BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 121
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 121 (Dickinson)
          As Amended  August 12, 2013
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |58-18|(April 22,      |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 15,    |
          |           |     |2013)           |        |     |2013)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    L. GOV.   

           SUMMARY  :  Provides an exemption from current law governing the  
          disposition of county property to allow Sacramento County to  
          sell or lease its property on the former Mather Air Force Base  
          or McClellan Air Force Base under specified conditions, and to  
          allow Merced County to do the same for property sales on the  
          former Castle Air Force Base.

           The Senate amendments  add Merced County and Castle Air Force  
          Base to the bill's property sales provisions and make technical  
          changes.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Prescribes the procedures that counties must follow when  
            leasing or selling real property.

          2)Requires the county board of supervisors, before ordering the  
            sale or lease of any property, in a regular open meeting, by a  
            two-thirds vote of all its members, to adopt a resolution,  
            declaring its intention to sell the property, or a resolution  
            declaring its intention to lease it, as the case may be. The  
            resolution shall describe the property proposed to be sold, or  
            leased, in a manner as to identify it and shall specify the  
            minimum price, or rental, and the terms upon which it will be  
            sold, or leased, and shall fix a time, not less than three  
            weeks thereafter for a public meeting of the board of  
            supervisors to be held at its regular place of meeting, at  
            which sealed proposals to purchase or lease will be received  
            and considered.

          3)Requires, at the time and place fixed in the resolution for  
            the meeting of the board of supervisors, all sealed proposals  
            which have been received to, in public session, be opened,  








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            examined, and declared by the board.  Of the proposals  
            submitted which conform to all terms and conditions specified  
            in the resolution of intention to sell or to lease and which  
            are made by responsible bidders, the proposal which is the  
            highest shall be finally accepted, unless a higher oral bid is  
            accepted or the board rejects all bids.

          4)Provides several limited exemptions to these procedures for a  
            variety of public purposes.

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill:  

          1)Allowed the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors (Board), by  
            a four-fifths vote of the board, to sell, or enter into a  
            lease, concession, or managerial contract involving a  
            specified area of county property that the county has acquired  
            from the federal government due to the closure of Mather Air  
            Force Base (AFB) or McClellan AFB, without otherwise complying  
            with current law governing the disposition of county property.

          2)Required the Board to take action as specified above only if  
            the following conditions are met, or if the Board makes a  
            finding in a noticed public hearing that the following  
            conditions were met at the time the property was acquired from  
            the federal government:

             a)   Reuse of the property is governed solely by the county;

             b)   The county has prepared and adopted a general or  
               specific plan pursuant to current law, as specified, and  
               has adopted a zoning ordinance for the area, and the  
               proposed use is consistent with that general or specific  
               plan and the zoning ordinance;

             c)   The airport land use commission has prepared and adopted  
               a comprehensive airport land use plan for the area pursuant  
               to current law, as specified, and the proposed use is  
               consistent with that plan;

             d)   The county has complied with current law governing the  
               disposition of surplus land and the conformity of real  
               property acquisition or disposition with its general plan  
               with regard to the property, as specified; and,

             e)   The county has given notice in a regularly-published  








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               newspaper, as specified, and posted the notice in the  
               office of the county clerk.  The notice shall specify the  
               date that the Board determines that any of the affected  
               property shall be subject to this bill, and shall include  
               all of the following:

               i)     A description of the property proposed to be sold,  
                 leased, or subject to a concession or managerial contract  
                 pursuant to this bill;

               ii)    The proposed terms of the sale, lease, concession,  
                 or managerial contract;

               iii)   The location where offers will be accepted and  
                 executed; and,

               iv)    The telephone number and address of the county  
                 officer responsible for executing the sale, lease,  
                 concession, or managerial contract.

          3)Provided that this bill shall not be construed to release  
            Sacramento County from complying with the provisions in  
            current law governing the disposition of real property by  
            successor agencies to redevelopment agencies, as specified, if  
            the property is located in a former redevelopment area.

          4)Found and declared that a special law is necessary and that a  
            general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of  
            Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution  
            because of the unique needs of the County of Sacramento  
            relative to the disposition of the property acquired by the  
            county from the federal government pursuant to the closure of  
            Mather AFB and McClellan AFB.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None

           COMMENTS  :  This bill allows Sacramento County to sell or lease  
          real property on the former Mather AFB or McClellan AFB without  
          having to follow all of the requirements in current law  
          governing the disposition of county property, and allows Merced  
          County to do the same to sell property on the former Castle AFB.

