BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2279| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2279 Author: Evans (D)et al Amended: 8/9/10 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 8-1, 6/22/10 AYES: Wright, Calderon, Denham, Florez, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Price, Yee NOES: Harman NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Wyland SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-3, 8/2/10 AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee NOES: Ashburn, Emmerson, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-24, 5/6/10 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Surplus state property: County of Napa SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill grants the Director of General Services (DGS) the authority to sell or exchange at fair market value, based upon appraisal approved by DGS, by January 1, 2015, to the County of Napa, certain property located in the County upon terms and conditions the Director deems are in the best interests of the state. ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes DGS to perform various CONTINUED AB 2279 Page 2 functions with regard to state property and provides for the sale, lease, or transfer of surplus state property, if authorized or contemplated by law. Existing law requires the Director of DGS to request authorization by the Legislature prior to the disposition by sale or otherwise of state land reported to it by a state agency as being in excess of its foreseeable needs. Each state agency is required to annually review proprietary state lands under its jurisdiction to determine what lands are in excess of the agency's foreseeable needs and to report to DGS. This annual review of proprietary state lands does not apply to tax-deeded land, land held for highway purposes, lands under the jurisdiction of the State Lands Commission, land that has escheated to the state or that has been distributed to the state by a court decree in estates of deceased persons, and lands under the jurisdiction of the State Coastal Conservancy. Jurisdiction of all land reported as excess is transferred to DGS, when requested by the Director of DGS, for sale or disposition or as may otherwise be authorized by law. Existing law provides criteria for state agencies to use in determining and reporting to DGS lands in excess of the agency's foreseeable needs. A state agency is to include land not currently being utilized, or currently being underutilized, for any existing or ongoing program; land for which the agency has not identified any specific utilization relative to future needs; and land not identified by the agency within its master plan for facility development. Where applicable within its jurisdiction, DGS is responsible for determining if surplus land is needed by any other state agency. Existing law requires the state to first offer surplus state real property to local agencies, and next, to offer the property to nonprofit affordable housing sponsors, as defined, prior to offering the property to private entities. Existing law also prescribes the procedure for local agencies and nonprofit affordable housing sponsors to use to obtain the surplus state real property. CONTINUED AB 2279 Page 3 Existing law specifies that the Legislature may authorize a particular surplus property be sold at less than fair market value and provides that 30 days prior to executing such a transaction, DGS must report to the chairs of the fiscal committees of the Legislature the following information: (a) the financial terms of the transaction; (b) a comparison of fair market value for the property and financial terms; and (c) the basis for agreeing to terms and conditions other than fair market value. Existing law contains provisions exempting the sale of surplus property from designated provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Specifically, the law provides that any disposition of a parcel of surplus property made on an "as-is" basis shall be exempt from statutory requirements of CEQA; however, the law makes it explicit that the buyer or transferee of a parcel shall be subject to any local governmental entitlement or land use approval requirements and CEQA. Furthermore, existing law provides that if any transaction is not on an "as-is" basis sale and close of escrow is contingent on satisfying any local governmental approvals for entitlement or land use requirements, including compliance by the local government with CEQA, then the execution of the purchase and sale agreement or exchange agreement is exempt from CEQA. Existing law requires DGS to maintain a complete and accurate inventory of all real property held by the state and categorize that inventory by agency and geographic location. The law also requires DGS to update the inventory annually. Proposition 60A of November 2004 (SCA 18 [Johnson], Resolution Chapter 103, Statutes of 2004) which was adopted by the electorate (73 percent margin) requires, among other things, that the proceeds from the sale of surplus state property, with specified exceptions, be used to pay the principal and interest on the Economic Recovery Bond Act of 2004. This bill: CONTINUED AB 2279 Page 4 1. Authorizes the Director of DGS to sell or exchange, at current fair market value, based upon an appraisal approved by DGS, by January 1, 2015, approximately 850 acres of property, known as Skyline Park, (located at the Napa State Hospital, 2100 Napa Vallejo Highway, in the County of Napa) to the County of Napa, upon terms and conditions the Director deems are in the best interests of the state. 2. Stipulates that any agreement for the sale or exchange of the property must require the County of Napa to retain title to the entire property for use as a park or wilderness preserve, or in the event of a future sale of that property by the County, require the County, by recorded easement, to restrict future uses of the property to those same uses. 3. Provides that any agreement for the sale or exchange of the property must preserve Napa State Hospital's ownership and use of the property known as "Camp Coombs" and include an easement that provides the Hospital with access to the Camp. 4. Provides that DGS shall be reimbursed from sale proceeds for any costs incurred to sell the property. Additionally, requires that net proceeds be deposited into the Deficit Recovery Bond Retirement Sinking Fund Subaccount. 5. Permits the County of Napa to enter into an agreement with a nonprofit land trust or nonprofit conservation entity for the purpose of sharing the costs associated with the sale or exchange of the property. 6. Contains legislative findings and declarations relative to the importance of Camp Coombs and declares the County's intent to ensure that Napa State Hospital maintains ownership, usage and access to the Camp. 7. Declares legislative intent that any purchase agreement clearly state that the operations and activities at Camp Coombs shall remain unobstructed and unaffected by the sale and that access to the Camp be preserved through a CONTINUED AB 2279 Page 5 recorded easement. Comment According to the author's office, the 850 acres of state-owned property, known as Skyline Park, has been leased to Napa County and operated as a public park and natural area since 1979. The property includes more than 12 miles of hiking, riding and bicycling trails, a native plant garden, horse arena, archery range and a "disc" golf course. The Napa County Board of Supervisors considers "the preservation of Skyline Park as a publicly-owned recreational facility a key policy issue and a high legislative priority." The author's office points out that the County of Napa has a Transient Occupancy Tax ordinance in place which sets aside money to fund county parks, and thus, has a dedicated revenue stream to afford this property. Prior Legislation The provisions of this bill were originally contained in the annual surplus property bills of 2005 and 2006 (AB 54 and AB 53 - both authored by Assembly member Negrete McLeod - AB 54 was vetoed by the Governor because of provisions requiring DGS to initiate a CEQA review process on the properties identified prior to any sale, lease, or exchange; and, AB 53 died on the Senate Inactive File). Additionally, this bill is nearly identical to SB 1226 of 2006, authored by Senator Chesbro which was held on the Assembly Floor and SB 678 (Wiggins) of 2007 which was vetoed by the Governor on the basis that it did not contain a CEQA exemption. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis: Fiscal Impact (in thousands) CONTINUED AB 2279 Page 6 Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund Sale or lease of One time revenue increase from General* state property sale or exchange, less that fair market value to the extent specified sale conditions reduce potential bidder interest *Deficit Recovery Bond Retirement Sinking fund Subaccount SUPPORT : (Verified 8/9/10) Napa County Board of Supervisors (source) Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District City of American Canyon Numerous local residents ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Blakeslee, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Yamada, John A. Perez NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Cook, DeVore, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran, Villines NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Block, Gilmore, Mendoza, Vacancy TSM:do 8/9/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE CONTINUED AB 2279 Page 7 **** END **** CONTINUED