BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 738
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
738 (Beth Gaines)
As Amended May 11, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Local |9-0 |Maienschein, | |
|Government | |Gonzalez, Alejo, | |
| | |Chiu, Cooley, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Linder, Waldron | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Makes changes to Sacramento Regional Transit District's
(RT) boundaries and establishes a new process for the annexation
and detachment of territory. Specifically, this bill:
1)Repeals existing law which governs RT boundaries, and instead,
requires RT's boundaries to include the following:
a) The Cities of Sacramento and Rancho Cordova;
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b) The unincorporated territory of Sacramento County that is
within the urban service area, as determined by the Board of
Supervisors;
c) The Cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Davis, Folsom,
Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Sacramento, West Sacramento, and
Woodland, and the Counties of Sacramento and Yolo that have
annexed to RT; and,
d) A city incorporated on or after January 1, 2016, in which
the city consists entirely of territory that was included in
RT prior to the city's incorporation.
2)Prohibits RT's boundaries from being affected by the
incorporation of any territory wholly or partly within RT's
boundaries or by annexation to or detachment from any city or
territory wholly or partly within RT's boundaries, except as
follows:
a) If a city is included in RT and annexes territory outside
RT's boundaries, then that territory is deemed incorporated
and annexed into RT, upon completion of the city annexation
proceeding; and,
b) If territory partly within and partly outside RT is
incorporated as a new city, on or after January 1, 2016, then
the new city is deemed incorporated into and annexed into RT,
upon completion of the city incorporation proceeding.
3)Provides that territory deemed incorporated and annexed to RT,
pursuant to 1) and 2) above, shall be subject to taxation, in
accordance with the assessable valuation of the property in that
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territory for general district purposes and for payment of any
indebtedness incurred by RT, as specified.
4)Prohibits RT from levying an ad valorem property tax within the
boundaries of any city that is not within RT's boundaries.
5)Prohibits RT from levying an ad valorem property tax in all or
part of an unincorporated area of any county, if the
unincorporated area is not within RT's boundaries.
6)Repeals a provision in existing law which governs the annexation
process for a city or county to become part of RT which required
written request by that city or county and approval by
Sacramento Area Council of Governments, and instead, establishes
a negotiated annexation process.
7)Allows any city or county listed in 1) above, to be annexed to
RT in the manner provided in 8) below.
8)Requires the legislative body of the city or county proposed to
be annexed to agree in writing with RT's board of directors
(Board) upon the terms and conditions of annexation. The
agreement, among other things, may provide for the levy and
collection of special taxes within the city or unincorporated
area of the county, the fixing of rates, rentals, and charges
differing from elsewhere in the district, and the transfer of
property.
9)Authorizes RT to detach territory within its boundaries by a
supermajority vote of the Board, which shall be at least 80% of
the non-weighted vote of the existing Board, and by a majority
vote of the governing body of the territory proposed to be
detached, provided that the detached territory shall not be
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relieved from liability for taxation for the payment of any
bonded indebtedness existing at the time of detachment, and
provided that all other pending legal and financial obligations
have been resolved by mutual agreement.
10)Provides that the detachment of territory from RT shall be
effective upon giving the notice to the Board of Equalization
and the county assessor as required by current law for local
agency formation commissions to file boundary changes.
11)Requires notice of the detachment of territory from RT to be
given to each assessor whose roll is used for a tax levy, as
specified.
12)Makes conforming changes to the definition of "member entity"
in RT's Act to mean a city or county that is within the
boundaries of RT as defined in 1) above.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Sacramento Regional Transit District Act (Act)
which governs the powers and functions of RT, and establishes
RT's territory and Board.
2)Provides that RT shall be formed upon the adoption of a
resolution by the City Council of Sacramento and by the
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors declaring there is a need
for RT.
3)Authorizes RT to comprise the Cities of Citrus Heights, Elk
Grove, Davis, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Sacramento,
West Sacramento, and Woodland, and specified territory in the
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Counties of Sacramento and Yolo to the extent they are not
included in the above-mentioned cities.
4)Provides any city or county may annex to and become part of RT
upon approval by the Board following a written request by that
city or county and the approval of the Sacramento Area Council
of Governments.
5)Requires RT's boundaries, at any point in time, to include:
a) All the area of any city eligible to participate as
defined in 3) or 4) above, in which the governing body has
declared a need for RT to operate; and,
b) That area of any county eligible to participate under 3)
or 4) above, within which the governing body has declared a
need for RT to operate.
6)Authorizes RT to operate and exercise its powers within any city
provided that RT has no power to levy an ad valorem property tax
within the boundaries of any city, unless the city council
adopts a resolution declaring there is a need for RT to operate
and levy a tax within the city boundaries.
