BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 184
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 26, 2013

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                           K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
             SB 184 (Committee on Governance and Finance) - As Amended:   
                                    June 10, 2013

           SENATE VOTE  :  35-0
           
          SUBJECT  :   Local government: omnibus bill.

           SUMMARY  :   Enacts the Local Government Omnibus Act of 2013,  
          which proposes thirteen technical, noncontroversial changes to  
          state laws affecting local agencies' powers and duties.   
          Specifically,  this bill  :    

          1)Provides that a lot, parcel, or unit satisfies the requirement  
            that it be improved with a completed residential structure if  
            it is improved with a completed residential structure at the  
            time it is conveyed by the subdivider.  

          2)Requires an agency to provide the officially adopted facsimile  
            signature to the county recorder by a letter from the agency.   
            Provides that a facsimile signature shall continue to be valid  
            until the agency notifies the county recorder that the  
            facsimile signature is revoked.  

          3)Replaces references to "he and him" with the term "city  
            attorney."  

          4)Grants special districts the authority, currently granted to a  
            city and county, to use the State Controller's debt collection  
            program, to request that the Controller withhold state  
            payments to collect debts.  

          5)Repeals the requirement that the property owner or agency of  
            an owner shall record the Mills Act contract with the county  
            in which the property is located within six months of entering  
            into the contract.  

          6)Adds a cross-reference, Title 6 of the Penal Code, to the  
            current definition of "abuse of office or position." 

          7)Removes county from the definition of "city" and adds county  
            throughout current law that governs infrastructure financing  








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            districts (IFDs).  

          8)Makes changes within the Subdivision Map Act and adds the date  
            signed and seal number to the information required by current  
            law for the licensee who prepares a parcel or final map.  

          9)Adds "domestic partner" to the definition of "family member"  
            in the Public Cemetery District Law.  Clarifies the definition  
            of a "domestic partner" to mean, "two adults who have chosen  
            to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed  
            relationship of mutual caring, and are qualified and  
            registered with the Secretary of State as domestic partners in  
            accordance with Division 2.5 of the Family Code."  

          10)Repeals existing law that requires the Ventura County  
            Resource Conservation District to be split into three  
            divisions.  
          11)Authorizes a member of the Los Angeles County Board of  
            Supervisors serving on the Baldwin Hills Conservancy governing  
            board to appoint a designee.  

          12)Repeals existing law that allows a management district plan  
            to provide that real property which is exempt by law from real  
            property taxation to be included within the boundaries of the  
            district but shall not be subject to assessment on real  
            property.  

          13)Makes the following changes to the Kings River Conservation  
            District Act:

             a)   Provides the candidate receiving the highest number of  
               votes cast for the office of director for a specific  
               division shall be declared elected;  

             b)   Requires all vacancies occurring in the office of  
               director to be filled pursuant to the Government Code.   
               Allows the oath of office to be taken before the secretary,  
               any member of the board or any officer authorized by law to  
               administer oaths;  

             c)   Repeals existing law that authorizes the board to submit  
               to the voters a measure to issue bonds and establishes new  
               procedures;  

             d)   Requires the board, if they deem necessary for the  








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               district to incur bonded indebtedness, by resolution to  
               state the purpose for the proposed debt to be incurred, the  
               amount, and a hearing time and place; and,  

             e)   Establishes public notice, hearing, and election  
               requirements to create improvement districts.  

          14)Makes findings and declarations.  

          15)Makes other technical and clarifying changes.  

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires any person who intends to sell or lease subdivided  
            lands to file with the Department of Real Estate an  
            application for a public subdivision report making various  
            disclosures relevant to the sale or lease of the property.   
            Exempts a person that intends to sell or lease subdivided  
            lands from the requirement to file a notice of intention if  
            the proposed offering of subdivided land meets specified  
            criteria.  

          2)Authorizes a city or county, if a person or entity owes money  
            to the city or county, to request that the State Controller  
            withhold money that the person or entity would otherwise  
            receive from a personal income tax refund, corporate income  
            tax refund, sales tax refund, state lottery winnings, or a  
            claim for payment of money from unclaimed property held by the  
            state.  Authorizes special districts to request that the State  
            Controller withhold money from tax refunds, lottery winnings,  
            or unclaimed property payments to collect debts from unpaid  
            bridge tolls, high-occupancy toll lane fees, or other charges  
            on account of nonpayment of bridge toll or high occupancy toll  
            lane fees.  

