BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 514 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 514 (Williams) - As Amended May 4, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Local Government |Vote:|6 - 2 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill increases the statutory caps on fines that a county may impose for violations, determined to be infractions, of ordinances governing building and safety, brush removal, AB 514 Page 2 grading, film permitting, or zoning. FISCAL EFFECT: The bill is permissive and, therefore, any local costs are not reimbursable. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. This bill seeks to encourage proper permitting for construction activities and for large events at residential locations by providing for increased fines for specified county ordinance violations. According to the author, "The Land Use and Development codes focus on events that have over 300 people attending, if there is potential public disturbance, and/or a structure is built that would alter the local landscape. The current small fines for violations of forgoing permits do not provide disincentives for violations of the Land Use and Development codes for special events (parties, weddings, and film shoots) and conditions for construction hours and days. AB 514 creates a reasonable deterrence mechanism and provides counties with more control to enforce local health and safety ordinances." 2)Background. Current law allows cities and counties to establish ordinances, makes violations of ordinances misdemeanors, unless they are made infractions via ordinance adopted by the city or county, and outlines the fee structure for ordinance violations and building and safety code violations that are determined to be infractions. Fines for first violations, under current law, cannot exceed $100. AB 514 Page 3 Supporters contend that in some cases the fines are so low that property owners find it easier to violate County's land use and development codes and pay the low fine than to obtain a permit. Permit fees are accessed on a situational bases, thus the cost of each permit varies. The cost of permits for large events and certain construction projects is typically higher than $100, which does not incentivize property owners to obtain the permit. Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081