Amended in Senate July 2, 2013

Amended in Assembly May 20, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 562

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

February 20, 2013

An act to add Section 53083 to the Government Code, relating to economic development.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 562, as amended, Williams. Economic development subsidies: review by local agencies.

Existing law provides for various programs for economic development activities by state and local agencies.

This bill would, beginning January 1, 2014, require each local agency begin insert , as defined, end insert to provide specified information to the public before approving an economic development subsidy, as defined, within its jurisdiction, and to review, hold hearings, and report on those subsidies at specified intervals.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 53083 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

53083.  

(a) On and after January 1, 2014, each local agency
shall, before approving any economic development subsidy within
its jurisdiction, provide all of the following information in written
form available to the public, and through its Internet Web site, if
applicable:

(1) The name and address of the entity or individual that is the
beneficiary of the economic development subsidy, if applicable,
except that the address of the beneficiary does not need to be posted
on the local agency’s Internet Web site if the beneficiary is a sole
proprietor.

(2) The start and end dates and schedule, if applicable, for the
economic development subsidy.

(3) A description of the economic development subsidy,
including the estimated total amount of the expenditure of public
funds by, or of revenue lost to, the local agency as a result of the
economic development subsidy.

(4) A statement of the public purposes for the economic
development subsidy.

(5) Projected tax revenue to the local agency as a result of the
economic development subsidy.

(6) Estimated number of jobs created by the economic
development subsidy, broken down by full-time, part-time, and
temporary positions.

(b) Before granting an economic development subsidy, each
local agency shall provide public notice and a hearing regarding
the economic development subsidy. A public hearing and notice
under this subdivision is not required if a hearing and notice
regarding the economic development subsidy is otherwise required
by law.

(c) The information required to be provided in subdivision (a)
shall remain available to the public under existing state and federal
law and be posted on the local agency’s Internet Web site, if
applicable, for the entire term of the economic development
subsidy.

begin delete

(d) On or before October 1, 2015, and on or before October 1
in each odd-numbered year thereafter, the local agency shall
prepare a report for each economic development subsidy approved
after January 1, 2014. Notwithstanding the requirement to prepare
a report every two years, for an economic development subsidy
that will exist for 40 years or more, the report shall be prepared
only once every six years after the initial report.

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The local agency, within the term of the economic
development subsidy but not later than five years after the action
granting an economic development subsidy, as defined in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (g), shall issue a report for each
economic development subsidy. end insert The report shall contain the
information described in subdivision (a). The local agency shall
make the report available to the public and through its Internet
Web site, if applicable. The report shall also contain the following
information, if applicable:

(1) The name and address of each entity or individual that is
the beneficiary of the economic development subsidy, except that
the address of the beneficiary does not need to be posted on the
local agency’s Internet Web site if the beneficiary is a sole
proprietor.

(2) The start and end dates and schedule for the economic
development subsidy.

(3) A description of the economic development subsidy,
including the estimated total amount of the expenditure of public
funds by, or of revenue lost to, the local agency as a result of the
economic development subsidy.

(4) The net tax revenue accruing to the local agency as a result
of the economic development subsidy.

(5) The net number of jobs created by the economic development
subsidy, broken down by full-time, part-time, and temporary
positions.

begin delete

(e) On or before November 1, 2015, and on or before November
1 in each odd-numbered year thereafter, the local agency shall
hold a public hearing to consider any written or oral comments on
the information contained in the report prepared pursuant to
subdivision (d).

(f) The local agency shall provide a final report at the conclusion
of each economic development subsidy that shall contain the
information described in subdivision (d), in written form available
to the public, and through its Internet Web site, if applicable.

(g) Subsidies with a term of less than two years shall not be
subject to subdivision (d). However, the local agency shall
implement subdivision (f) within two years of the date the subsidy
is granted and hold a public hearing to consider any written or oral
comments on the information contained in the report prepared
pursuant to those provisions.

end delete begin insert

(e) (1) The local agency, within the term of the economic
development subsidy but no later than five years after the action
granting an economic development subsidy, as defined in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (g), shall hold a public hearing to
consider any written or oral comments on the information
contained in the report prepared pursuant to subdivision (d).

end insert begin insert

(2) For an economic development subsidy, as defined in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (g), with a term of 10 years or more,
the local agency shall hold a public hearing at the conclusion of
each economic development subsidy that shall contain the
information described in subdivision (d), in written form available
to the public, and through its Internet Web site, if applicable.

end insert begin insert

(f) Each public hearing required by this section shall be
consolidated with a local agency’s regularly scheduled hearing.

end insert begin delete

(h)

end delete

begin insert (g) end insert  As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:

(1) “Economic development subsidy” means any expenditure
of public funds or loss of revenue to a local agency in the amount
of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or more, for the
purpose of stimulating economic development within the
jurisdiction of a local agency, including, but not limited to, bonds,
grants, loans, loan guarantees, enterprise zone or empowerment
zone incentives, begin delete tax-increment financing, end delete fee waivers, land price
subsidies, matching funds, tax abatements, tax exemptions, and
tax credits. “Economic development subsidy” shall not include
expenditures of public funds by, or loss of revenue to, the local
agency for the purpose of providing housing affordable to persons
and families of low or moderate income, as defined in Section
50093 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) “Local agency” means a city, including a charter city, county,
begin insert or end insert city and begin delete county, and community redevelopment agency end delete begin insert county end insert .

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares that the right of the
public to be informed of economic development subsidies approved
by their local agencies, as described in Section 53083 of the
Government Code, as added by Section 1 of this act, is a matter
of statewide concern, and not a municipal affair, as that term is
used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution.