BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 171
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 12, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
SB 171 (Hueso) - As Amended: April 8, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 29-8
SUBJECT : Coachella Valley County Water District:
property-related fees.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Coachella Valley County Water District
to impose a fee in compliance with Proposition 218.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes the Coachella Valley County Water District
(District) to impose a fee, in compliance with Proposition
218, to pay the costs and expenses of carrying out projects
and providing services authorized under existing law.
2)Clarifies that existing law that implements Proposition 218
applies to the District's current authority to levy benefit
assessments.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the District to carry on the construction,
operation, and maintenance of works, improvements and
functions authorized by the Storm Water District Act of 1909.
2)Authorizes the District to raise funds by special assessment
on benefited land in proportion to the benefits derived by
benefited lands.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)Article XIII D of the California Constitution [Proposition
218, 1996] distinguishes among taxes, assessments and fees for
property-related revenues, and requires certain actions before
such revenues may be collected. Counties and other local
agencies with police powers may impose any one of these
options on property owners, after completing the Proposition
218 process. Special districts created by statute, however,
SB 171
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must have specific authority for each of these revenue
sources.
2)The District was formed in 1918 to provide irrigation and
drinking water, collect and recycle wastewater, provide storm
water protection, replenish the groundwater basin, and promote
water conservation. The District now provides services to
over 107,000 homes and businesses across 1,000 square miles
mostly within the Coachella Valley (Riverside County).
The District's enabling statute authorizes the District to
impose assessments, not fees. This bill expands the
District's authorization to add the levying of
property-related fees to its current authorization for levying
assessments. This bill is sponsored by the District.
3)This bill requires the District to comply with the provisions
of Proposition 218 which require a local government to
identify the parcels, calculate the fee for each parcel, and
conduct a majority protest proceeding 45 days after mailing
notice of a new fee to all fee payers. Additionally, Article
XIII D, Section 6 subdivision (c) of the California
Constitution, provides, "Except for fees or charges for sewer,
water, and refuse collection services, no property related fee
or charge shall be imposed or increased unless and until that
fee or charge is submitted and approved by a majority vote of
the property owners of the property subject to the fee or
charge or, at the option of the agency, by a two-thirds vote
of the electorate residing in the affected area."
According to the author "There is one drainage system in the
Lower Coachella Valley which handles stormwater, agricultural
drainage, and now urban drainage. Operation and maintenance
costs of the system are currently paid by the farmers in the
Lower Valley, but as farm areas are urbanized, the number of
farmers has decreased while urban drainage has driven the
costs up. This bill would provide a mechanism for the
District to seek to charge urban development an equitable
share of the operation and maintenance costs of the drainage
system through the use of fees and charges, as an alternative
to the use of assessment districts, the formation and
implementation of which are cumbersome and costly."
4)The Legislature has previously granted the authority to impose
a fee consistent with Proposition 218. AB 2554 (Brownley),
SB 171
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Chapter 602, Statutes of 2010, authorized the Los Angeles
County Flood Control District to impose a fee consistent with
Proposition 218. Additionally, AB 554 (Nava), Chapter 510,
Statutes of 2005, authorized the Ventura County Watershed
Protection District to levy a fee on taxable real property
both district-wide and by zone.
5)The title of this bill is currently "The California Seed Law"
which reflects the contents of a prior version of the bill.
Committee staff is aware that Legislative Counsel is updating
the bill title to reflect the current version of the bill.
6)Support arguments : Supporters argue that this bill "provides
a mechanism to collect equitable fees and other charges to
fund the continued operation and maintenance of the drainage
system with respect to urban users in the Lower Valley."
Opposition arguments : None.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support Opposition
Coachella Valley Water District [SPONSOR]None on file
Association of California Water Agencies
City of Rancho Mirage
Desert Valleys Builders Association
Noble & Company, LLC
Analysis Prepared by : Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958