BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2103
                                                                  Page  1

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 2103 (Hill)
          As Amended  June 2, 2010
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |74-0 |(May 6, 2010)   |SENATE: |31-0 |(August 11,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2010)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    L. GOV.  

           SUMMARY  :  Prescribes the method of how the San Francisco Bay  
          Restoration Authority (Authority) places a proposal to levy a  
          special tax before the voters of the Authority.  

           The Senate amendments  :  

          1)Clarify the procedures that need to be followed when the  
            Authority places a proposal to levy a special tax before the  
            voters of the Authority. 

          2)Specify that upon the approval of two-thirds of the votes cast  
            by voters voting upon the proposal, the Authority may levy the  
            tax.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Establishes the Authority as an entity of regional government  
            to raise and allocate resources for the restoration,  
            enhancement, protection, and enjoyment of wetlands and  
            wildlife habitat in San Francisco Bay and along its shoreline.

          2)Establishes the jurisdiction of the Authority to include all  
            areas within the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program,  
            which includes the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin,  
            Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and  
            Sonoma.

          3)States that the Authority's purpose is to raise and allocate  
            resources for the restoration, enhancement, protection, and  
            enjoyment of wetlands and wildlife habitats in the San  
            Francisco Bay and along its shoreline.

          4)Authorizes the Authority to levy a benefit assessment, special  








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            tax or property related fee consistent with the requirements  
            of Proposition 218.

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill:  

          1)Required, when the Authority proposes any regional measure,  
            the board of supervisors of each county within the boundaries  
            of the Authority to call a special election on the regional  
            measure.

          2)Required the special election to be consolidated with the next  
            regularly scheduled statewide election.

          3)Required the regional measure to be submitted to the voters in  
            the appropriate counties, consistent with the requirements of  
            Article XIII C or XIII D of the California Constitution, 
          as applicable.
          4)Required that each county included in the measure shall  
            utilize the ballot question, title and summary, and ballot  
            language provided in the resolution of the authority.

          5)Required the county clerk of each county to report the results  
            of the special election to the Authority.

          6)Provided that if cumulatively, throughout the Authority's  
            jurisdictional boundaries, the regional measure receives the  
            required affirmative votes as prescribed by Article XIII C or  
            XIII D of the California Constitution, as applicable, the  
            authority shall adopt and implement the regional measure.
          
           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None

           COMMENTS  :  The San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority is a new  
          regional government agency charged with raising and allocating  
          resources for the restoration, enhancement, protection, and  
          enjoyment of wetlands and wildlife habitat in the San Francisco  
          Bay and along its shoreline [AB 2954 (Lieber), Chapter 690,  
          Statutes of 2008].

          The Authority's mission is to formulate a strategy for raising  
          local revenues to help restore 36,000 acres of publicly owned  
          Bay shoreline into tidal wetlands.  The estimated cost of such  
          an endeavor is about $1.43 billion over 50 years.  There is some  
          federal and state funding available for these projects, but it  
          is only a fraction of the need.  The Authority is responsible  








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          for raising additional revenue to narrow the funding gap and  
          help leverage further federal and state funding.

          According to the author's office, this bill is consistent with  
          the Legislature's intent that voting on region-wide funding  
          mechanisms shall be decided by tabulating the votes of the whole  
          region (all nine counties) collectively.  This bill simply  
          clarifies this intent by adding statutory language that would  
          eliminate any remaining uncertainty and legal risk for the  
          Authority.

          Support arguments:  Supporters argue that this measure further  
          clarifies the Legislature's intent to create a regional funding  
          source for the Authority and ensures that a clear process is  
          established for each county to follow.

          Opposition arguments:  Opposition could argue that it should be  
          left up to each individual county to decide if they should be  
          assessed instead of having it decided collectively by the nine  
          counties.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)  
          319-3958 

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