BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 49
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
AB 49 (Gatto) - As Amended: March 24, 2011
SUBJECT : Development: expedited permit review.
SUMMARY : Recreates the Office of Permit Assistance (OPA) under
the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) in order to
help facilitate state and local level review of commercial and
industrial development projects. Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes OPA under OPR.
2)Requires OPA to be located in Sacramento, and consist of no
more than four personnel through December 31, 2013.
3)Requires OPA to develop guidelines providing technical
assistance to local agencies for the establishment and
operation of an expedited development permit process.
4)Requires the guidelines to include, but not be limited to, all
of the following components of a local permit process:
a) An administrative entity in each city or county with a
population of 100,000 or more that shall serve as an
applicant's single point of contact with the city or county
with respect to all applications and permits required by
the city or county for the applicant's commercial or
industrial development project;
b) A referral process that may do any or all of the
following:
i) Refer the applicant to the appropriate local
agencies and local agency officials to resolve problems
and to fulfill requirements;
ii) Refer the applicant to cities within the county
which have review, comment, or conditional permit power
over the proposed project; or,
iii) Assign the local agency's administrative entity, or
another individual or entity designated by the local
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agency, to be responsible for guiding the applicant
through all local permitting requirements;
c) A consolidated project information form that will
collect the information required to complete all permits
for the development project;
d) A method for tracking the progress of development permit
applications through the permitting process that may
include the identification of a staff person responsible
for monitoring permits;
e) A process for determining whether the consolidated
project information form is complete upon its submission;
f) Timetables for action on specified types of permit
applications;
g) An expedited appeal process to ensure fair treatment to
the applicant using existing agencies, staffs, commissions,
or boards, where possible; and,
h) A variety of administrative mechanisms that describe the
least costly approaches for implementing these guidelines
in a variety of local circumstances.
5)Requires OPA, in developing the guidelines, to recognize local
variations in population, rate of growth, types of proposed
development projects, geography, and local government
structure.
6)Specifically states that the guidelines developed by OPA are
advisory in nature and are not a mandate on local agencies.
7)Provides that upon appropriation by the Legislature, OPA shall
provide grants and technical assistance to cities and counties
for the establishment of an expedited development permit
process.
8)Requires any city or county receiving a grant to enact an
ordinance adopting an expedited development permit process
according to the guidelines within 10 months of the date of
receipt of the grant.
9)Specifies that a city or county who does not receive a grant
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is not prohibited from developing and establishing its own
expedited development permit process.
10)Requires OPA to ensure that all state agencies comply with
applicable requirements of this measure.
11)Requires OPA to do all of the following:
a) Provide information to developers explaining the permit
approval process at the state and local levels, or
assisting them in meeting the requirements of the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA);
b) Assist state and local agencies in streamlining the
permit approval process at the state and local levels; and,
c) Assist an applicant in identifying any permit required
by a state agency for the proposed project.
12)Specifies that the assistance provided by OPA on CEQA is
purely technical in nature, and neither OPA nor the state
shall incur any liability as a result of the provision of
assistance.
13)Authorizes OPA to call a conference of parties at the state
level to resolve questions or mediate disputes arising from a
permit application for a proposed development project.
14)Authorizes OPA to charge an applicant for a development
project a fee not to exceed the estimated reasonable cost of
providing the services performed.
15)Requires OPA, prior to levying or charging a fee, to adopt or
amend regulations to provide for the fee in accordance with
the Administrative Procedure Act.
16)Requires OPA, upon request, to make available data indicating
the cost, or estimated cost, of providing the services
performed and the revenue sources anticipated to cover the
cost of performing the services, including any general or
special fund revenues.
17)Requires OPA, in consultation with the Natural Resources
Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency, to
develop a consolidated project information form to be used by
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applicants for development projects.
18)Requires the form to collect sufficient information to allow
OPA to determine the state agencies that have permitting
requirements applicable to the development project for which
the form was submitted.
19)Defines "administrative entity" as a person or agency
designated by the legislative body of a city, county, or city
and county.
20)Requires, upon the request of an applicant, a city, county,
or city and county with a population of 100,000 or more to
designate, and provide for, an administrative entity to serve
as the applicant's single point of contact with the local
agency with respect to all applications and permits required
by the local agency for the applicant's commercial or
industrial development project.
21)Requires the administrative entity to provide the applicant
information regarding the status of, and coordinate the review
and decision making process with respect to, the applications
and permits required by the local agency for the development
project.
22)Requires, upon the request of the applicant, the
administrative entity to coordinate with OPA with respect to
any applications or permits required by the state for the
development project.