7)Authorizes RT to operate and exercise its powers within all or
part of the unincorporated area of any county provided that RT
has no power to levy an ad valorem property tax within any
unincorporated area, unless the board of supervisors of the
county adopts a resolution declaring a need for RT to operate
and levy a tax within the unincorporated area of the county.
8)Specifies that a city or county that is not annexed to RT may
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become a participating entity that is entitled to make at least
one appointment to the Board, if they enter into an agreement
with RT to pay their proportional share of RT's cost to provide
rail or other district-wide transit services to the entity and
the District agrees to maintain a specified level of services
and is not obligated to provide transit services along any
particular route or location.
9)Defines "member entity" to mean a city or county that is annexed
to RT pursuant to 2), 3), or 4) above. Defines "member
entities" to mean all those cities and counties.
10)Defines "participating entity" to mean a city or county that is
not annexed to RT, but has entered into a specified agreement to
pay its proportional share of RT's cost to provide rail or other
district-wide transit services to the entity.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS:
1)RT. The Legislature authorized the creation of the Sacramento
Regional Transit District in 1971 to operate a comprehensive
public transportation system for the Sacramento region. RT
serves an area encompassing 418 square miles and 1.4 million
people; it operates 67 bus routes and 38.6 miles of light rail
service. RT is governed by an 11-member Board of Directors
comprised of eight directors that are appointed by the annexed
jurisdictions, which are "member entities," including Sacramento
County, and the Cities of Sacramento and Rancho Cordova.
Additionally, three directors are appointed by non-annexed
jurisdictions, which are "participating entities," including the
Cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, and Folsom. Board members
vote based on a weighted vote system established by AB 2137
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(Niello), Chapter 227, Statutes of 2008, which is based upon the
type of membership and the financial contribution made by each
entity to RT.
2)Bill Summary. This bill makes several changes to the way RT's
boundaries may be changed by establishing a new process for
annexation and detachment of territory.
Current law allows any city or county to annex and become part
of RT upon approval of the Board, if the request is made in
writing by the city or county, and the Sacramento Area Council
of Governments approves the annexation. This bill repeals this
provision of law and establishes a new annexation process for
RT. This bill authorizes RT and the legislative body of a city
or county proposed to be annexed to agree in writing on the
terms and conditions for annexation. This process is already
contained in statute for several other transit districts. Under
this bill, the agreement for annexation may include the fixing
of rates or charges, the transfer of property, or provide for
the levy and collection of special taxes. The annexation
process would apply to any city listed in the territory defined
in RT's enabling act, which means the Cities of Citrus Heights,
Elk Grove, Davis, Folsom, Roseville, West Sacramento, Woodland
and specified territory in the Counties of Sacramento and Yolo
could be annexed pursuant to this process. If a city or county
wanted to be annexed to RT and they weren't listed in RT's
enabling act, they would need to modify statute.
Under current law, if a new city incorporated entirely within
the territory of RT, the new city council would need to annex
back into the district to activate their membership as a member
entity. Under this bill, if a new city incorporates after
January 1, 2016, and is entirely within RT's boundaries or
includes any territory within RT's boundaries, that city would
automatically be annexed to RT as a member entity.
Additionally, this bill authorizes RT to detach territory within
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its boundaries with a vote of 80% of the non-weighted Board and
a majority vote of the governing body of the territory proposed
to be detached.
This bill is sponsored by RT.
3)Author's Statement. According to the author, "The purpose of
this bill is two-fold: 1) A number of jurisdictions presently
contract with RT for service (the Cities of Citrus Heights,
Folsom, and Elk Grove). As contracting parties, these
jurisdictions are able to maintain a degree of control over the
operations of service within their boundaries; these
jurisdictions have expressed reluctance to annex to RT and cede
control over service that is of benefit to their citizens.
Addition of a provision for a negotiated annexation would permit
RT and the affected jurisdiction to negotiate an annexation
agreement that might commit RT to certain service levels and
amenities; 2) The other concern this bill addresses is future
incorporation of areas within RT's present boundaries. RT has
made significant capital investments in bus and rail transit
facilities within its present boundaries and its operations are
designed to provide efficient transportation within those
boundaries. As RT's Act is presently written, a newly
incorporated area must affirmatively act to annex to RT to
remain within its boundaries. To protect RT's existing
investments in these areas and the integrity of its existing
transit network, this bill would specify that these areas remain
a part of RT notwithstanding a new incorporation."
4)Arguments in Support. Supporters argue that this bill addresses
issues unique to the manner in which cities and counties may
activate their participation with RT.
5)Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
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Analysis Prepared by:
Misa Lennox / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN:
0000373