BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                     SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
                            Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
          

          BILL NO:  AB 1614                     HEARING:  6/13/12
          AUTHOR:  Monning                      FISCAL:  No
          VERSION:  3/12/12                     TAX LEVY:  No
          CONSULTANT:  Weinberger               

                            FORT ORD REUSE AUTHORITY
          

            Extends the Fort Ord Reuse Authority Act's sunset date.


                           Background and Existing Law  

          The end of the Cold War forced the Pentagon to adjust to 
          new geopolitical realities.  Federal officials closed or 
          realigned nearly three dozen military bases in California.  
          To coordinate the transition of the former Fort Ord 
          (Monterey County), the Legislature passed the Fort Ord 
          Reuse Authority Act, which created the Fort Ord Reuse 
          Authority (FORA) to adopt a Fort Ord Reuse Plan (SB 899, 
          Mello, 1994).  FORA adopted its Final Base Reuse Plan in 
          1997.  The Final Base Reuse Plan for Fort Ord lays out the 
          future land uses for the 45-square mile former Army base, 
          including areas for housing, commerce, recreation, public 
          uses, and open space.

          FORA has a governing body of 13 voting members and 11 
          non-voting members comprised of representatives from 
          cities, Monterey County, special districts, public 
          educational institutions, the military, and state and 
          federal legislators.  It is FORA's responsibility to 
          complete the planning, financing, and implementation of 
          reuse as described in the base reuse plan that was adopted 
          in 1997.

          The state laws authorizing FORA become inoperative  either  
          when the authority's board determines that 80% of the 
          territory that is designated for development or reuse in 
          the base reuse plan has been developed or reused in a 
          manner consistent with the plan  or  on June 30, 2014, 
          whichever occurs first.  The statutes are automatically 
          repealed on January 1, 2015.  The Monterey County Local 
          Agency Formation Commission must provide for FORA's orderly 
          dissolution, including insuring that all contracts, 




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          agreements, and pledges to pay or repay money entered into 
          by the authority are honored and properly administered, and 
          that all assets of the authority are appropriately 
          transferred.

          FORA officials say that lawsuits, unexpected challenges 
          relating to munitions removal, and the economic downturn 
          are among the factors that have delayed the base reuse 
          plan's implementation, which is approximately 20% complete. 
           They worry that allowing FORA's statutory authority to 
          expire in 2014 will make it more difficult to complete the 
          remaining implementation work.  FORA officials want the 
          Legislature to extend the Fort Ord Reuse Authority Act's 
          sunset date, allowing FORA to continue its role in 
          overseeing the base reuse plan's implementation.


                                   Proposed Law  

          Assembly Bill 1614 extends, from June 30, 2014 to June 30, 
          2024, the date by which the Fort Ord Reuse Authority Act 
          must become inoperative.  AB 1614 extends, from January 1, 
          2015, to January 1, 2025, the date on which the Act is 
          repealed.

          AB 1614 requires FORA's board to approve and submit a 
          transition plan to the Monterey County Local Agency 
          Formation Commission on or before December 30, 2022, or 18 
          months before the anticipated inoperability date of the 
          Fort Ord Reuse Authority Act, whichever occurs first.  The 
          transition plan must assign assets and liabilities, 
          designate responsible successor agencies, and provide a 
          schedule of remaining obligations.  The transition plan 
          must be approved by a majority vote of the board.


                               State Revenue Impact
           
          No estimate.


                                     Comments  

          1.   Purpose of the bill  .  Extended litigation, the recent 
          economic downturn, and unexpected challenges related to 
          munitions removal and permit approvals all contributed to 





          AB 1614 -- 3/12/12 -- Page 3



          the Fort Ord Reuse Authority making slower-than-expected 
          progress in implementing its base reuse plan.  Granting the 
          Fort Ord Reuse Authority an additional 10 years in which to 
          implement the authority's base reuse plan will allow it to 
          complete important projects that require regional 
          management, like munitions removal, contaminated building 
          deconstruction and removal, habitat conservation, and 
          planning and constructing a veterans' cemetery.  Without an 
          extension of its statutory authority, the responsibility 
          for implementing the base reuse plan will devolve to a 
          variety of local agencies, which may not be well equipped 
          to complete some of the remaining projects that are 
          technically complex and require regional collaboration.  AB 
          1614 allows FORA to continue its role in fostering a 
          collaborative approach to the Fort Ord reuse effort, 
          enhancing the economy and quality of life in the Monterey 
          Bay community and the California Central Coast.

          2.   Broader reforms  .  Some local stakeholders in the base 
          reuse process object to extending FORA's authority to 
          operate for 10 more years without also making other reforms 
          to FORA's operations.  These stakeholders express concerns 
          about FORA's development priorities, governance structure, 
          and fiscal accountability and want FORA to update the base 
          reuse plan.  They want FORA to:
                 Stop approving development on undeveloped land 
               before the completion of construction on lands 
               containing barracks and other structures.
                 Re-designate all significant oak groves and 
               specified recreation trails as permanent open space.
                 Update the Base Reuse Plan, including a 
               re-evaluation of traffic, water supply, and wastewater 
               infrastructure challenges.
                 Operate more transparently, making meeting agendas, 
               minutes, and annual reports more available to the 
               public.
          The Committee may wish to consider whether the extension of 
          FORA's sunset date should be conditional on the 
          implementation of broader reforms.

          3.   Timing is everything  .  The 1994 Mello Legislation that 
          created FORA gave the authority nearly 20 years to work on 
          reuse of the former military base.  As the end of that 20 
          year period approaches, the authority has only completed 
          approximately 20% of the base reuse plan.  Granting FORA 10 
          more years raises questions about whether the authority 





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          will act more expeditiously over the next decade than it 
          has over the past two decades.  Extending the Fort Ord 
          Reuse Authority Act for a shorter period of time would 
          provide greater opportunity for legislative oversight of 
          FORA's progress.  It also could encourage FORA to move more 
          rapidly in implementing the base reuse plan and to 
          prioritize the completion of projects that require regional 
          coordination.  The Committee may wish to consider amending 
          AB 1614 to extend the sunset dates in the Fort Ord Reuse 
          Authority Act by only six years.


                                 Assembly Actions  

          Assembly Local Government Committee:  7-2
          Assembly Floor:                    55-14


                         Support and Opposition  (6/7/12)

           Support  :  American Legion-Department of California; 
          AMVETS-Department of California; City of Marina Mayor Bruce 
          Delgado; California Association of County Veterans Service 
          Officers; California State Commanders Veterans Council; 
          California State University Monterey Bay; Central Coast 
          Veterans Cemetery Foundation; Cities of Carmel-by-the-Sea, 
          Pacific Grove; Salinas, Sand City, Santa Cruz, Seaside, 
          Watsonville; Congressman Sam Farr; Fort Ord Reuse Authority 
          Board of Directors; Friends of Fort Ord Open Space 
          Solutions; Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce; Monterey 
          Peninsula College; Monterey County Board of Supervisors; 
          Monterey County Business Council; Monterey/Santa Cruz 
          Counties Building & Construction Trades Council; 
          Transportation Agency for Monterey County; University of 
          California, Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal; 
          Ventana Chapter of the Sierra Club; Vietnam Veterans of 
          America-California State Council, individual letters.

           Opposition  :  Fort Ord Rec Users; Friends of the Fort Ord 
          Warhorse; Keep Fort Ord Wild; LandWatch Monterey County; 
          Preston and Abrams Parks Tenants Association; individual 
          letters.