BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 746
          Author:   Ting (D)
          Amended:  6/22/15 in Senate
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE:  5-2, 6/17/15
           AYES:  Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Pavley
           NOES:  Nguyen, Moorlach

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  51-24, 5/18/15 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority


          SOURCE:    Author

          DIGEST:   This bill makes several changes to statutes relating  
          to the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority's governing board  
          and financing powers.

          ANALYSIS: 

          Existing law:

          1)Creates the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority (SFBRA) as  
            a regional entity with jurisdiction extending throughout the  
            San Francisco Bay Area (AB 2954, Lieber, Chapter 690, Statutes  
            of 2008).  The SFBRA's purpose is to raise and allocate  
            resources for the restoration, enhancement, protection, and  
            enjoyment of wetlands and wildlife habitats in the San  
            Francisco Bay and along its shoreline.








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          2)Allows the SFBRA to issue revenues bonds. 

          3)Allows the SFBRA to incur bonded indebtedness subject to a  
            requirement that the it must comply with specified statutes  
            that allow recreation and park districts' boards of directors,  
            with 2/3 voter approval, to issue general obligation bonds to  
            pay for acquiring or improving real property.

          4)Establishes and defines annual appropriation limits on each  
            local government based on an annual appropriation for the  
            prior fiscal year and requires adjustments for changes in the  
            cost of living, changes in population, and other specified  
            factors.

          5)Prohibits the SFBRA from levying a benefit assessment, special  
            tax, or property-related fee after December 31, 2028.

          6)Requires that the SFBRA must reimburse counties only for the  
            incremental costs incurred by the county elections official  
            related to submitting a ballot measure proposed by the SFBRA  
            to the voters.

          7)Repeals the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority Act on  
            January 1, 2029.

          8)Requires that the SFBRA's governing board must be comprised of  
            seven members, including a Chair, who must be a resident of  
            the San Francisco Bay Area and have expertise in the  
            implementation of the California Coastal Conservancy's San  
            Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program.

          This bill:

           1) Specifies that the SFBRA may incur a general obligation  
             bonded indebtedness for the acquisition or improvement of  
             real property or for funding or refunding of any outstanding  
             indebtedness. 

           2) Requires that the total amount of bonded indebtedness that  
             the SFBRA may incur pursuant to both its revenue bond and  
             general obligation bond authority must not exceed $1.5  
             billion.








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           3) Contains a legislative finding and declaration that the  
             changes this bill makes to specified provisions in existing  
             law explicitly affirm the SFBRA's authority to incur general  
             obligation bond indebtedness so as to implement the  
             Legislature's intent when those provisions were first  
             enacted.

           4) Contains a legislative finding and declaration that the  
             SFBRA has no associated appropriations limit as of this  
             bill's effective date because the SFBRA has not assumed any  
             existing duties from another local or state government entity  
             and has received no state or local government revenues not  
             counted toward another entity's appropriations limit.

           5) Requires that the appropriations limit for the SFBRA must be  
             originally established based on receipts from the initial  
             measure that would generate revenues for the authority, and  
             that establishment of an appropriations limit must not be  
             deemed a change in an appropriations limit for purposes of  
             the California Constitution.

           6) Extends the period of time during which the SFBRA can levy a  
             benefit assessment, special tax, or property-related fee by  
             20 years, through December 31, 2048.

           7) Extends by two years, from January 1, 2017 to January 1,  
             2019, the sunset date on the election cost reimbursement  
             requirements.

           8) Extends the sunset date on the statutes governing the SFBRA  
             by 20 years, until January 1, 2049

           9) Requires that the Chair of the SFBRA's governing board must  
             be an elected official of a bayside county, city, or special  
             district who has expertise in the implementation of the  
             California Coastal Conservancy's San Francisco Bay Area  
             Conservancy Program.

           10)Makes additional technical and conforming changes to the  
             statutes governing the SFBRA.

          Background
          
          Since 2009, the SFBRA has been planning to submit a ballot  







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          measure to voters in the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties  
          seeking approval of revenues to fund the Authority's restoration  
          activities.  In recent years, the Legislature has amended the  
          SFBRA's enabling act to:

          1)Specify requirements that apply to a regional ballot measure  
            submitted to voters by the SFBRA (AB 2103, Hill, Chapter 373,  
            Statutes of 2010).

          2)Revise the SFBRA's boundaries and revise the definition of  
            eligible projects (AB 1656, Fong, Chapter 535, Statutes of  
            2012).

          3)Specify procedures for conducting a multi-county election to  
            approve a special tax measure proposed by the SFBRA (SB 279,  
            Hancock, Chapter 514, Statutes of 2013).  

          The SFBRA's governing board is now preparing to submit a ballot  
          measure to voters in 2016 seeking approval either of parcel  
          taxes or general obligation bonds to finance restoration  
          projects around the San Francisco Bay.  In anticipation of  
          submitting a ballot measure to voters, SFBRA officials want to  
          amend the statutes that govern the SFBRA to:

          1)Clarify the SFBRA's powers to incur general obligation bonded  
            indebtedness.

          2)Define the manner in which the SFBRA's appropriations limit is  
            to be established.

          3)Extend statutory sunset dates in the SFBRA's enabling act.

          4)Modify the qualifications that apply to the Chair of the  
            SFBRA's governing board.

          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   Yes


          SUPPORT:   (Verified7/7/15)


          San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority
          Audubon California







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          Bay Area Council
          California League of Conservation Voters
          City of Redwood City
          Ducks Unlimited
          East Bay Regional Park District
          San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
          San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
          Santa Clara County Open Space Authority
          Santa Clara Valley Water District
          Save the Bay
          Silicon Valley Leadership Group
          Sonoma Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
          Sonoma Land Trust
          The Nature Conservancy


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified7/7/15)


          Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  51-24, 5/18/15
          AYES:  Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke,  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh,  
            Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia,  
            Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández,  
            Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina,  
            Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,  
            Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond,  
            Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Atkins
          NOES:  Achadjian, Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez,  
            Dahle, Beth Gaines, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Irwin, Jones,  
            Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mayes, Obernolte, Olsen,  
            Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Gallagher, Kim, Mathis, Melendez, Wilk

          Prepared by:Brian Weinberger / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
          7/7/15 15:01:37


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