BILL NUMBER: ACA 8 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 4, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Blumenfield
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Chesbro, Jones-Sawyer, Nazarian,
Rendon, and Williams )
FEBRUARY 13, 2013
A resolution to propose to the people of the State of California
an amendment to the Constitution of the State, by amending Section 1
of Article XIII A thereof, and by amending Section 18 of Article XVI
thereof, relating to local government finance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACA 8, as amended, Blumenfield. Local government financing: voter
approval.
(1) The California Constitution prohibits the ad valorem tax rate
on real property from exceeding 1% of the full cash value of the
property, subject to certain exceptions.
This measure would create an additional exception to the 1% limit
for a rate imposed by a city, county, city and county, or special
district, as defined, to service bonded indebtedness incurred to fund
specified public improvements and facilities, or buildings used
primarily to provide sheriff, police, or fire protection services,
that is approved by 55% of the voters of the city, county, city and
county, or special district, as applicable.
(2) The California Constitution prohibits specified local
government agencies from incurring any indebtedness exceeding in any
year the income and revenue provided in that year, without the assent
of 2/3 of the voters and subject to other conditions. In the case of
a school district, community college district, or county office of
education, the California Constitution permits a proposition for the
incurrence of indebtedness in the form of general obligation bonds
for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement
of school facilities, including the furnishing and equipping of
school facilities, or the acquisition or lease of real property for
school facilities, to be adopted upon the approval of 55% of the
voters of the district or county, as appropriate, voting on the
proposition at an election.
This measure would similarly lower to 55% the voter-approval
threshold for a city, county, or city and county to incur bonded
indebtedness, exceeding in any year the income and revenue provided
in that year, that is in the form of general obligation bonds to fund
specified public improvements and facilities, or buildings used
primarily to provide sheriff, police, or fire protection services.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated
local program: no.
Resolved by the Assembly, the Senate concurring, That the
Legislature of the State of California at its 2013-14 Regular Session
commencing on the third day of December 2012, 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:
First-- That Section 1 of Article XIII A thereof is amended to
read:
SECTION 1. (a) The maximum amount of any ad valorem tax on
real property shall not exceed 1 percent of the full cash value of
that property. The 1 percent tax shall be collected by the counties
and apportioned according to law to the districts within the
counties.
(b) The limitation provided for in subdivision (a) shall not apply
to ad valorem taxes or special assessments to pay the interest and
redemption charges on any of the following:
(1) Indebtedness approved by the voters prior to July 1, 1978.
(2) Bonded indebtedness for the acquisition or improvement of real
property approved on or after July 1, 1978, by two-thirds of the
votes cast by the voters voting on the proposition.
(3) Bonded indebtedness incurred by a school district, community
college district, or county office of education to fund the
construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of
school facilities, including the furnishing and equipping of school
facilities, or the acquisition or lease of real property for school
facilities, approved by 55 percent of the voters of the district or
county, as appropriate, voting on the proposition on or after
November 8, 2000. This paragraph shall apply only if the proposition
approved by the voters and resulting in the bonded indebtedness
includes all of the following accountability requirements:
(A) A requirement that the proceeds from the sale of the bonds be
used only for the purposes specified in this paragraph and not for
any other purpose, including teacher and administrator salaries and
other school operating expenses.
(B) A list of the specific school facilities projects to be funded
and certification that the school district board, community college
board, or county office of education has evaluated safety, class size
reduction, and information technology needs in developing that list.
(C) A requirement that the school district board, community
college board, or county office of education conduct an annual,
independent performance audit to ensure that the funds have been
expended only on the specific projects listed.
(D) A requirement that the school district board, community
college board, or county office of education conduct an annual,
independent financial audit of the proceeds from the sale of the
bonds until all of those proceeds have been expended for the school
facilities projects.
(4) (A) Bonded indebtedness, approved by 55 percent of the voters
of a city, county, city and county, or special district, as
applicable, voting on the proposition on or after the effective date
of the measure adding this paragraph, incurred by the city, county,
city and county, or special district to fund the construction,
reconstruction, rehabilitation, maintenance, replacement, or
earthquake repair or seismic retrofit of any of the following:
(i) Public improvements, including, but not limited to,
improvements to transportation infrastructures, streets and roads,
sidewalks, transit systems, highways, freeways, sewer systems, water
systems, wastewater systems, storm drain systems, and park and
recreation facilities.
(ii) Facilities or buildings used primarily to provide sheriff,
police, or fire protection services to the public, including the
furnishing and equipping of those facilities or buildings.
(B) "Special district," for purposes of this paragraph, has the
same meaning as that term is used in subdivision (c) of Section 1 of
Article XIII C, and includes a transit district, but does
not include a school district or a redevelopment agency.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law or of this
Constitution, a school district, community college district, county
office of education, city, county, city and county, or special
district , including a transit district, may levy a 55
percent vote ad valorem tax pursuant to subdivision (b).
Second-- That Section 18 of Article XVI thereof is amended to
read:
SEC. 18. (a) No county, city, town, township, board of
education, or school district, shall incur any indebtedness or
liability in any manner or for any purpose exceeding in any year the
income and revenue provided for that year, without the assent of
two-thirds of the voters of the public entity voting at an election
to be held for that purpose, except that with respect to any such
public entity that is authorized to incur indebtedness for public
school purposes, any proposition for the incurrence of indebtedness
in the form of general obligation bonds for the purpose of repairing,
reconstructing, or replacing public school buildings determined, in
the manner prescribed by law, to be structurally unsafe for school
use, shall be adopted upon the approval of a majority of the voters
of the public entity voting on the proposition at that election; nor
unless before or at the time of incurring the indebtedness, provision
shall be made for the collection of an annual tax sufficient to pay
the interest on the indebtedness as it falls due, and to provide for
a sinking fund for the payment of the principal thereof, on or before
maturity, which shall not exceed forty years from the time of
contracting the indebtedness.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), on or after November 8, 2000,
in the case of any school district, community college district, or
county office of education, any proposition for the incurrence of
indebtedness in the form of general obligation bonds for the
construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of
school facilities, including the furnishing and equipping of school
facilities, or the acquisition or lease of real property for school
facilities, shall be adopted upon the approval of 55 percent of the
voters of the district or county, as appropriate, voting on the
proposition at an election. This subdivision shall apply only to a
proposition for the incurrence of indebtedness in the form of general
obligation bonds for the purposes specified in this subdivision if
the proposition meets all of the accountability requirements of
paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 1 of Article XIII A.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), on or after the effective
date of the measure adding this subdivision, in the case of any city,
county, or city and county, any proposition to incur indebtedness in
the form of general obligation bonds shall be adopted by 55 percent
of the voters of the city, county, or city and county, as applicable,
voting on the proposition at an election, where the general
obligation bonds would fund the construction, reconstruction,
rehabilitation, maintenance, replacement, or earthquake repair or
seismic retrofit of any of the following:
(1) Public improvements, including, but not limited to,
improvements to transportation infrastructures, streets and roads,
sidewalks, transit systems, highways, freeways, sewer systems, water
systems, wastewater systems, storm drain systems, and park and
recreation facilities.
(2) Facilities or buildings used primarily to provide sheriff,
police, or fire protection services to the public, including the
furnishings and equipping of those facilities or buildings.
(d) When two or more propositions for incurring any indebtedness
or liability are submitted at the same election, the votes cast for
and against each proposition shall be counted separately, and when
two-thirds or a majority or 55 percent of the voters, as the case may
be, voting on any one of those propositions, vote in favor thereof,
the proposition shall be deemed adopted.