BILL NUMBER: SCA 18 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senators Liu and Yee
MARCH 10, 2009
A resolution to propose to the people of the State of California
an amendment to the Constitution of the State, by amending Section 6
of Article XIII D thereof, relating to local government finance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCA 18, as introduced, Liu. Local government: property-related
fees.
The California Constitution, with the exception of fees or charges
for sewer, water, and refuse collection services, conditions the
imposition or increase of a property-related fee or charge upon
approval by either a majority vote of the owners of the properties
subject to the fee or charge or, at the option of the agency imposing
the fee or charge, by a 2/3 vote of the voters residing in the area
affected by the fee or charge.
This measure would additionally exclude fees and charges for
stormwater and urban runoff management from these approval
requirements for the imposition or increase of a property-related fee
or charge.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated
local program: no.
Resolved by the Senate, the Assembly concurring, That the
Legislature of the State of California at its 2009-10 Regular Session
commencing on the first day of December 2008, two-thirds of the
membership of each house concurring, hereby proposes to the people of
the State of California, that the Constitution of the State be
amended as follows:
That Section 6 of Article XIII D thereof is amended to read:
SEC. 6. Property Related Fees and Charges. (a) Procedures for
New or Increased Fees and Charges. An agency shall follow the
procedures pursuant to this section in imposing or increasing any fee
or charge as defined pursuant to this article, including, but not
limited to, the following:
(1) The parcels upon which a fee or charge is proposed for
imposition shall be identified. The amount of the fee or charge
proposed to be imposed upon each parcel shall be calculated. The
agency shall provide written notice by mail of the proposed fee or
charge to the record owner of each identified parcel upon which the
fee or charge is proposed for imposition, the amount of the fee or
charge proposed to be imposed upon each, the basis upon which the
amount of the proposed fee or charge was calculated, the reason for
the fee or charge, together with the date, time, and location of a
public hearing on the proposed fee or charge.
(2) The agency shall conduct a public hearing upon the proposed
fee or charge not less than 45 days after mailing the notice of the
proposed fee or charge to the record owners of each identified parcel
upon which the fee or charge is proposed for imposition. At the
public hearing, the agency shall consider all protests against the
proposed fee or charge. If written protests against the proposed fee
or charge are presented by a majority of owners of the identified
parcels, the agency shall not impose the fee or charge.
(b) Requirements for Existing, New or Increased Fees and Charges.
A fee or charge shall not be extended, imposed, or increased by any
agency unless it meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Revenues derived from the fee or charge shall not exceed the
funds required to provide the property related service.
(2) Revenues derived from the fee or charge shall not be used for
any purpose other than that for which the fee or charge was imposed.
(3) The amount of a fee or charge imposed upon any parcel or
person as an incident of property ownership shall not exceed the
proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel.
(4) No A fee or charge may
shall not be imposed for a service ,
unless that service is actually used by, or
immediately available to, the owner of the property in question. Fees
or charges based on potential or future use of a service are not
permitted. Standby charges, whether characterized as charges or
assessments, shall be classified as assessments and shall not be
imposed without compliance with Section 4.
(5) No A fee or charge may
shall not be imposed for general governmental
services including, but not limited to, police, fire, ambulance
, or library services, where if
the service is available to the public at large in substantially the
same manner as it is to property owners. Reliance by an agency on any
parcel map, including, but not limited to, an assessor's parcel map,
may be considered a significant factor in determining whether a fee
or charge is imposed as an incident of property ownership for
purposes of this article. In any legal action contesting the validity
of a fee or charge, the burden shall be on the agency to demonstrate
compliance with this article.
(c) Voter Approval for New or Increased Fees and Charges. Except
for fees or charges for sewer, water, and
stormwater and urban runoff management, or refuse collection
services, no property related a
property-related fee or charge shall not be imposed
or increased unless and until that fee or charge is submitted and
approved by a majority vote of the property owners of the property
subject to the fee or charge or, at the option of the agency, by a
two-thirds vote of the electorate residing in the affected area. The
election shall be conducted not less than 45 days after the public
hearing. An agency may adopt procedures similar to those for
increases in assessments in the conduct of elections under this
subdivision.
(d) Beginning July 1, 1997, all fees or charges shall comply with
this section.