BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1666
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Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1666 (Brough) - As Amended May 4, 2016
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|Policy |Local Government |Vote:|9 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires a local agency that has formed a Community
Facilities District (CFD) that has an Internet Web site, within
seven months after the last day of each fiscal year of the CFD,
to display prominently on their website all of the following
information:
a)A copy of an annual report or that fiscal year, upon request
of a resident or landowner of the district;
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b)A copy of the report provided to the California Debt and
Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC), which requires a
legislative body to annually report specified bond
information;
c)A copy of the report provided to the State Controller's
office, which requires the Controller to annually publish and
post specified information on each locally assessed parcel
tax.
FISCAL EFFECT:
No state fiscal impact. Local costs are not reimbursable.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "The bill is being
presented to require transparency in agencies who issue
Community Facility District bonds. Currently, it is very
difficult or nearly impossible for taxpayers to access and
understand information about the original bond amount, the
taxes collected, the funds collected in excess of bond
payments and expenses, projects funded, the end date of the
bond and when CFD tax assessments will expire. The phone
number on the tax bill is generally that of the bond
consultants who provide little information and refer the
caller back to the bond issuing agency. In many cases the
taxpayer is forced to file public records requests in an
attempt to locate information or to scour hundreds of pages of
agendas and board packets as well as to decipher annual
audits. Even then all the information is not readily made
available."
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2)Mello-Roos and CFD. The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act
allows counties, cities, special districts, and school
districts to form a CFD and levy special taxes (parcel taxes)
to finance a wide variety of facilities and services,
including parks, recreation centers, schools, libraries, child
care facilities, and utility infrastructure. Current law
establishes the process for the formation of a CFD, and
requires two-thirds voter approval for the Mello-Roos special
tax. A CFD issues bonds secured by these special taxes to
finance the facilities and services.
If requested by a resident or landowner of the district, a CFD
must prepare an annual report within 120 days after the last
day of each fiscal year containing specified information about
the CFD. Existing law authorizes a CFD to charge a fee for
the report, not in excess of the actual costs of preparing the
report.
3)Current Reporting Requirements. Under the State Treasurer,
CDIAC collects, maintains, and provides comprehensive
information on all state and local debt authorization and
issuance, and serves as a statistical clearinghouse for all
state and local debt issues. Current law requires CDIAC to
make this information readily available upon request by any
public official or any member of the pubic. All local
government issuers of CFD bonds are required to provide a
fiscal status report containing specified information to CDIAC
by October 30 of every year until the bonds have been retired.
Current law requires the State Controller's Office to compile
and publish on its website annual reports summarizing local
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agencies' finances, including their revenue sources. These
reports are based on the financial data submitted to the
Controller by counties, cities, and special districts and
provide detail on the aggregate amount of various taxes
collected by each local agency. In 2014, the Legislature
expanded the information required in the annual report to
include specified information on the imposition of each
locally assessed parcel tax.
4)Current Related Legislation. SB 1029 (Hertzberg), pending in
the Senate Appropriations Committee, requires state and local
government debt issuers to report to CDIAC specified
information about proposed and outstanding debt, including a
list of the purposes for which the debt has been issued and
the amounts expended for each purpose in the prior fiscal
year.
5)Prior Legislation.
a) AB 341 (Achadjian), Chapter 37, Statutes of 2015, made
several changes to the statutes requiring local governments
to report annual financial information to the Controller's
Office.
b) AB 237 (Daly) of 2015, which was held on this
Committee's Suspense file, would have required local
agencies to provide specified notification to property
owners before the adoption of any new parcel tax.
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c) AB 2109 (Daly), Chapter 781, Statutes of 2014, required
the State Controller to report annually on the imposition
of each locally assessed parcel tax, and required each
county, city, and special district to provide any
information required by the Controller in order to complete
the report.
d) AB 892 (Daly) of 2013, which was held on this
Committee's Suspense file, would have required the Board of
Equalization to report annually to the Governor on the
imposition of each locally assessed parcel tax.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081