          3)Authorizes a county recorder to accept facsimile signatures on  
            recorded liens that are adopted by the local agency.  
          4)Establishes the Mills Act that authorizes property owners and  
            local jurisdictions to preserve historical properties, as  
            specified.  Establishes recording requirements for a property  
            owner entering into a Mills Act contract.  

          5)Requires local agency employment contracts to contain a  
            provision to reimburse the local agency for specified salary,  
            legal, and settlement costs if an employee is convicted of a  








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            crime involving an abuse of his or her office or position.   
            Defines "abuse of office or position" to mean, "an abuse of  
            public authority, including, but not limited to, waste, fraud,  
            and violation of the law under color of authority or a crime  
            against public justice, including, but not limited to, a crime  
            described in Title 5 (commencing with Section 67) or Title 7  
            (commencing with Section 92) of Part 1 of the Penal Code."  

          6)Defines "city" to include county for purposes of IFD statutes.  
             

          7)Establishes the Subdivision Map Act which governs cities and  
            counties approval of requests to convert large properties into  
            marketable parcels.  

          8)Defines "family member" in the Public Cemetery District Law to  
            mean "any spouse, by marriage or otherwise, child or  
            stepchild, by natural birth or adoption, parent, brother,  
            sister, half-brother, half-sister, parent-in-law,  
            brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephew, niece, aunt, uncle,  
            first cousin, or any person denoted by the prefix 'grand' or  
            'great,' or the spouse of any of these persons."  

          9)Establishes the Ventura Resource Conservation District as  
            three divisions and requires that three members of the board  
            of directors are elected from each division.  
            
          10)Requires the Balwin Hill Conservancy to be governed by  
            thirteen voting members and seven nonvoting members.  Requires  
            one of the voting members to be a member of the Los Angeles  
            County Board of Supervisors whose district the majority of  
            Baldwin Hills area is located within.   

          11)Establishes the Property and Business Improvement District  
            Law of 1994 (PBID Law) that allows property owners to petition  
            a city or county to establish an improvement district and levy  
            assessments on property and business owners to finance.   
            Requires, pursuant to the PBID Law, a management district plan  
            to provide that real property which is exempt by law from real  
            property taxation to be included within the boundaries of the  
            district but not subject to assessments on real property.  

          12)Establishes the Kings River Conservation District.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   This bill is keyed fiscal.  








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           COMMENTS  :   

          1)The Local Government Omnibus Act of 2013 compiles thirteen  
            sets of noncontroversial changes to state laws affecting local  
            agencies and land use into a single bill.  Each year, local  
            officials discover problems with the state statutes that  
            affect counties, cities, and special districts as well as the  
            laws on land use planning and development.  Legislators  
            respond by combining several of these minor topics into an  
            annual "omnibus bill."  According to the author, the Senate  
            Governance and Finance Committee, sending a bill through the  
            legislative process costs around $18,000.  By drafting one  
            omnibus bill, instead of thirteen small clean-up bills, the  
            Committee's measure avoids roughly $216,000 in legislative  
            costs.  

            Although the practice may violate a strict interpretation of  
            the single-subject and germaneness rules, it is an expeditious  
            and relatively inexpensive way to respond to multiple  
            requests.  Furthermore, the Senate Governance and Finance  
            Committee conducts a very public review of each item.  More  
            than 100 public officials, trade groups, lobbyists, and  
            legislative staffers see each proposal before it goes into the  
            Committee's bill.  According to the Senate Governance and  
            Finance Committee, "Should any item in this bill attract  
            opposition, the Committee will delete it.  In this transparent  
            process, there is no hidden agenda.  If it's not consensus,  
            it's not omnibus."

          2)This bill proposes the following thirteen changes to current  
            law affecting local agencies:  

              a)   Subdivided Lands Act clarification  .  Existing law  
               requires any person who intends to sell or lease subdivided  
               lands to file with the Department of Real Estate an  
               application for a public subdivision report making various  
               disclosures relevant to the sale or lease of the property.   
               Current law also specifies that a person who intends to  
               sell or lease subdivided lands is not required to file a  
               notice of intention with the Department if the proposed  
               offering of subdivided land satisfies specified criteria.   
               Among the criteria is a requirement that each lot, parcel  
               or unit of the subdivision must be sold or offered for sale  
               improved with a completed residential structure and with  








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               all other improvements completed that are necessary to  
               occupancy.  According to the author, practitioners note  
               that a bulletin issued by the Department of Real Estate in  
               1981 clarified that a subdivider who intends to sell lots  
               with residential dwellings could enter into contracts to  
               sell the lots with residences before construction is  
               complete.  

