BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2698| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ CONSENT Bill No: AB 2698 Author: Assembly Local Government Committee Amended: 6/6/12 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/13/12 AYES: Wolk, Dutton, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hernandez, Kehoe, La Malfa, Liu ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/21/12 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Local government: reorganization SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill proposes several changes to laws affecting local government organization and reorganization. ANALYSIS : The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act delegates the Legislature's power to control the boundaries of cities and special districts to local agency formation commissions (LAFCOs). The courts call LAFCOs the Legislature's watchdog over local boundary changes. This bill makes changes to state laws affecting local agency formation commissions (LAFCOs) and local governments' boundaries. 1.Protest provisions . This bill reorganizes protest CONTINUED AB 2698 Page 2 provisions of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000. 2.Goleta West Sanitary District . The Act requires a LAFCO to order the consolidation of districts, dissolution, merger, or a reorganization that includes any of these changes, without an election, pursuant to state law. The Act exempts the Goleta Sanitary District or the Goleta West Sanitary District from these provisions. This bill repeals this exemption, which expired January 1, 2003. 3.Spheres of influence . The Act requires a LAFCO to determine the sphere of influence (SOI) of each local governmental agency and to enact policies that promote local and orderly development of areas within SOIs. This bill requires a LAFCO to develop and determine the SOI of each city and each special district that is subject to the LAFCO's jurisdiction. 4.Revise and recast . If a LAFCO has initiated a change of organization or reorganization that affects more than one special district, the commission may utilize, and is encouraged to utilize, a reorganization committee to review the proposal. This bill moves this provision from the statute dealing with district consolidations that are initiated by special districts' governing boards to the statute pertaining to the formation of reorganization committees. The bill also revises and recasts several provisions related to the initiative of a change of organization or reorganization that affects more than one special district. 5.Waiver of protest proceedings . The Act authorizes a LAFCO to approve changes in organization or reorganization proposals, if proposals are consistent with a LAFCO's adopted written policies, procedures, and guidelines. A LAFCO must require voter-approval of a change in organization or reorganization that includes an incorporation or disincorporation. This bill provides that voter approval is required for a change of organization or reorganization that consists of an incorporation or disincorporation. The bill provides specific protest standards for district dissolution, CONTINUED AB 2698 Page 3 consolidation of two or more districts, certain reorganizations, and the merger or establishment of a subsidiary district. The bill also authorizes the waiver of protest proceedings under specified circumstances and sets forth procedures that apply to those waivers, including specified notice mailings. The bill exempts from voter approval a change of organization that includes a dissolution, except if the proposal meets certain requirements subject to protest procedures. 6.Technical amendments . This bill makes other technical and conforming changes. Comments As practitioners find problems with the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act, they ask for statutory improvements. These minor problems do not warrant separate (and expensive) bills. According to the Legislative Analyst, in 2001-02 the cost of producing a bill was $17,890. Legislators respond by combining several of these minor topics into an annual "omnibus bill." Although this practice may violate a strict interpretation of the single-subject and germaneness rules as presented in Californians for an Open Primary v. McPherson (2006), it is an expeditious and relatively inexpensive way to respond to multiple requests. Last year's LAFCO clean-up bill was AB 2795 (Assembly Local Government Committee, 2010). When statutory problems appear in the state law affecting LAFCOs, the Assembly Local Government Committee avoids legislative costs by combining several changes to the state laws into a single, consensus bill. By carefully reviewing each item with the affected parties, the Committee also avoids controversy. The changes made by this bill don't raise statewide policy questions. This bill makes a complex statute easier for property owners, residents, and local officials to use. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No CONTINUED AB 2698 Page 4 SUPPORT : (Verified 6/14/12) California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions Coalition of California LAFCOs El Dorado Local Agency Formation Commission Riverside Local Agency Formation Commission San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/21/12 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Fletcher, Roger Hernández, Perea AGB:nl 6/14/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED