BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                 UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 1462
          Author:   Senate Governance and Finance Committee
          Amended:  6/10/14
          Vote:     21


           SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 4/24/14
          AYES:  Wolk, Knight, Beall, DeSaulnier, Hernandez, Liu, Walters

           SENATE FLOOR  :  35-0, 5/1/14 (Consent)
          AYES:  Anderson, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De  
            León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock,  
            Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu,  
            Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley, Roth,  
            Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Beall, Calderon, Jackson, Wright, Yee

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 6/26/14 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote


           SUBJECT  :    Local government:  omnibus bill

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill, the Local Government Omnibus Act of 2014,  
          proposes a number of minor, noncontroversial changes to state  
          laws governing local governments' powers and duties.

          Assembly Amendments  add 12 more noncontroversial changes.

           ANALYSIS :    Each year, local officials discover problems with  
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          the state statutes that affect counties, cities, special  
          districts, and redevelopment agencies, as well as the laws on  
          land use planning and development.  These minor problems do not  
          warrant separate (and expensive) bills.  According to the  
          Legislative Analyst, in 2001-02 the cost of producing a bill was  
          $17,890.

          Legislators respond by combining several of these minor topics  
          into an annual "omnibus bill."  In 2013, for example, the local  
          government omnibus bill was     SB 184 (Senate Governance and  
          Finance Committee, Chapter 210) which contained 12  
          noncontroversial statutory changes, avoiding about $200,000 in  
          legislative costs.  Although this practice may violate a strict  
          interpretation of the single-subject and germaneness rules as  
          presented in Californians for an Open Primary v. McPherson  
          (2006), it is an expeditious and relatively inexpensive way to  
          respond to multiple requests.

          This bill, the Local Government Omnibus Act of 2014, proposes  
          the following changes to the state laws affecting local  
          agencies' powers and duties:

           1.County law libraries' real property management  .  The  
            Legislature established a system of county law libraries more  
            than 120 years ago.  Each county law library has an appointed  
            Board of Trustees, which supervises its operations and  
            finances.  Existing law allows a county law library's Board of  
            Trustees to sell real property, with the proceeds going to the  
            law library fund.  The Council of California County Law  
            Librarians wants the Legislature to give law library trustees  
            more flexibility in managing libraries' real property.  This  
            bill allows a board of trustees to lease, rent, or license  
            real property, with proceeds going to the law library fund.

           2.Sacramento County fictitious business names  .  Existing law  
            requires a fictitious business name statement to be filed with  
            the clerk of the county in which a registrant has his/her  
            principal place of business in this state or, if a registrant  
            has no place of business in this state, with the Clerk of  
            Sacramento County.  As a result of various reorganizations of  
            Sacramento County's departments, the County's fictitious  
            business name functions are now administered by the County's  
            Department of Finance, pursuant to a memorandum of  
            understanding (MOU) with the County Clerk/Recorder's Office.   

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            Sacramento County officials want to eliminate this confusing  
            and unnecessary MOU process and establish the County's  
            statutory authority to administer fictitious business name  
            functions through its Finance Department.  This bill allows  
            the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to designate, by  
            resolution, another County officer to perform the duties of  
            the County Clerk pursuant to specified state laws governing  
            fictitious business names.

           3.Local bond issuers determination of taxable bond maturity  .   
            Most municipal bonds are tax-exempt, but the Legislature has  
            allowed state and local governments to issue taxable revenue  
            bonds.  To provide state and local governments with the  
            flexibility to access the market for taxable bonds, state law  
            allows government bond issuers to determine the denominations,  
            forms, redemption terms, and interest rates of taxable bonds.   
            Existing law allows a legislative body to determine the "time  
            or times" at which taxable bonds are payable.  Bond finance  
            practitioners believe that this language could be interpreted  
            narrowly to refer only to how the principal and/or interest of  
            the bonds is to be paid (annually, semiannually, monthly,  
            etc.).  This bill clarifies that local bond issuers may also  
            determine the final maturity date or dates of the bonds. 

           4.State Controller's property tax audits cross-reference  .   
            Existing law requires the State Controller to perform periodic  
            audits of counties' allocation of property tax revenue among  
            local jurisdictions.  The statutory language requiring these  
            audits was originally placed in the Revenue and Taxation Code,  
            but was later moved into the Government Code.  The State  
            Controller's Office notes that when the language was moved out  
            of the Revenue and Taxation Code, a cross-reference to the  
            chapter of the Revenue and Taxation Code governing property  
            tax allocation was not updated.  To clarify the current  
            statute, this bill corrects the cross-reference to the Revenue  
            and Taxation Code sections that govern property tax  
            allocation.

           5.Infrastructure Financing Districts (IFDs)  .  Cities and  
            counties can create IFDs and issue bonds to pay for community  
            scale public works such as 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 the  

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            city or county that created the district and any other  
            consenting local governments - but not schools - for 30 years.  
             When they were enacted, the statutes governing IFDs only used  
            the term "city" because the IFD statutes defined "city" as  
            including a county and a city and county.  To avoid any  
            misperceptions that IFD law does not apply to counties, the  
            Local Government Omnibus Act of 2013, SB 184 (Senate  
            Governance and Finance Committee, Chapter 210, Statutes of  
            2013) removed counties from the definition of a city and  
            inserted the term "county" throughout the statutes that govern  
            IFDs.  The California State Association of Counties notes that  
            last year's bill omitted a reference to a county clerk in one  
            IFD statute.  This bill corrects this omission by adding a  
            reference to a clerk of a county.

