BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 128
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 14, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
SB 128 (Emmerson) - As Amended: May 15, 2013
[Note: This bill was doubled referred to the Assembly Local
Government Committee and was heard as it relates to issues under
its jurisdiction.]
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : Community facilities districts: transfer of
governance authority
SUMMARY : Authorizes the jurisdiction of the Hemet Unified
School District Community Facilities District No. 2005-1 (CFD
No. 2005-1) to be transferred from the Hemet Unified School
District to the Temecula Valley Unified School District upon
written agreement entered into between the governing boards of
the two school districts. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that except as otherwise may be provided in the
written agreement, upon the effective date of the transfer of
the jurisdiction pursuant to the written agreement, the
following shall apply:
a) The legislative body empowered to exercise authority
over the CFD No. 2005-1 shall be the Temecula Valley
Unified School District;
b) The Hemet Unified School District shall not bear any
liability for any action taken with regard to CFD No.
2005-1 on or after the effective date of the transfer of
jurisdiction; and,
c) The Temecula Valley Unified School District shall not
bear any liability for any action with regard to CFD No.
2005-1 before the effective date of the transfer of
jurisdiction.
2)Finds and declares the following:
a) The French Valley Reorganization Plan will transfer the
French Valley Community, located in unincorporated
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Riverside County, from the Hemet Unified School District to
the Temecula Valley Unified School District in order to
reduce the travel required for French Valley students to
attend school.
b) To effectuate the French Valley Reorganization Plan, CFD
No. 2005-1 must also be transferred from the Hemet Unified
School District to the Temecula Unified School District.
Legislative approval is required because the Riverside
County Committee of School District Organization lacks the
authority to approve the transfer of the governance of the
CFD No. 2005-1 from the Hemet Unified School District to
the Temecula Valley Unified School District.
c) That a special law is necessary and that a general law
cannot be made because of the unique circumstances related
to the transfer of territory from the Hemet Unified School
District to the Temecula Valley Unified School District.
3)Contains an urgency clause so that the completion of the
transfer of territory from the Hemet Unified School District
to the Temecula Valley Unified School District can occur
before the start of the 2013-14 school year.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982
and authorizes a local agency to establish a community
facility district (CFD) to finance public capital facilities
and services, especially in developing areas and areas
undergoing rehabilitation, through the imposition of special
taxes and the issuance of bonds. (Government Code Section
53311 et. seq.)
2)Authorizes a CFD to finance services or the purchase,
construction, expansion, improvement, or rehabilitation of
property with an estimated useful life of at least five years,
including local parks, recreation, parkway and open-space
facilities; elementary and secondary schoolsites; libraries;
child care facilities; undergrounding of water transmission
and distribution facilities; and any other governmental
facilities that the legislative body creating the CFD is
authorized by law to contribute revenue to, or construct, own,
or operate. (Government Code Sections 53313 and 53313.5)
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3)Requires a local agency to initiate proceedings to establish a
district only if it has first considered and adopted local
goals and policies, including, for school districts, a policy
that gives priority attendance access to students residing in
a CFD whose residents have paid special taxes that have, in
whole or in part, financed the construction of school
facilities. (Government Code Section 53312.7)
4)Authorizes the governance of one or more districts to be
transferred from the jurisdiction of a county to the
jurisdiction of a city upon written agreement entered into
between the governing boards of the county and the city
pursuant to specified requirements. (Government Code Section
53368.1)
5)Provides for a county committee on school district
organization in each county (county committee) to consider
locally developed reorganization petitions to transfer
territory among districts; unify, merge or create new
districts or revise the boundaries of trustee areas. Proposals
for transfer of territory may be decided by the county
committee in a public hearing, although such decisions to
transfer more than 10% of a district's territory must be
ratified by a vote of the people in the affected districts.
The decisions of the county committee may be appealed to the
State Board of Education for specified reasons. (Education
Code Section 35500 et. seq.)
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : Background . The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act
allows counties, cities, special districts, and school districts
to finance public works projects and a limited list of public
services by levying special taxes (parcel taxes) with approval
by a two-thirds vote of the qualified property owners in the
district. A CFD issues bonds against these special taxes to
finance public works projects, including school districts
(Mello-Roos districts), for the construction and rehabilitation
of facilities. The CSD may be the entire school district, but
is often compromised only of a portion of a school district.
Frequently, the Mello-Roos district is designed for a newly
developing area of a school district. The bonds sold by a
Mello-Roos district are retired by a per parcel tax or
assessment on the properties located in the Mello-Roos district
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boundaries.
Existing law also prescribes the methods through which school
districts can unify, merge or create new districts and transfer
territory between districts.
This bill transfers the governance of CFD No. 2005-1 located in
Riverside County from the Hemet Unified School District to the
Temecula Unified School District as a result of a transfer of
territory between the two districts. The French Valley
community, located in an unincorporated area of Riverside
County, is in the boundaries of the Hemet Unified School
District. However, schools in the Temecula Valley Unified
School District are geographically closer for French Valley
residents. According to the author, attending Hemet Unified
School District schools require students to travel long
distances by bus. The Riverside County Committee on School
District Reorganization is reviewing a request to transfer the
French Valley community from the Hemet Unified School District
to the Temecula Unified School District under the French Valley
Reorganization Plan. According to the author, the
reorganization affects 295 students. In 2012-13, 226 French
Valley community students attended Temecula Valley Unified
District schools based on a temporary district transfer, while
69 attended Hemet Unified School District schools.
One of the issues holding up the approval of the French Valley
Reorganization Plan is in regards to the transfer of the
administration of the CFD No. 2005-1, passed by voters in June,
2005. According to the author, the CFD encompasses only the
area to be transferred. While current law authorizes the
transfer of CFDs from a county to a city, the law is silent on
transfers between school districts. This bill authorizes the
transfer of CFD No. 2005-1 from the Hemet Unified School
District to the Temecula Valley Unified School District upon a
written agreement entered into between the governing boards of
the two districts. The bill specifies that the Hemet Unified
School District shall cease to bear any liability for any action
taken with this CFD on or after the date of the transfer while
the Temecula Valley has no liability on any action with this CFD
prior to the date of the transfer.
The bill does not require a change of name with the county
recorder's office, although a change may not be necessary.
Presumably, all of the requirements of CFDs would be transferred
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from the Hemet Unified School District to the Temecula Valley
Unified School District upon adoption of the agreement.
The author states that the transfer of CFD No. 2005-1 will help
with the approval of the French
Valley Reorganization Plan, thereby enabling students to attend
Temecula Valley Unified School District on a permanent basis,
and providing the necessary educational and facility financing
to accommodate the French Valley students.
This bill is uncodified and contains an urgency clause. The
bill was heard in the Assembly Local Government Committee and
passed on the Committee's consent calendar.
Prior related legislation . SB 509 (Mello), Chapter 505,
Statutes of 1992, authorized the transfer of the administration
of the Perris Union High School District CFD No. 87-1 from the
Perris Union High School District to the Val Verde Unified
School District upon a written agreement entered into between
the two districts.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Hemet Unified School District
Jeff Stone, Riverside County Supervisor
Temecula Valley Unified School District
Two French Valley community residents
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087