BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 946
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 946 (Huff)
          As Amended  June 5, 2014
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :37-0  
           
           LOCAL GOVERNMENT    8-0                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Achadjian, Levine, Alejo, |     |                          |
          |     |Bradford, Gordon,         |     |                          |
          |     |Melendez, Mullin, Rendon  |     |                          |
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           SUMMARY  :  Makes changes to the composition of the Orange County  
          Sanitation District (OCSD) board of directors.  Specifically,  
           this bill  :   

          1)Modifies the composition of the OCSD board of directors, by  
            removing the current representation of the one member from the  
            Yorba Linda city council and instead adding representation for  
            one member of the Yorba Linda Water District's governing  
            board.  

          2)Clarifies that the composition of the board of directors  
            applies only to OCSD.

          3)Finds and declares that a special law is necessary because of  
            the special circumstances surrounding the change in  
            composition of the OCSD governing body resulting from the  
            transfer of sanitation duties from the City of Yorba Linda to  
            the Yorba Linda Water District.  

           EXISTING LAW :

          1)Requires the governing body of a consolidated sanitation  
            district in Orange County, as specified, to be a board of  
            directors composed of all of the following:

             a)   One member of the city council of each city located  
               wholly or partially within the district's boundaries,  
               however, a city within the consolidated district, the  
               sewered portion of which city lies entirely within another  








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               sanitary district, shall have no representation on the  
               board;

             b)   One member of the county board of supervisors;

             c)   One member of the governing board of each sanitary  
               district, the whole or part of which is included in the  
               consolidated sanitation district; and,

             d)   One member of the governing body of a public agency  
               empowered to and engaged in the collection, transportation,  
               treatment, or disposal of sewage and which was a member  
               agency of a sanitation district consolidated into a  
               consolidated sanitation district.

          2)Allows the governing body of the county and each city,  
            sanitary district, and public agency that is a member agency  
            having a representative on the board of directors of the  
            consolidated sanitation district to designate one of its  
            members to act in the place of its regular member in his or  
            her absence or his or her inability to act.  

          3)Prohibits any action from being taken at any board of  
            directors meeting unless a majority of all authorized members  
            of the board are in attendance.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None

           COMMENTS  :   

          1)OCSD.  AB 769 (Baugh), Chapter 51, Statutes of 1997,  
            established the composition of a governing board of a  
            sanitation district created by consolidation in Orange County.  
             Supporters of AB 769 argued for a specific governance  
            structure for OCSD to ensure equal and fair representation of  
            all municipalities and water and sanitary districts within the  
            consolidated sanitary district's boundaries.  In 1998,  
            following the passage of AB 769, nine sanitation districts in  
            Orange County consolidated into a single agency, known as  
            OCSD.  

            According to OCSD, they are responsible for safely collecting,  
            treating and disposing of the wastewater generated by 2.5  
            million people living in a 479-square-mile area of central and  








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            northwest Orange County.  The stated purpose of OCSD's  
            wastewater management program is to protect the public's  
            health, preserve the beneficial uses of the coastal waters,  
            and maintain air quality.  The stated objective of operating  
            the treatment plants is to process and dispose of the treated  
            wastewater and the separated solids in accordance with  
            federal, state, and local laws.  OCSD is currently governed by  
            a 25-member board of directors comprised of one county  
            supervisor, 20 city council members, three sanitary district  
            members, and one water district member.  

          2)Purpose of this bill.  This bill makes changes to the  
            composition of the OCSD board of directors to remove one  
            member, a Yorba Linda city council representative, and add one  
            member, a Yorba Linda Water District representative.  

          3)Author's statement.  According to the author, "The OCSD Board  
            of Directors is comprised of 25 members, representing  
            municipalities, water and wastewater agencies throughout North  
            and Central Orange County.  The City of Yorba Linda held a  
            seat on the OCSD Board of Directors to represent ratepayers  
            within the City of Yorba Linda.  However, in 2010 the City of  
            Yorba Linda transferred sewer service and responsibility to  
            the Yorba Linda Water District through a formal agreement.  In  
            addition to transferring service and responsibility to the  
            Yorba Linda Water District, the City also agreed to relinquish  
            the OCSD Board seat to the Water District.  By mutual  
            agreement of all parties involved including the OCSD, the City  
            of Yorba Linda and the Yorba Linda Water District, OCSD seeks  
            to substitute the Board seat held by the City of Yorba Linda  
            to allow representation for the residents of Yorba Linda by  
            the Yorba Linda Water District."  

          4)Arguments in support.  Supporters argue that this bill  
            reflects a local agreement and provides an appropriate  
            solution to a governance issue created by the transfer of  
            local sewer services.  

          5)Arguments in opposition.  None on file.  


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Misa Yokoi-Shelton / L. GOV. / (916)  
          319-3958                                               FN:  
          0003914








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