23)Authorizes a city, county, or city and county to charge a fee
to defray costs incurred by the administrative entity that are
directly attributable to the services it provides to an
applicant.
24)Authorizes a city, county, or city and county to adopt, by
resolution or ordinance, procedures for the implementation of
this measure.
25)Contains an urgency clause.
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the Permit Streamlining Act (Act).
2)Requires, under the Act, each state agency and local agency to
compile one or more lists that specify in detail the
information that will be required from any applicant for a
development project, and requires a public agency that is the
lead agency for a development project, or a public agency
which is a responsible agency for a development project that
has been approved by the lead agency, to approve or disapprove
the project within applicable periods of time.
3)Requires, under the Act, any state agency which is the lead
agency for a development project to inform the applicant that
OPA has been created to assist, and provide information to,
developers relating to the permit approval process.
4)Provides that the Legislature finds and declares that there is
a statewide need to ensure clear understanding of the specific
requirements which must be met in connection with the approval
of development projects and to expedite decisions on such
projects.
5)Defines "development project" as any project undertaken for
the purpose of development.
6)Specifies that "development project" includes a project
involving the issuance of a permit
for construction or reconstruction but not a permit to operate.
7)Specifies that "development project" does not include any
ministerial projects proposed to be carried out or approved by
public agencies.
8)Prohibits a public agency, after it accepts an application for
a development project as complete, from subsequently
requesting of an applicant any new or additional information
that was not specified in the list of the information required
from a project applicant as part of its statement of
application for a development project.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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1)Existing law requires, under the Act, each state agency and
local agency to compile one or more lists that specify in
detail the information that will be required from any
applicant for a development project, and requires a public
agency that is the lead agency for a development project, or a
public agency which is a responsible agency for a development
project that has been approved by the lead agency, to approve
or disapprove the project within applicable periods of time.
2)In addition to mandating criteria and setting deadlines, the
Act previously required the Governor's OPR to coordinate the
state government's help to applicants. OPR set up the OPA in
1977 which the Legislature later codified ŬSB 992 (Garamendi),
Chapter 1263, Statutes of 1983]. The Legislature moved OPA to
the State Trade and Commerce Agency ŬAB 2351, (Assembly Ways
and Means Committee), Chapter 56, Statutes of 1993]. The
California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) set up
regional Permit Assistance Centers which the Legislature
institutionalized in 1999 ŬAB 1102 (Jackson), Chapter 65,
Statutes of 1999]. In 2003, the Legislature repealed the
requirements for CalEPA's permit assistance centers and
abolished the State Technology, Trade, and Commerce Agency
ŬAB 1756, (Assembly Budget Committee, Chapter 228, Statutes of
2003]. Although the OPA no longer exists, the Act still
requires agencies to adopt criteria and meet statutory
deadlines.
3)This bill recreates the OPA under OPR in order to help
facilitate state and local level review of commercial and
industrial development projects. OPR already serves as the
coordinating agency for statewide planning efforts and as a
clearinghouse for all CEQA-related documents so adding back
the additional duty of serving as a one-stop-shop for
coordinating the state and local level review of specified
development projects would be appropriate.
4)This measure is identical to SB 959 (Ducheny, 2010), which was
vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. In his veto message he
stated "this bill should be re-crafted to address the issues I
have raised and create a more coherent state policy for
economic assistance housed in one location, the Governor's
Office of Economic Development (GOED)." According to its
website, the GOED "permit assistance staff, combined with
local and regional permitting agencies provides permit
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identification and regulatory compliance assistance. The
permit assistance staff acts as a neutral third-party
facilitators." The Committee should note, however, that
according to the GOED website, the permit assistance
activities that GOED helps with are related to business
permits (sales and use tax, license, etc.) and not to
development / land use permits.
5)Support arguments: According to the California Realtors
Association "AB 49 would greatly benefit not only business but
also governments by creating a consolidated and streamlined
system by which businesses would seek permits and approvals.
The increased certainty in the project approval process and
timing is certain to result in a better business climate that
will help boost California's economy."
Opposition arguments: Opposition could argue that there is a
role for streamlining when multiple departments or agencies
are involved in a project. But imposing this requirement on
the 70 cities with populations over 100,000 at the option and
expense of the applicant does not guarantee this result.
Cities are working to find job creation solutions that do not
always easily avail themselves to this one-size-fits-all
approach.
6)This bill is double-referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support Opposition
American Council of Engineering Companies of CANone on file
CA Association of Realtors
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958