BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
------------------------------------------------------------------
|Bill No: |AB 1817 |Hearing |5/11/16 |
| | |Date: | |
|----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------|
|Author: |Mark Stone |Tax Levy: |No |
|----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------|
|Version: |4/11/16 |Fiscal: |No |
------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant|Weinberger |
|: | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Solid waste: garbage and refuse disposal districts: board of
directors
Increases the maximum amounts of compensation that can be
provided to a garbage and refuse disposal district's board of
directors.
Background
State law allows a county board of supervisors to form a garbage
and refuse disposal district after determining, by resolution,
that a portion of the county is in need of a site for the
disposal of garbage and refuse and should be formed into a
district (AB 1054, Silhman, 1951). State law prohibits any
garbage and refuse disposal district from being formed after
October 1, 1961.
A garbage and refuse disposal district's board of director may
receive a maximum of $50 per diem for each day of attendance at
board meetings and a maximum of $100 per diem in any calendar
month (SB 675, Grunsky, 1975). Board members may be reimbursed
for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the
performance of official business of the district, as approved by
the board. These limits on board members' compensation are
lower than the limits for board members of some other types of
special districts that provide waste disposal services. For
example, state law allows community services district and
AB 1817 (Mark Stone) Page 2
of ?
sanitary district board members to be compensated up $100 per
meeting for up to six meetings per month and allows those
districts' boards to adopt ordinances that increase board
members' compensation.
According to data collected by the State Controller's Office,
the Monterey Regional Waste Management District (MRWMD) is the
only special district still in existence that operates pursuant
to the statutes that govern garbage and refuse disposal
districts. MRWMD was created in 1951 as the Monterey Peninsula
Garbage & Refuse Disposal District in response to the dumping
and burning of waste on coastal sand dunes in Pacific Grove,
Monterey, and Carmel. In 1987, the District changed its name to
the Monterey Regional Waste Management District (MRWMD). MRWMD
provides solid waste management and resource recovery, operates
the 315 acre Monterey Peninsula Landfill, and develops and
operates a number of other waste diversion and recycling
facilities and programs. MRWMD is governed by board of
directors comprised of nine members who are appointed to
four-year terms.
MRWMD officials note that as its board of director's
responsibilities has increased, the principal act that limits
directors' compensation remains unchanged. They want the
Legislature to amend the statute that limits directors'
compensation to more closely align with statutes that govern
other waste disposal districts' boards.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 1817 increases the cap on compensation for a
garbage and refuse disposal district's board of directors.
Specifically, AB 1817:
Deletes the $50 per meeting limit on the amount of per
diem that a director can receive and, instead, authorizes
the board, by ordinance or resolution, to provide
compensation that does not exceed $100 per meeting or for
each day of service rendered as director by request of the
board.
Deletes the $100 monthly limit on the amount of per diem
received by each director and, instead, authorizes a board
member to receive compensation for up to six days in a
AB 1817 (Mark Stone) Page 3
of ?
calendar month.
Provides that reimbursement and compensation for
meetings are subject to existing law, which requires a
governing board to adopt a written policy to determine
acceptable compensable activities, and adopt written
policies for reimbursing expenses.
Makes other technical changes.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . The $50 per meeting and $100 per month
limits on compensation received by MRWMD's Board of Directors
were enacted in 1975. During the past four decades, MRWMD has
increased its responsibilities and obligations due to an
expanding residential and commercial population and new
statutorily-required duties. MRWMD directors now oversee a $24
million budget, the recovery of recyclable materials in the
waste stream, composting of green waste and food waste, receipt
of non-hazardous liquid waste, disposal of municipal solid
waste, and the operation of a landfill gas-to-electric energy
system. Board members attend many more than two meetings per
month and often attend other trainings and workshops. AB 1817
proposes to update the statute governing MRWMD directors'
compensation to align more closely with directors' expanded
responsibilities as well as to mirror the compensation rates of
other waste disposal districts in the state.
2. A garbage and refuse disposal district, by any other name,
would smell as sweet . State law allows several types of
independent special districts to provide solid waste handling
and recycling services, including: community services districts,
county water districts, municipal utility districts, public
utility districts, and sanitary districts. MRWMD is apparently
the only special district that is governed by the state laws
that, until 1961, allowed for the establishment of "garbage and
refuse disposal districts." Rather than requiring the
AB 1817 (Mark Stone) Page 4
of ?
Legislature to periodically update MRWMD's outdated governing
statutes to conform to statutes that govern other districts, it
may make sense to convert MRWMD to a community services
district, utility district, or other type of special district
that is governed by a more-widely-used principal act. Six years
ago, the Legislature enacted an "expedited reorganization"
process by which a local agency formation commission (LAFOC)
could convert resort improvement districts or municipal
improvement districts into community services districts (SB
1023, Wiggins, 2010). The Committee may wish to consider
amending AB 1817 to establish a similar "expedited
reorganization" process by which the Monterey County LAFCO could
convert the MRWMD into another type of special district that can
provide solid waste services pursuant to a more modern principal
act.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Local Government Committee: 7-1
Assembly Floor: 53-16
Support and
Opposition (5/5/16)
Support : Monterey Regional Waste Management District;
California Special Districts Association; Monterey County
Business Council; Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce; Save
Our Shores; The Offset Project.
Opposition : Unknown.
-- END --
AB 1817 (Mark Stone) Page 5
of ?