BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 738
          Author:   Beth Gaines (R)
          Amended:  7/16/15 in Senate
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE:  11-0, 7/14/15
           AYES:  Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,  
            McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  75-0, 5/22/15 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Sacramento Regional Transit District


          SOURCE:    Sacramento Regional Transit District

          DIGEST:   This bill recasts membership in the Sacramento  
          Regional Transit District and redefines the boundaries of the  
          District.
          
          ANALYSIS:   


          Existing law:
          
            1)  Establishes the Sacramento Regional Transit (Sacramento  
              RT) District to operate a single unified public  
              transportation system in the Sacramento region in order to  
              meet the present and future public transportation, and mass  
              and rapid transit, needs of the region.

            2)  Defines member entities of the Sacramento RT District as  
              cities or counties that are annexed to the district.








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            3)  Enables any city or county to annex and become part of the  
              Sacramento RT District following a written request by that  
              city or county and upon approval by the Sacramento Area  
              Council of Governments.

            4)  Defines the boundaries of the Sacramento RT District as: 

              a)    All of the areas of any eligible cities in which a  
                city council has declared the need for the district to  
                operate; and

              b)    Any of the area of a county described in statute  
                within which a board of supervisors has declared the need  
                for the district to operate.

            1)  Enables Sacramento RT to operate and exercise its powers  
              within any city or county.

            2)  Restricts Sacramento RT from levying an ad valorem  
              property tax within the boundaries of any city or county  
              unless that city council or county board of supervisors  
              declares that there is a need for Sacramento RT to levy a  
              tax within its boundaries.

          This bill:

            1)  Defines member entities of Sacramento RT as any city or  
              county within the district boundaries.

            2)  Determines the boundaries of Sacramento RT to include:

              a)    The cities of Sacramento and Rancho Cordova;

              b)    The unincorporated territory of Sacramento County  
                within the urban service area, as determined by the Board  
                of Supervisors, and not otherwise divided from the rest of  
                the unincorporated territory by an incorporated city; and

              c)    An eligible city or county that has annexed to the  
                district.

            1)  Requires that any territory annexed into a city currently  
              included in Sacramento RT also be included in the district.







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              If a territory within the boundaries of Sacramento RT is  
              annexed to any city that is not a member entity, that  
              territory shall remain part of the district unless no  
              transit service is operated or planned by the district  
              within or near that annexed territory, as defined, subject  
              to a determination by the Sacramento County Local Agency  
              Formation Commission.

            2)  Requires any new city incorporated on or after January 1,  
              2016, which has any territory within Sacramento RT  
              boundaries, to be annexed wholly into the district.

            3)  Declares that any territory included within the district  
              boundaries of Sacramento RT is subject to taxation in  
              accordance with the assessable valuation of the property and  
              that revenue can be used for general purposes and for  
              payment of any district indebtedness.

            4)  Restricts Sacramento RT from levying an ad valorem  
              property tax on any territory that is not within the  
              district boundaries.

            5)  Requires the legislative body of any city or county that  
              wishes to be annexed into Sacramento RT to agree in writing  
              upon terms and conditions of annexation with the district's  
              board of directors.

            6)  Eliminates the Sacramento Area Council of Governments'  
              approval of annexation of any new territory to the district.

            7)  Requires any territory wishing to detach from the district  
              to obtain a supermajority vote of 80% of the district's  
              board of directors, and a majority of its governing body, in  
              order to no longer be part of the district.

            8)  Holds any territory that detaches from the district  
              responsible for taxation for the payment of any bonded  
              indebtedness existing at the time of detachment.

          Background

          Sacramento RT.  The Legislature authorized the creation of the  
          Sacramento RT District in 1971 to operate a comprehensive public  







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          transportation system for the Sacramento region.  

          Sacramento 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.  Sacramento RT is governed by an 11-member  
          board of directors comprised of eight directors that are  
          appointed by the 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 (Niello,  
          Chapter 227, Statutes of 2008), which is based upon the type of  
          membership and the financial contribution made by each entity to  
          the district.

          Comments

          Purpose.  According to the author, this bill is attempting to  
          resolve a few problems created by existing law.  First, some  
          jurisdictions in Sacramento County, specifically the cities of  
          Folsom, Citrus Heights, and Elk Grove, contract for service with  
          Sacramento RT but are reluctant to annex into the district for  
          fear of losing some existing degree of control over the  
          operations of service within their boundaries.  This bill allows  
          entities to negotiate their relationships to Sacramento RT  
          before annexing into the district and therefore allay some  
          concerns.  Second, Sacramento RT has invested in some currently  
          unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, and to protect those  
          investments this bill specifies that those areas remain part of  
          the district notwithstanding any new city incorporations in the  
          future.  Finally, this bill creates a mechanism for a member  
          city to leave the district if it wishes, which is currently not  
          possible under existing law.
           
           Concerns Resolved.  Earlier concerns by the City of Elk Grove  
          have been resolved.  The City is now neutral.
          
          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/11/15)








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          Sacramento Regional Transit District (source)


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/11/15)


          None received



          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  75-0, 5/22/15
          AYES:  Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla,  
            Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,  
            Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,  
            Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina  
            Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,  
            Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,  
            Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,  
            Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea,  
            Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,  
            Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams,  
            Wood, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Alejo, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron, Weber

          Prepared by:Randy Chinn & Eric Thronson / T. & H. / (916)  
          651-4121
          8/13/15 13:10:14


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