BILL ANALYSIS
AB 466
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 466 (Coto)
As Amended June 30, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |73-0 |(May 14, 2009) |SENATE: |32-1 |(August 27, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY : Makes various changes to the Santa Clara Valley Water
District's (District) enabling act.
The Senate amendments clarify the transition dates for when certain
board of the District (Board) seats will change over to the new
board make up and makes other clarifying changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies that, until January 1, 2010, the Board will consist of
seven members: five elected, one elected member from each of the
supervisorial districts and two appointed directors.
2)States that the two appointed members should represent the
District at large with one appointed director from the area that
previously consisted of the Gavilan Water Conservation District
and the other appointed director from the area that the Santa
Clara Valley Water Conservation District previously covered.
3)States that as of January 1, 2010, the board of directors for the
District shall consist of the five elected members.
4)States that, as of January 1, 2010, whenever there is a vacancy in
the office of a director, the vacancy will be filled by an
appointment from the board of directors of the District.
5)Authorizes the District to provide an exemption from special taxes
levied by the District to residential parcels who are owned and
occupied by one or more taxpayers who are at least
65 years of age, if the total household income is less than an
amount that is approved by the voters of the District.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
AB 466
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1)Provided that the individuals who serve on the board of the
District on December 31, 2008, shall continue to serve on the
Board, except as otherwise provided.
2)Required that until noon on January 3, 2011, the Board consist of
the following directors:
a) Two appointed directors, representing the areas formerly
covered by the Gavilan Water Conservation District and the
Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District; and,
b) Five directors, one elected from each of the supervisorial
districts.
3)Required that all director elections shall be done in accordance
with the Uniform District Election Laws.
4)Repealed the language regarding scheduled changes to the make-up
of the Board.
5)Repealed unnecessary language regarding how a vacancy is filled on
the Board.
6)Specified that the term of office for the two Board directors
elected in 2006, to represent the first and fourth supervisorial
districts, ends at noon on January 3, 2011.
7)Specified that the term of office for the three Board directors
elected in 2008, to represent the second, third, and fifth
supervisorial districts, ends at noon on January 7, 2013.
8)Provided that the two appointed directors shall serve on the Board
until noon on January 3, 2011.
9)Required that at noon on January 3, 2011, the number of elected
directors on the Board be increased from five to seven members and
the appointed directors be reduced from two to zero.
10)Required the Board, on or before June 30, 2010, to adopt a
resolution dividing the District into seven electoral districts.
11)Required that the most recent census data be used as a basis for
dividing up the seven electoral districts, creating districts that
are nearly equal in population as possible.
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12)Authorized the Board to consider the topography, geography,
cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, compactness of territory, and
community of interest when establishing the boundaries of the
electoral districts.
13)Required the election of the newly formed first, fourth, sixth,
and seventh electoral districts to take place on November 2, 2010.
14)Required the election of the newly formed second, third, and
fifth electoral districts to take place on November 6, 2012.
15)Provided that the term of office for each elected director shall
be for four years except as otherwise provided
16)Required that elections be held following the Uniform District
Election Laws.
17)Required that a candidate for the Board be a resident in the
electoral district for which he or she is running.
18)Required that a director continue to reside within that electoral
district during his or her term of office.
19)Required that all elected directors exercise their independent
judgment on behalf of the interest of the entire district, in
furthering the purposes of the District.
20)Provided a method for filling vacancies of the Board identical to
that used by other special districts.
21)Clarified that any director of the Board may be recalled.
22)Required that the Board review the boundaries of the seven
electoral districts before November 1 of the year following the
year in which each decennial census is taken and adjust those
boundaries as necessary.
23)Prohibited a Board member from seeking or accepting compensated
employment with the District while serving as a member of the
Board and for one year immediately following the end of the
director's term of office.
24) Required the Board, by July 1, 2010, to adopt regulations
governing the activities of persons who lobby the District.
