BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1259
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          Date of Hearing:  April 24, 2013

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                           K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
                    AB 1259 (Olsen) - As Amended:  March 21, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :  Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley.

           SUMMARY  :  Enacts conforming changes as a follow-up to SB 1278  
          (Wolk, 2012) and AB 1965 (Pan, 2012), which revised the flood  
          hazard planning and development requirements for cities and  
          counties located in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley.   
          Specifically,  this bill  makes the following conforming changes:

          1)Adds, to the section of law dealing with discretionary and  
            ministerial permits, the provision that allows the city or  
            county to approve a development agreement if a finding can be  
            made, based on substantial evidence in the record, that the  
            property in an undetermined risk area has met the urban level  
            of flood protection.

          2)Adds, to the section of law dealing with tentative maps, the  
            provision that allows the city or county to approve a  
            development agreement if a finding can be made, based on  
            substantial evidence in the record, that the property in an  
            undetermined risk area has met the urban level of flood  
            protection.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires each city and county within the Sacramento-San  
            Joaquin Valley to amend its general plan by requiring each  
            city and county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley,  
            within 24 months of July 2, 2013, to amend its general plan to  
            additionally contain both of the following:

             a)   Revises the requirement to include the data and analysis  
               contained in the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan,  
               including, but not limited to, the locations of the  
               facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control and the  
               locations of the real property protected by those  
               facilities, pursuant to existing law; and,

             b)   Adds in a new requirement to include the locations of  
               flood hazard zones, including, but not limited to,  








                                                                  AB 1259
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               locations mapped by the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map or  
               the Flood Hazard Boundary Map, locations that participate  
               in the National Flood Insurance Program, locations of  
               undetermined risk areas, and locations mapped by a local  
               flood agency or flood district.

          1)Prohibits a legislative body of a city or county within the  
            Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley from entering into a development  
            agreement for property that is located within a flood hazard  
            zone, unless the city or county finds, based on substantial  
            evidence in the record, that the property in an undetermined  
            risk area has met the urban level of flood protection based on  
            substantial evidence in the record.

          2)Requires, on or before July 2, 2013, and for the purpose of  
            providing information to cities and counties necessary for  
            their determinations relating to level of flood protection,  
            the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to release floodplain  
            maps that identify at a minimum the facilities of the State  
            Plan of Flood Control and the available data as to the water  
            surface elevation of flooding in urban areas in the event of  
            the failure of the facilities of the State Plan of Flood  
            Control during flooding that has a 1-in-200 chance of  
            occurring in any given year.

          3)Defines an "undetermined risk area" to mean an urban or  
            urbanizing area within a moderate flood hazard zone, as  
            delineated on an official flood insurance rate map issued by  
            FEMA, which has not been determined to have an urban level of  
            protection.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :   

          1)According to the author, a coalition of local governments,  
            including the California State Association of Counties, the  
            League of California Cities, planners, along with individual  
            cities and counties in the Central Valley watershed area  
            joined together to address certain needed changes to the AB  
            5/SB 5 flood bill package approved in 2007.  SB 1278 (Wolk),  
            Chapter 553, Statutes of 2012 and AB 1965 (Pan), Chapter 554,  
            Statutes of 2012, made critical changes to that process which  
            helped local agencies and their ability to comply with the  
            intent and purpose of the law.








                                                                  AB 1259
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            This bill is needed because inadvertently several sections  
            were left out of SB 1278 and AB 1965.  This bill makes  
            conforming changes in order to correct the inadvertent  
            omissions.

            This bill is sponsored by the San Joaquin County Board of  
            Supervisors.

           2)Support arguments  :  This bill makes important conforming  
            changes.

             Opposition arguments  :  None on file

          3)This bill was heard by the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee  
            on April 16, 2013, where it passed with a 15-0 vote on the  
            consent calendar.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Association of Realtors
          Rural County Representatives of California
          San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)  
          319-3958