BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1217
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1217 (Daly)
As Introduced February 27, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------|
|Local |5-2 |Gonzalez, Alejo, |Maienschein, |
|Government | |Chiu, Cooley, |Waldron |
| | |Holden | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Restructures the governing board of the Orange County
Fire Authority (OCFA). Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires, notwithstanding any other law and notwithstanding the
provisions of the joint powers agreement governing the OCFA, on
and after January 1, 2018, the Board of Directors (Board) of the
OCFA to be composed of 13 members, as follows:
a) Three members of the Board of Supervisors (BOS) of the
County of Orange (County), selected by the BOS, to serve a
term of two years;
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b) One member from each of the five supervisorial districts
of the County, elected by the OCFA City Selection Committee
(as described by this bill) on a population weighted voting
basis; and,
c) One member from each of the five supervisorial districts
of the County, elected by the OCFA City Selection Committee
on a "one city, one vote" basis.
2)Requires a city that is within more than one supervisorial
district to be considered part of the district where the highest
percentage of the city's population resides. Under this
circumstance, the entire city's population shall be used for
population-weighted voting purposes.
3)Provides that OCFA Board members elected by the OCFA City
Selection Committee shall be a mayor or a city council member of
a city within the County, and shall serve for a term of two
years. An OCFA Board member elected in this manner whose term
on the city council or as mayor ends shall also cease to serve
as a member of the OCFA Board.
4)Requires the OCFA City Selection Committee to consist of either
the mayor or a member
of the city council of each city that contracts with the OCFA for
fire protection services.
5)Requires any member of the OCFA Board serving as of the
effective date of this bill to continue to serve until January
1, 2018, or until the expiration of his or her term, whichever
is sooner.
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6)Finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a
general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of
California Constitution Article IV, Section 16 because of the
challenges faced as a result of the current governance structure
of the OCFA.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes two or more public agencies, by agreement, to form a
joint powers authority (JPA) to exercise any power common to the
contracting parties, as specified.
2)Authorizes the joint powers agreement to set forth the manner by
which the JPA will be governed.
3)Authorizes the BOS of any county to contract with any local
agency within the county or with the state for services relating
to the prevention and suppression of fires.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS:
1)Bill Summary. This bill restructures the composition of the
OCFA Board by reducing the current, 25-member Board to 13
members, most of whom would be selected by an
as-yet-to-be-created OCFA City Selection Committee. The
existing OCFA Board - comprised of two members from the County
BOS and one member from each of the cities that are a party to
the JPA that created the OCFA - would be eliminated. Instead,
the OCFA Board would be comprised of the following:
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a) Three members of the County BOS, selected by the BOS;
b) One member from each of the five supervisorial districts
of the County, elected by the OCFA City Selection Committee
on a population weighted voting basis; and,
c) One member from each of the five supervisorial districts
of the County, elected by the OCFA City Selection Committee
on a "one city, one vote" basis.
This bill is sponsored by the author.
2)Author's Statement. According to the author, "The Orange County
Fire Authority was created through a Joint Powers Agreement
enacted in 1995. Since then, the OCFA has enlarged its
membership, with a current board of directors consisting of 25
members, representing the 23 municipal agency (city) partners
plus the County of Orange. This is the largest JPA board of
directors providing fire services in the State of California.
"After 20 years, it is appropriate for the current OCFA
governing board structure be reviewed and updated. In fact,
last year the OCFA board performed a self-survey as part of a
larger review of the agency. That survey found a general
consensus of the board that its current size 'increases
bureaucracy, redundancy from work already done in committees,
and makes decision making more difficult.' Furthermore, there
is a more than a 30% turnover every two years on the board,
leading to an average of only two-four years of experience per
board member. This outdated structure makes consensus and
governing difficult for a dynamic agency serving over 1.7
million residents."
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3)Background. The OCFA is a regional fire service agency that
serves 23 cities in Orange County and all unincorporated areas.
The OCFA protects over 1.68 million residents from its 71 fire
stations located throughout the County. OCFA Reserve
Firefighters work 10 stations throughout the County.
The OCFA was formed in 1995 to provide regional fire protection
and related services to the County of Orange and 18 member
cities. Subsequent to formation, five additional cities have
become members of the OCFA. The original JPA agreement was
amended in 1999 and renewed in 2010. The term of the JPA runs
through 2030, though member cities currently have the option to
withdraw in 2020.
The OCFA Board has 25 members and sets policy according to its
adopted Rules of Procedure. Twenty-three of the members
represent partner cities, and two members represent the County's
unincorporated area. The OCFA Board meets bimonthly, usually on
the fourth Thursday of the month. The Board established an
Executive Committee and a Budget and Finance Committee, both of
which meet monthly. The Board also has a Claims Settlement
Committee. The Chair of the Board makes appointments to the
Committees on an annual or as-needed basis.
The OCFA provides fire services for the following cities: Aliso
Viejo, Buena Park, Cypress, Dana Point, Irvine, Laguna Hills,
Laguna Woods, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, La
Palma, Los Alamitos, Mission Viejo, Placentia, Rancho Santa
Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Seal
Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, and Yorba
Linda.
4)Joint Exercise of Powers Act. JPAs have existed in California
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for nearly 100 years, and were originally created to allow
multiple local governments in a region to pool resources to meet
common needs. The Act authorizes federal, state and local
agencies to create and use a joint powers agreement, which is a
legal document that allows the contracting parties to exercise
powers that are common to all of the contracting parties.