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25)Specified that the lobbying regulations must include provisions
requiring registration of lobbyists, report requirements governing
the activities of lobbyists and communication with Board members,
and disclosure by directors of contact with lobbyists prior to
voting on matters related to this contact.
26)Prohibited a Board member from contacting staff on behalf of a
party who is bidding or intends to bid on a district contract or
who has or intends to submit a response for a proposal or request
for qualifications.
27)Prohibited a Board member from inquiring about the identity of
bidders or proposers prior to the time that staff has made a
recommendation for selection of a contract, vendor, or consultant.
28)Specified that the above listed prohibitions do not preclude a
Board member from making general inquiries about the status of a
particular procurement, or from providing a member of the public
with information about the appropriate staff contact concerning
procurement of goods and services by the district.
29)Prohibited the Board from authorizing severance pay for a
Board-appointed employee of the District when the employee
voluntarily separates from District employment.
30)Specified that "severance pay" does not include any otherwise
lawful payment required to be paid by the District under a
preexisting employment agreement or under a separation and release
agreement resolving a claim.
31)Prohibited the board from agreeing to amend an employment
contract after the employee announces or requests a voluntary
separation, except upon a Board determination, in open session,
that an adjustment in compensation is required to retain the
employee and is in the best interest of the District.
32)Specified timelines on when various reports issued by the
District must be available to the public.
33)Required that on a quarterly basis, a report of the travel
reimbursements to each Board member must be placed on an open
session board meeting for review to determine whether the travel
complies with the District's travel policy.
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34)Authorized the District to provide an exemption from special
taxes levied by the District to residential parcels who are owned
and occupied by one or more taxpayers who qualify as totally
disabled under the federal Social Security Act, if the total
household income is less than an amount that is approved by the
voters of the District.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
there are no state mandate-related costs. Any local costs
associated with establishing new districts and conducting an
election are not reimbursable because the legislative authority was
requested by the water district.
COMMENTS : Currently the District's governing Board consists of five
Board members elected by supervisorial district and two at-large
Board members appointed by the County Board of Supervisors. The two
appointed Board member seats are scheduled to end on December 31,
2009, under the provisions of AB 2435 (Coto), Chapter 279, Statutes
of 2006. The District Board has, for the past year, discussed
whether to retain a seven-member Board and, if so, what form the
Board structure should take. This process culminated in February
2008 with a series of well-publicized public meetings throughout
Santa Clara County with community stakeholders, residents, and other
interested parties to solicit input on potential changes to the
Board structure and the District Act. One of the biggest pieces of
information considered was the fact that the population of Santa
Clara County has nearly doubled since the current Board structure
was created in 1967; today, each part-time elected Board member
represents more than 350,000 persons. The consensus of the Board
and public was to retain a seven-member governing Board, but to
change the composition of the Board from five members elected and
two appointed members, to seven members elected from seven equally
divided districts.
The author believes that creating smaller districts will provide
greater opportunity for competitive elections by making it less
expensive to run for public office. The author also feels that it
will also provide for greater geographic representation which may
better reflect the geographic, social and economic diversity that
exists within Santa Clara County. This bill provides for the
creation of a seven-member elected Board starting with the November
2010 general election, following a redistricting process based on
the most recent census data. Until then, the Board will remain the
same with five elected and two appointed members.
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According to the author's office, various audits and studies of the
District have identified several areas for improvement or
modification of current practices in governance and operations. The
author believes that this bill proactively incorporates good
governance recommendations from these studies and others to make the
District more transparent and accountable, and increase the public's
ability to engage on District issues.
This bill also expands the District's ability to provide an
exemption from special taxes.
AB 88 (Alquist), Chapter 63, Statutes of 2001, authorized the
District to provide an exemption from special taxes for residential
parcels owned by low-income seniors. This bill would expand the
ability to provide exemptions to low-income individuals who qualify
as totally disabled under the Social Security Act.
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
FN: 0001709