BILL NUMBER: AB 113 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Portantino
JANUARY 13, 2009
An act to add Section 118.2 to the Streets and Highways Code,
relating to highways, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 113, as introduced, Portantino. Highways: Route 710: sale of
property.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Transportation to
acquire real property for state highway purposes. Existing law
specifies various procedures to be followed by the department when it
determines that real property acquired for state highway purposes is
no longer necessary for those purposes, generally under terms and
conditions established by the California Transportation Commission.
Existing law establishes specific procedures for the sale by public
agencies of surplus residential property, under which property may be
sold at less than fair market value in certain cases.
This bill would require the department to sell the real property
it owns relative to the unconstructed portion of State Highway Route
710 in Los Angeles County located to the north of State Highway Route
10, with residential property to be sold using the process for sale
of surplus residential real property, except that property occupied
since at least January 1, 2004, by a school or nonprofit organization
would first be offered to the occupant.
The bill would require proceeds from the sale of each parcel equal
to the department's acquisition price of the parcel to be deposited
in the State Highway Account. All remaining sale proceeds would be
deposited in the General Fund, to be available, upon appropriation,
for increasing funding for public higher education.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Beginning in the 1950s, the Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) began acquiring property by eminent domain for the purpose
of extending the Long Beach Freeway (Route 710) through Alhambra, El
Sereno, South Pasadena, and Pasadena, but when local opposition
stalled the project, Caltrans began renting the residential
properties in the interim.
(b) Over 50 years later, there continue to be over 500 residential
properties along the uncompleted 710 corridor within the communities
of Pasadena, South Pasadena, and El Sereno, including 95 "historic"
homes, whose current tenants represent an economically and ethnically
diverse group of families having an average tenancy of 20 years.
(c) A series of articles published in October 2006 by the Orange
County Register brought to light how Caltrans' appetite for property
acquisition has turned neighborhoods into eyesores and deprived local
government of millions of dollars in property taxes.
(d) Those articles prompted a legislative hearing leading to the
discovery that not only was Caltrans negligent in its maintenance of
the properties, but that it lacked a comprehensive and accurate
surplus property inventory.
(e) According to a Bureau of State Audits report, "California's
agencies have not developed and implemented property inventory
systems that serve as effective management tools for real property or
that provide reliable reports. Neither General Services nor Caltrans
has complete, accurate databases that would aid them in managing
real property."
(f) Caltrans has publicly stated numerous times its desire to exit
the property management business and has mentioned the sale of these
properties as one means of achieving that goal.
(g) According to a report by the State Auditor, "When such
properties sit idle, the State does not benefit from funds it would
receive by selling or leasing these properties, and it may incur
unnecessary maintenance costs. Moreover, until leased or sold, these
properties are not available for other purposes, such as housing,
parks, or open space."
(h) According to an estimate by the Southern California
Association of Governments, the sale of the properties along the
uncompleted 710 corridor would generate five hundred million dollars
($500,000,000) that could be used to fund vital state programs,
especially during these difficult economic times.
(i) The Legislature has repeatedly found that the revenues derived
from disposition of surplus properties owned by state agencies
should be utilized to further state policies.
(j) Beginning with Section 54235 of the Government Code (also
referred to as the Roberti Bill), the Legislature has found that land
acquisition for highways has contributed to the severe shortage of
affordable housing, as well as to the disruption of neighborhoods and
communities, and has reaffirmed that the provision of decent housing
for all Californians is a state goal of the highest priority.
SEC. 2. Section 118.2 is added to the Streets and Highways Code,
to read:
118.2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department
shall sell the real property it owns relative to the unconstructed
portion of State Highway Route 710 in Los Angeles County located to
the north of State Highway Route 10. Any residential real property to
be sold pursuant to this section shall be sold using the process for
sale of surplus residential property set forth in Article 8.35
(commencing with Section 54235) of Chapter 5 of Part 1 of Division 2
of Title 5 of the Government Code, except that, with respect to
property occupied since at least January 1, 2004, by a school or a
nonprofit organization, the occupant shall be offered the right of
first refusal to purchase the property. Proceeds from the sale of
each parcel under this section equal to the department's acquisition
price of the parcel shall be deposited in the State Highway Account.
All remaining sale proceeds shall be deposited in the General Fund,
to be available, upon appropriation, for increasing funding for the
California Community Colleges, the California State University, and
the University of California.
SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to address the state's fiscal crisis as quickly as
possible, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.