               This bill clarifies that a lot, parcel or unit satisfies  
               the requirement that it be improved with a completed  
               residential structure if it is improved with a completed  
               residential structure at the time it is conveyed by the  
               subdivider.  

              b)   Facsimile signatures on recorded government liens  .  A  
               county recorder must accept for recordation any document  
               that is authorized or required by law to be recorded.  With  
               some exceptions, current law generally requires that each  
               instrument, paper, or notice must contain an original  
               signature or be a certified copy of the original.  However,  
               existing law allows a county recorder to accept facsimile  
               signatures on liens recorded by government agencies that  
               have officially adopted those signatures.  According to the  
               author, Napa County's Recorder notes that ambiguity in  
               current statutory language creates confusion about how  
               agencies should submit facsimile signatures to county  
               recorders.  
                
                This bill clarifies that a government agency must provide  
               an officially adopted facsimile signature to a county  
               recorder by letter and that a facsimile signature remains  
               valid until the governmental agency notifies the county  
               recorder that the facsimile signature is revoked.  

              c)   Gender-neutral references to city attorneys  .  Some  
               statutes that govern city attorneys still use the pronouns  
               "he" and "him" to refer to a city attorney.  
               This bill replaces outdated references to "he" and "him"  
               with the gender-neutral term "the city attorney."  

              d)   State collection of debts owed to special districts  .   
               Current law authorizes a city or county, if a person or  
               entity owes money to a city or county, to request that the  
               State Controller withhold money that the person or entity  
               would otherwise receive from a personal income tax refund,  








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               corporate income tax refund, sales tax refund, state  
               lottery winnings, or a claim for payment of money from  
               unclaimed property held by the state.  The Controller can  
               withhold money only when the debt has been reduced to a  
               judgment, is contained in a court order, is from a bench  
               warrant for a fine, penalty, or assessment, or is a lien  
               for delinquent unsecured property taxes.  

               Special districts can only request that the State  
               Controller withhold money from tax refunds, lottery  
               winnings, or unclaimed property payments to collect debts  
               from unpaid bridge tolls, high-occupancy toll lane fees, or  
               other charges on account of nonpayment of bridge toll or  
               high occupancy toll lane fees.  Supporters argue that  
               special districts could benefit from the same revenue  
               collection efficiency that benefits cities and counties  
               when they ask the Controller to collect debts by  
               withholding state payments.  

               This bill expands special districts' existing authority to  
               use the State Controller's debt collection program, giving  
               special districts the same statutory authority that cities  
               and counties have to request that the Controller withhold  
               state payments to collect debts.   

              e)   Recording requirements for Mills Act contracts  .  The  
               Mills Act authorizes property owners and local officials to  
               preserve historical properties with voluntary contracts  
               that restrict the use of qualified historical properties in  
               historic zones, and reduced property tax assessments for  
               the contracted properties, based on statutory formulas  
               instead of their acquisition prices.  

               AB 654 (Hueso), Chapter 278, Statutes of 2011, repealed  
               language requiring property owners to send copies of their  
               historical property preservation contracts to the State  
               Office of Historical Preservation.  AB 654 replaced the  
               repealed language with a requirement that a property owner  
               must, within six months of entering into a contract, record  
               the contract with the county where the property is located.  
                Other statutory language that was enacted as part of the  
               original Mills Act already requires the clerk of a city  
               council or board of supervisors, no later than 20 days  
               after a city or county enters into a contract with a  
               property owner, to record a copy of the contract with the  








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               county recorder.  

               This bill repeals the duplicative requirement that a  
               property owner must record a Mills Act contract, leaving in  
               place the long-standing requirement that city or county  
               officials must record a contract within 20 days of entering  
               into the contract.  

              f)   "Abuse of office" definition  .  Current law requires a  
               local agency's employment contracts to contain a provision  
               to reimburse the local agency for specified salary, legal,  
               and settlement costs if an employee is convicted of a crime  
               involving an abuse of his or her office or position.  For  
               the purposes of this requirement, current law defines  
               "abuse of office" to mean "an abuse of public authority,  
               including, but not limited to, waste, fraud, and violation  
               of the law under color of authority or a crime against  
               public justice, including, but not limited to, a crime  
               described in Title 5 (commencing with Section 67) or Title  
               7 (commencing with Section 92) of Part 1 of the Penal  
               Code."  