A joint powers agreement can be administered by one of the
contracting agencies, or it can be carried out by a new,
separate public entity called a joint powers authority (JPA).
Joint powers agreements are an attractive tool for local
governments because they facilitate more efficient service
provision through collaboration, and they allow local entities
to issue bonds without voter ratification. Public officials
have created about 700 JPAs statewide.
The OCFA is not a special district, but was formed as a JPA and
is, therefore, governed by California's JPA laws. Its agreement
allows OCFA's member agencies to change the OCFA Board by a
two-thirds vote.
5)Policy Considerations. The Legislature may wish to consider the
following:
a) Changes to OCFA's Board. Supporters of this bill contend
that reducing the size of the Board will make it more
efficient. They also contend that it will stabilize the
composition of the Board by creating more certainty among
Board members. Currently, there are 25 members and 24
alternates, which means any combination of those 49 people
could be present for any Board meeting. Supporters note that
this is especially critical when issues are debated over
several meetings.
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Opponents, however, raise a number of concerns with this
bill. First, they point out that this bill eliminates direct
representation among all member cities in contravention of
the JPA that created the OCFA. According to the OCFA
website, a JPA model was selected as the governance structure
for the OCFA specifically because there was a need for "more
direct oversight by all participating agencies." Prior to
the formation of the JPA, fire services for the County were
provided by the Orange County Fire Department under the
oversight of the County BOS. The Web site notes, "Its
initial service area included the unincorporated portions of
the County and nine cities. However, over time with the
incorporation of five new cities and four other cities
joining the Department, the percentage of the total service
population that resided in the Department's member cities
grew from 48% in 1980 to 83% in 1995." OCFA's member
agencies joined the JPA with the agreement that each
contracting city has a seat on the Board, and the County has
two. The Legislature may wish to consider whether it is
appropriate for the Legislature to dictate the terms of an
already-existing JPA.
This bill also creates a disadvantage for some cities
currently represented on the Board, while favoring others.
Five cities will have virtually guaranteed seats (Buena Park,
Irvine, Placentia, Santa Ana, and Westminster). The other 18
cities would have to jockey for the remaining five seats.
The 10 OCFA cities in south Orange County would only have two
seats, losing a combined eight seats. Thirteen OCFA cities
in the central and north parts of the County would have eight
seats, losing a combined five seats. The Legislature may
wish to consider whether it wishes to pick winners and losers
on the re-configured Board.
b) Survey Recommendations. The author's office has cited a
survey conducted by the OCFA as justification for changing
the Board's composition. However, while the survey contained
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a number of recommendations for improving management
generally at OCFA and specifically for expanding training for
Board members, it contained no recommendations to alter the
structure of the Board.
c) OCTA as a Model. Supporters also cite the successful
operation of the Orange County Transportation Authority
(OCTA), which has 17 directors on its Board and features
population-based weighted voting as well as representation by
the County's City Selection Committee. However, the OCTA is
not a JPA. It is a special district, which garners its
authority directly from the Legislature. As such, it is
appropriate for the Legislature to exercise this authority
over OCTA's governance structure.
6)Prior legislation. AB 1104 (Maddox) of the 2001 - took several
forms, the last of which provided that, when the proceeds of
taxes levied by a county pursuant to the Shade Tree Law of 1909
are allocated to an agency formed pursuant to JPA law for the
purpose of providing fire protection services, those proceeds
may not be appropriated by that agency in a manner that provides
a financial advantage to any city that participates in the
agency over the other participating cities. AB 1104 was
generally panned in local press articles as an effort by the
author to gain favor with OCFA's firefighters' union, which
favored a smaller Board for the ease of lobbying it would have
provided. AB 1104 was referred to the Assembly Local Government
Committee, but was never heard.
7)Arguments in Support. The City of Santa Ana, in support,
writes, "Assembly Bill 1217 proposes a smaller, streamlined
board of 13 members. Modeled after the Orange County
Transportation Authority, this structure will ensure that the
City of Santa Ana has a stronger voice on policy matters
considered by the OCFA Board of Directors. A smaller board also
facilitates consensus and governing for a crucially important
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agency serving over 1.7 million residents.
"In 2012, the Santa Ana City Council joined the Orange County
Fire Authority. This decision has saved Santa Ana millions of
dollars annually while maintaining all ten of our city's fire
stations. The Orange County Fire Authority has provided great
service to the city - in fact, one out of residents served by
OCFA lives in Santa Ana."
8)Arguments in Opposition. The Orange County Fire Authority, in
opposition, states, "We oppose any legislation that preempts
local authority and this bill seeks to impose a State solution
to a perceived problem that the proponents have grossly
exaggerated? The Orange County Professional Firefighters
Association has stated in public meetings that the genesis of
this bill is to address long since resolved issues with
oversight and governance. [We] have worked collaboratively over
the past year to put in place new management and processes to
ensure a more engaged Board. In contrast, this bill would
remove many Directors who have been active in transforming the
OCFA.
"Sacramento should not dictate the form, size, and structure of
local governance especially when it impacts the delivery of fire
and emergency medical service? One should ask if this bill does
become law what is to prevent other efforts to remake local
legislative bodies?"
Analysis Prepared by:
Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN:
0000419
AB 1217
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