BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1260
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Date of Hearing: May 27, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1260 (Thurmond) - As Amended May 22, 2015
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| |Higher Education | |8 - 3 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY: This bill would authorize the University of California
(UC) to enter into a joint powers agreement (JPA) with the City
of Richmond (City), or an enhanced infrastructure financing
district (EIFD) created by the City, for purposes of financing
infrastructure within the area of the South Shoreline Specific
Plan and the Berkeley Global Campus at Richmond Bay, located in
the City of Richmond, if UC and the City have entered into a
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specific agreement detailing all the commitments made by the
University. The bill specifies that the agreement must include
all of the following:
1)The creation of an Anti-Displacement Fund for affordable
housing.
2)Vocational training programs for the residents of the City of
Richmond.
3)An agreement that all wages paid for employment at the
Richmond Global Campus be at least 30% above the minimum wage.
4)An agreement with the Contra Costa Building and Construction
Trades Council to provide for the wages and working conditions
of the employees engaged in the construction of the Richmond
Global Campus.
5)An agreement that all the jobs at the Richmond Global Campus
that are comparable to jobs performed at UC Berkeley will be
employed by the University under the same terms and conditions
that govern employment at UC Berkeley.
6)The creation of a Youth Opportunity and Education Fund.
7)A policy of preferential procurement opportunities for small
businesses located in the City of Richmond.
8)Local hire agreements.
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FISCAL EFFECT:
No state costs. Costs to local agencies to form JPAs or EIFDs
are not reimbursable.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, the intent of this measure
is to facilitate a partnership between the City of Richmond
and UC Berkeley (UCB) with regards to the creation of a UCB
Global Campus in Richmond Bay. The author states, "The
current version of the bill speaks to the unique situation of
the Global Campus in terms of the needs of the City and the
ability of the UC to partner with the City on infrastructure
and financing. The bill is working toward providing an
efficient public financing mechanism to fund the shared,
critical infrastructure required for development of the
University of California at Berkeley Global Campus and the
complimentary City of Richmond South Shoreline Specific Plan
Area."
2)Background. JPAs were originally created to allow multiple
local governments in a region to pool resources to meet common
needs. Federal, state and local agencies can create and use a
joint powers agreement, which allows the contracting parties
to exercise powers that are common to all of the contracting
parties. 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.
Existing law authorizes a city or county to establish an EIFD,
adopt an infrastructure financing plan, and issue bonds for
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which only the district is liable, upon approval of 55% of the
voters, and to finance public capital facilities. The district
must create an infrastructure financing plan which includes
the date the district will end.
3)Related Legislation. AB 656 (C. Garcia), pending in this
Committee, would allow a mutual water company and a public
agency to enter into a joint powers agreement for the
provision of insurance and risk-pooling, technical support,
continuing education, safety engineering, and operational and
managerial advisory assistance for the purpose of reducing
risk liabilities.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081