BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 171
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 171 (Hueso)
As Amended April 8, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :29-8
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 8-1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Achadjian, Levine, Alejo, | | |
| |Bradford, Gordon, Mullin, | | |
| |Rendon, Waldron | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Melendez | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Coachella Valley County Water District
(District) to impose a fee in compliance with Proposition 218.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes the 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 : Article XIII D of the California Constitution
SB 171
Page 2
[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, must have specific authority for each of these revenue
sources.
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.
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
SB 171
Page 3
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."
The Legislature has previously granted the authority to impose a
fee consistent with Proposition 218. AB 2554 (Brownley),
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.
The title of this bill is currently "The California Seed Law"
which reflects the contents of a prior version of the bill. The
Assembly Local Government Committee staff is aware that
Legislative Counsel is updating the bill title to reflect the
current version of the bill.
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.
Analysis Prepared by : Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0001150