          Current law requires counties to follow specified procedures  
          when disposing of surplus property.  These requirements are in  
          place to provide transparency and protect the public's tax  








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          dollars, and include a two-thirds vote of the county board of  
          supervisors, advance public notice and a public hearing, minimum  
          sale price, sale terms, and a bid process that can be observed  
          by the public.  However, these procedures are lengthy and the  
          required competitive sealed-bid process, which is open to  
          anyone, can run counter to a county's intent for the property's  
          highest and best use, the author contends.  

          Redeveloping former military bases poses unique challenges.   
          Both Mather and McClellan are designated Superfund sites, with a  
          variety of contaminants and other hazards that require  
          remediation and a developer with the expertise and resources to  
          handle such complex work.  The competitive bid process requires  
          the county to accept the highest responsible bidder, regardless  
          of that contractor's track record in redeveloping brownfield  
          sites like former AFBs.  

          This bill re-enacts an exemption for Sacramento County that was  
          originally enacted in 1997 and expired January 1, 2011.   
          According to the author, this exemption was instrumental in a  
          public/private sales contract for more than 800 acres of  
          property in the southeast corner of Mather in 2010.  The  
          purchase agreement was originally for 639 acres, and was  
          recently amended to add additional acreage for opportunities.   
          The exemption was used as the legal basis to contract with the  
          developer, which will master plan the 800 acres as a mixed use  
          development that is expected to generate 3,600 construction jobs  
          and 3,000 permanent jobs.  

          Sacramento County expects to rely on the exemption proposed in  
          this bill to develop areas at Mather that were adopted as part  
          of Sacramento County's Mather Field Specific Plan in 1997.   
          Sacramento County reports that the exact development will depend  
          on many factors, including the market, and that the primary  
          objective of a 357-acre airport commercial area is to create an  
          airport business park complex that is oriented to air cargo,  
          aircraft maintenance, general aviation and airport support uses.  
           This area is adjacent to the Mather Airport runway, one of the  
          largest runways in the state, which makes it attractive for  
          related commercial development and job creation.  Development  
          could include aircraft maintenance facilities, facilities for  
          manufacturing small- to medium-sized aircraft, aircraft sales,  
          aircraft storage, public sector and private industrial and  
          distribution centers, and facilities for aerial photography and  
          survey companies.  The primary objective of an 89-acre adjacent  








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          commercial development area would consist of facilities in  
          support of the airport development as well as general commercial  
          facilities, such as food and service industries and limited  
          retail facilities.

          Merced County also seeks the ability to sell county-owned real  
          property on the former Castle Air Force Base through direct  
          negotiation with interested buyers.  The uncertainty associated  
          with the sealed-bid process that applies to county property  
          sales deters potential investors interested in developing lands  
          on former military bases.  This uncertainty played a role in  
          2012, when Merced County was working with a Texas-based  
          investment group that was looking to site a bioscience-stem cell  
          facility.  As a result, the investors did not bid on the  
          property.

          SB 339 (Cannella) of 2013 is similar to this bill, but allows  
          the exemption for any county in the state and for the  
          disposition of property acquired due to the closure of any  
          military base.  SB 339 is pending in the Assembly Local  
          Government Committee.

          SB 1546 (Cannella) of 2012 would have allowed a county that owns  
          real property on a converted military base to sell that real  
          property or any interest therein in the manner and upon the  
          terms and conditions approved by the board of supervisors  
          without complying with state laws governing the sale of  
          county-owned real property, upon a finding that the sale is in  
          the public interest.  SB 1546 was held in the Senate Governance  
          and Finance Committee.

          Support arguments:  "Under AB 121, the County would continue to  
          comply with all the original conditions of the exemption, such  
          as the requirement that the Sacramento County Board of  
          Supervisors take action at a noticed public hearing.  The  
          authority for the County to continue to directly negotiate with  
          interested developers in AB 121 is critical to revitalizing  
          these two important economic assets in our region and additional  
          time is required." 

          Opposition arguments:  Opponents could argue that the  
          competitive bid process is the most effective method to garner  
          the highest price for public lands and, thus, the best  
          protection for taxpayer dollars.









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           Analysis Prepared by  :    Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 


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