               This bill adds a cross-reference to Title 6 of the Penal  
               Code to more accurately define the phrase "abuse of  
               office." 

             g)   Counties and Infrastructure Financing Districts  .  Cities  
               and counties can create IFDs and issue bonds to pay for  
               community scale public works: highways, transit, water  
               systems, sewer projects, flood control, child care  
               facilities, libraries, parks, and solid waste facilities.   
               To repay the bonds, IFDs divert property tax increment  
               revenues from other local governments (not schools) for 30  
               years.  The statutes governing IFDs only use the term  
               "city" because "city" is defined, for the purposes of the  
               IFD statutes, to include a county and a city and county.  

               This bill removes counties from the definition of a city  
               and inserts the term "county" throughout the statutes  
               governing IFDs.  

              h)   Subdivision Map Act Update  .  The Subdivision Map Act  
               controls how local officials approve the division of  
               property into smaller parcels.  To approve a major  
               subdivision, local officials approve a tentative map, the  








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               subdivider fulfills the conditions, and then local  
               officials issue the final map.  For a minor subdivision  
               (lot split), the local officials approve and issue a final  
               parcel map.  When the county surveyor or city engineer  
               approves a parcel map, he or she must sign the map,  
               indicate his or her registration number, and stamp the map  
               with his or her seal.  When the county surveyor or city  
               engineer approves a final map, he or she must sign the map  
               and indicate his or her registration number, and stamp the  
               map with his or her seal.  Additionally, existing law  
               requires the licensed professional who prepared a parcel  
               map or final map to include a specified statement on the  
               map.  

               This bill will provide additional information on the  
               statement about the timing of a map's completion and the  
               identification of the licensee who prepared a map.  This  
               bill provides more information of the licensee who prepared  
               a map by including the "date signed" and the actual "seal"  
               of the licensee.  

              i)   Subdivision Map Act Correction  .  The Subdivision Map Act  
               controls how counties and cities approve requests to  
               convert large properties into marketable parcels.  When a  
               major subdivision creates five or more parcels, current law  
               requires a two-stage process involving both a tentative map  
               and a final map.  A minor subdivision with fewer parcels  
               needs only a parcel map, but local officials can require a  
               tentative parcel map and a final parcel map.  Counting the  
               number of parcels determines if a proposed subdivision is a  
               major subdivision or a minor subdivision.  The Map Act  
               excludes certain types of divisions when counting parcels.   
               To address inconsistent statutory language, SB 194, Senate  
               Governance & Finance Committee), Chapter 382, Statutes of  
               2011, amended  a section of the Subdivision Map Act that  
               excluded land conveyed to or from a government agency,  
               public entity, public utility, or land conveyed to a  
               subsidiary of a public utility for conveyance to the public  
               utility from being counted as a parcel.  County officials  
               found that SB 194 inadvertently eliminated the statute's  
               frequently-used exemption for specified real property  
               transactions involving local governments and public  
               utilities.  

               This bill repeals the changes made by SB 194 and restores  








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               the exact wording of the statute as it read before January  
               1, 2012.  

              j)   Public Cemetery District Law's Definition of "Family  
               Member.  "  In 2003, the Legislature modernized and  
               recodified the Public Cemetery District Law, which governs  
               California's 250 cemetery districts.  The Public Cemetery  
               District Law defines the term "family member" as, "any  
               spouse, by marriage or otherwise, child or stepchild, by  
               natural birth or adoption, parent, brother, sister,  
               half-brother, half-sister, parent-in-law, brother-in-law,  
               sister-in-law, nephew, niece, aunt, uncle, first cousin, or  
               any person denoted by the prefix "grand" or "great," or the  
               spouse of any of these persons."  Current law establishes a  
               statewide domestic partnership registry and requires that  
               registered domestic partners have the same rights,  
               protections, and benefits as are granted to spouses.  

               This bill clarifies that a domestic partner is included in  
               the Public Cemetery District Law's definition of "family  
               member."  

              aa)  Ventura Resource Conservation District's Board of  
               Directors  .  The 98 resource conservation districts (RCDs)  
               in California conserve soil and water, control runoff,  
                                                                                       stabilize soil, protect water quality, reclaim water, and  
               develop water storage facilities and distribution systems.   
               RCDs are governed by five-, seven-, or nine-member boards.   
               The number of directors may be changed by resolution  
               adopted by a majority of the members of the board of  
               directors.  The special act governing the Ventura County  
               Resource Conservation District splits the District into  
               three divisions and requires that three members of the  
               board of directors must be elected from each division.  