           6.Special districts and securitized limited obligation notes  
            (SLONs)  .  Special districts can issue SLONs and borrow up to  
            $2 million to be paid back from designated revenues, over 10  
            years.  Unlike riskier promissory notes, SLONs are more secure  
            because the special district pledges a dedicated stream of  
            revenues.  SLONs are like promissory notes in that they don't  
            require voter approval.  It takes a 4/5 vote of a special  
            district's governing board to issue SLONs.  The statutory  
            authority to issue SLONs sunsets on December 31, 2014.  To  
            keep this financing tool available to special districts, the  
            California Special Districts Association wants legislators to  
            extend the sunset date in the statutes authorizing SLONs.   
            This bill extends the authority for special districts to issue  
            SLONs from December 31, 2014, to December 31, 2019.

           7.Office of Noise Control  .  Existing law directs local agencies  
            to adopt a general plan with seven specified elements,  
            including a noise element.  The noise element must recognize  
            guidelines established by the California Office of Noise  
            Control.  The Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR)  
            must adopt and periodically revise guidelines for the  
            preparation and content of local general plans.  OPR staff  
            notes that the Office of Noise Control, which last issued  
            noise control guidelines in 1976, was eliminated sometime in  
            the 1980s.  This bill deletes the requirement that a general  
            plan's noise element must recognize guidelines issued by the  
            Office of Noise Control, thereby clarifying OPR's authority to  
            develop guidelines for the noise element.


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           8.Port or harbor infrastructure definition cross-reference  .   
            Existing law allows any two or more harbor agencies to use the  
            joint powers law to establish a port infrastructure financing  
            authority to establish an infrastructure fund and finance port  
            or harbor infrastructure.  Existing law defining "port of  
            harbor infrastructure" contains an erroneous cross-reference.   
            This bill corrects that error.

           9.California Assessors' Association  .  The California Assessors'  
            Association, the statewide non-profit professional association  
            for County Assessors, was previously known as the State  
            Association of County Assessors.  The Association notes that  
            two statutes still refer to the Association's outdated name.   
            This bill replaces the outdated name, "State Association of  
            County Assessors," with the correct name, "California  
            Assessors' Association."

           10.Property and Business Improvement Districts (PBID)  .  The PBID  
            Law of 1994 allows property owners to petition a city (or  
            county) to set up a PBID and levy assessments on property  
            owners, business owners, or both, to pay for promotional  
            activities as well as for physical improvements.   
            Practitioners who work with PBIDs have identified errors and  
            ambiguities in the PBID Law.  They want the Legislature to  
            amend the PBID Law to make the following corrections and  
            clarifications:

              A.   Assessment definition  .  The PBID Law of 1994 defines the  
               term "assessment" as a levy for the purpose of acquiring,  
               constructing, installing, or maintaining improvements and  
               promoting activities which will benefit the properties or  
               businesses located within a property and business  
               improvement district.  This bill replaces the reference to  
               "promoting" activities with the phrase "providing"  
               activities;

             B.   District boundaries  .  Existing law requires that a  
               PBID's management district plan and the resolution  
               establishing a PBID must include a description of the  
               district's boundaries.  This bill allows this boundary  
               description to be made by reference to a map that is on  
               file with the City Clerk;

              C.   Cross-reference correction  .  Existing law requires that  

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               the resolution establishing a PBID must contain specified  
               information.  This bill corrects an inaccurate  
               cross-reference to the statute specifying the information  
               the resolution establishing a PBID must contain;

              D.   District renewal  .  Existing law specifies that if a PBID  
               expires due to statutory time limits, a new management  
               district plan may be created and a new district established  
               pursuant to specified procedures.  This bill clarifies that  
               a district is "renewed," and not "established," by the  
               specified process.  The bill also clarifies that a district  
               may be renewed before its statutory time limit expires;

              E.   Interest and penalties  .  Existing law requires that all  
               delinquent payments for PBIDs' assessments must be charged  
               interest and penalties.  This bill allows, rather than  
               requires, delinquent assessment payments to be charged  
               interest and penalties; 

              F.   Public hearing  .  Existing law requires PBID officials to  
               hold a "public hearing" on proposed modifications to a  
               management district plan.  This bill replaces related  
               references to a "public meeting" with the phrase "public  
               hearing;" and
           
             G.   Use of estimates in the annual report  .  Existing law  
               requires PBID officials to produce an annual report on the  
               PBID's activities.  The report must include specified  
               information, including the amount of any surplus or deficit  
               revenues to be carried over from a previous fiscal year,  
               and the amount of any contributions to be made from sources  
               other than assessments.  This bill allows the annual report  
               to include the "estimated" amount of surplus or deficit  
               revenues carried over from a previous year, and the  
               "estimated" amount of contributions from sources other than  
               PBID assessments.

           Comments

           This bill compiles noncontroversial changes to state laws  
          affecting local agencies and land use into a single bill.   
          Sending a bill through the legislative process costs around  
          $18,000.  By avoiding separate bills, this bill avoids more than  
          $160,000 in legislative costs.  Although the practice may  

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          violate a strict interpretation of the single-subject and  
          germaneness rules, the Senate Governance and Finance Committee  
          (Committee) insists on 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.  Should any item 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.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   Local:  
           No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/27/14)

          California Assessors' Association
          California Public Securities Association
          California Special Districts Association
          Council of California County Law Librarians
          County of Sacramento

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 6/26/14
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  
            Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,  
            Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,  
            Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein,  
            Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,  
            Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. Pérez, V.  
            Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Ridley-Thomas, 


            Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,  
            Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Gorell, Logue, Rendon, Vacancy


          AB:e  6/27/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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