uncollected, and any other obligations. (j) The fixing and establishment of priorities of use, or right of use, of water, or capacity rights in any public improvements or facilities or any other property, real or personal. However, none of the terms and conditions ordered pursuant to this subdivision shall modify priorities of use, or right of use, to water, or capacity rights in any public improvements or facilities that have been fixed and established by a court or an order of the State Water Resources Control Board. (k) The establishment, continuation, or termination of any office, department, or board, or the transfer, combining, consolidation, or separation of any offices, departments, or boards, or any of the functions of those offices, departments, or boards, if, and to the extent that, any of those matters is authorized by the principal act. (l) The employment, transfer, or discharge of employees, the continuation, modification, or termination of existing employment contracts, civil service rights, seniority rights, retirement rights, and other employee benefits and rights. (m) The designation of a city, county, or district, as the successor to any local agency that is extinguished as a result of any change of organization or reorganization, for the purpose of succeeding to all of the rights, duties, and obligations of the extinguished local agency with respect to enforcement, performance, or payment of any outstanding bonds, including revenue bonds, or other contracts and obligations of the extinguished local agency. (n) The designation of (1) the method for the selection of members of the legislative body of a district or (2) the number of those members, or (3) both, where the proceedings are for a consolidation, or a reorganization providing for a consolidation or formation of a new district and the principal act provides for alternative methods of that selection or for varying numbers of those members, or both. (o) The initiation, conduct, or completion of proceedings on a proposal made under, and pursuant to, this division. (p) The fixing of the effective date or dates of any change of organization, subject to the limitations of Section 57202. (q) Any terms and conditions authorized or required by the principal act with respect to any change of organization. (r) The continuation or provision of any service provided at that time, or previously authorized to be provided by an official act of the local agency. (s) The levying of assessments, including the imposition of a fee pursuant to Section 50029 or 66484.3 or the approval by the voters of general or special taxes. For the purposes of this section, imposition of a fee as a condition of the issuance of a building permit does not constitute direct regulation of land use, property development, or subdivision requirements. (t) The extension or continuation of any previously authorized charge, fee, assessment, or tax by the local agency or a successor local agency in the affected territory. (u) The transfer of authority and responsibility among any affected cities, affected counties, and affected districts for the administration of special tax and special assessment districts, including, but not limited to, the levying and collecting of special taxes and special assessments, including the determination of the annual special tax rate within authorized limits; the management of redemption, reserve, special reserve, and construction funds; the issuance of bonds which are authorized but not yet issued at the time of the transfer, including not yet issued portions or phases of bonds which are authorized; supervision of construction paid for with bond or special tax or assessment proceeds; administration of agreements to acquire public facilities and reimburse advances made to the district; and all other rights and responsibilities with respect to the levies, bonds, funds, and use of proceeds that would have applied to the local agency that created the special tax or special assessment district. (v) Any other matters necessary or incidental to any of the terms and conditions specified in this section. If a change of organization, reorganization, or special reorganization provides for, or is made subject to one or more of, the terms and conditions specified in this section, those terms and conditions shall be deemed to be the exclusive terms and conditions for the change of organization, reorganization, or special reorganization, and shall control over any general provisions of Part 5 (commencing with Section 57300). SEC. 2. Section 57001.1 is added to the Government Code, to read: 57001.1. In the case of a reorganization requested by a city in Santa Cruz County that has adopted a voter approved urban limit line, the time limits specified in Section 57001 shall not apply if the commission's resolution making determinations includes terms and conditions that allow for the completion of the reorganization in two or more segments. The commission may not use the provisions of this section for any reorganization approved or conditionally approved after January 1, 2009. SEC. 3. Section 57202.1 is added to the Government Code, to read: 57202.1. In the case of a reorganization requested by a city in Santa Cruz County that has adopted a voter approved urban limit line, the conditions of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 57202 shall not apply and the effective date of that reorganization shall be fixed in the terms and conditions of the commission resolution. The commission may not use the provisions of this section for any reorganization approved or conditionally approved after January 1, 2009. SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that, because of the unique circumstances applicable only to the County of Santa Cruz, a statute of general applicability cannot be enacted within the meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution. Therefore, this special statute is necessary.