               This bill eliminates the District's three divisions and  
               reduces the size of the governing board to seven directors  
               who are elected at-large which will allow the District to  
               follow general current laws that govern the size and  
               election of a resource conservation district's board of  
               directors.  

              bb)  Baldwin Hills Conservancy Governing Board  .  Existing law  
               establishes the Baldwin Hills Conservancy to acquire and  
               manage public lands within the Baldwin Hills area, and to  








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               provide recreational, open space, wildlife habitat  
               restoration and protection, and lands for educational uses  
               within the area.  The Conservancy's governing board  
               consists of 13 voting members and seven nonvoting members.   
               One of the voting members is the member of the Los Angeles  
               County Board of Supervisors whose district the majority of  
               the Baldwin Hills area is located within.  Some of the  
               Board's voting members, including the Secretary of the  
               Resources Agency, the Director of Parks and Recreation, the  
               Director of Finance, and the Director of the Los Angeles  
               County Department of Parks can name a designee to sit on  
               the board.  The Los Angeles county supervisor who sits on  
               the Conservancy's board is not authorized to name a  
               designee to sit on the board.  

               This bill authorizes the Los Angeles County supervisor who  
               sits as a voting member of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy's  
               governing board to name a designee to sit on the board.

              cc)  Property and Business Improvement District Assessments  
               on Tax-Exempt Property  . Proposition 218 (1996) requires  
               owners of  real property to approve benefit assessments in  
               a weighted ballot protest proceeding; property owners vote  
               in proportion to their proposed assessments, which reflect  
               how much their property benefits from the proposed public  
               works or public services.  The Property and Business  
               Improvement District Law of 1994 allows property owners to  
               petition a city or county to set up an improvement district  
               (PBID) and levy assessments on property owners, business  
               owners, or both, to pay for certain improvements and  
               activities.  Current law allows a PBID's management plan to  
               provide that "real property which is exempt by law from  
               real property taxation may nevertheless be included within  
               the boundaries of the district but shall not be subject to  
               assessment on real property."  According to the author,  
               practitioners that work with PBIDs note that this language  
               is ambiguous and appears to conflict with Proposition 218's  
               special benefit requirements by allowing tax-exempt parcels  
               that benefit from PBID activities and improvements to be  
               excluded from the assessment.  

               This bill deletes the ambiguous language in the Property  
               and Business Improvement District Law that conflicts with  
               Proposition 218.









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              dd)  Kings River Conservation District's elections  .  The  
               Kings River Conservation District (Fresno County) is a  
               special district established by a special act that provides  
               flood control, water resource management, and power  
               generation services.  The District is governed by a  
               seven-member elected board of directors.  SB 1090  
               (Governance & Finance Committee), Chapter 330, Statutes of  
               2012, included amendments to the District's statutes  
               governing its board elections and inadvertently reenacted  
               some antiquated statutory language that had been repealed  
               by AB 1892 (Porter) of 1965.  According to the author,  
               district officials want to repeal the statute that contains  
               the outdated language and add some cross-references to more  
               modern statutes governing district elections.  

               This bill repeals outdated statutory language relating to  
               the King's River Conservation District's elections,  
               requires the District's board to fill board vacancies  
               pursuant to a specified section of the Government Code, and  
               specifies that the District's elections to approve bonded  
               indebtedness must be conducted pursuant to the statutes  
               that govern irrigation districts' bond elections.

          3)Because provisions of this bill conflict with those contained  
            in AB 80 (Committee on Budget), SB 33 (Wolk), and SB 75  
            (Committee on Budget) the author may wish to amend the bill to  
            avoid any chaptering out issues that could occur because of  
            the conflict.

           4)Support arguments  :  Supporters argue that this bill provides  
            clarity and makes noncontroversial changes for local agencies.  
             
                
              Opposition arguments  :  None

           








          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :








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           Support 
           
          California Association of Counties
          California Association of Public Cemeteries
          California Land Surveyors Association
          California Special Districts Association
          Civitas Advisors Inc.
          Kings River Conservation District
          Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
          MuniServices
          Napa County Recorder
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)  
          319-3958