BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1217
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1217 (Daly)
As Amended August 2, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |47-25 |(May 26, 2015) |SENATE: |24-12 |(August 15, |
| | | | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY: Prohibits the governing board (Board) of the Orange
County Fire Authority (OCFA) from including alternate members.
The Senate amendments delete language that would have altered
the composition of the OCFA Board and add language prohibiting
the Board from including alternate members.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill would have restructured the
composition of the OCFA Board by reducing the current 25-member
Board to 13 members, most of whom would have been selected by an
as-yet-to-be-created OCFA City Selection Committee. The
existing OCFA Board - comprised of two members from the County
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Board of Supervisors (BOS) and one member from each of the
cities that are a party to the joint powers agreement that
created the OCFA - would have been eliminated. Instead, the
OCFA Board would have been comprised of the following:
1)Three members of the County BOS, selected by the BOS;
2)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,
3)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.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS:
1)Bill Summary. This bill prohibits the composition of the OCFA
Board from including alternate members. This bill is
sponsored by the author.
2)Background. OCFA is a joint powers agency (JPA) formed
pursuant to a joint powers agreement in 1995 to provide fire
protection and related services to 18 member cities and the
unincorporated area within Orange County. Because five
additional cities have become members of OCFA since its
formation, OCFA now operates within 23 cities and the
unincorporated area in Orange County.
OCFA's joint powers agreement has been amended four times: in
1999, 2010, 2013, and 2015. The agreement establishes a
25-member board of directors to govern OCFA. The board is
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comprised of one voting member from each member city and two
voting members from Orange County. Until last year, each
member jurisdiction could name an alternate member to OCFA's
board, making 49 people eligible to attend OCFA board
meetings.
The most recent amendment to OCFA's joint powers agreement,
which took effect last year, eliminated the alternate member
positions on OCFA's board. Conversations prompted by this
bill's previous versions led a majority of OCFA's member
agencies to conclude that OCFA could address some of the
concerns raised about the Board's governance by eliminating
the 24 alternate board member positions. Although the member
agencies approved an amendment to OCFA's joint powers
agreement that eliminated the alternate board member
positions, advocates for reforming OCFA's governance structure
remain concerned that these changes could easily be undone by
a subsequent approval of another amendment to the joint powers
agreement. This bill codifies in state law the changes that
OCFA's member agencies approved last year.
3)Joint Exercise of Powers Act. JPAs have existed in California
for nearly 100 years, and were originally created to allow
multiple local governments in a region to pool resources to
meet common needs. The Joint Exercise of Powers 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.
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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.
4)Policy Considerations. The Legislature may wish to consider
the precedent this bill would establish. The purpose of the
Joint Exercise of Powers Act is to allow California government
agencies to work collaboratively through a mutually-agreeable
governance structure established by a joint exercise of powers
agreement. Having the Legislature override a joint powers
agreement to dictate a particular JPA's governing structure is
an unprecedented erosion of the broad, flexible authority
granted by the Joint Exercise of Powers Act. In practice,
this bill has little substantive effect on OCFA, because it
merely codifies the existing structure of OCFA's governing
board. However, passing this bill may invite similar
proposals asking the Legislature to impose more substantial
statutory constraints on other joint powers agreements,
further eroding a fundamental purpose of the Joint Exercise of
Powers Act, which is to provide for local control over
commonly-held local governmental powers without the need for
legislative involvement.
5)Arguments in Support. Supporters argue that this bill
prevents OCFA from restoring an unwieldy board structure that
made consensus and governance difficult.
6)Arguments in Opposition. Opponents argue that this bill sets
a precedent that erodes a purpose of the Joint Exercise of
Powers Act, which is to provide for local control over
commonly-held local governmental powers without the need for
legislative involvement.
Analysis Prepared by:
Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN:
0003844
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