BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2032
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2032 (Linder)
As Amended June 6, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 76-0 |(May 19, 2016) |SENATE: | 37-0 |(June 30, 2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY: Makes several minor changes to the city
disincorporation process in the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act
(Act).
The Senate amendments make minor and technical changes.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the procedures for the organization and
reorganization of cities, counties, and special districts,
including procedures for the disincorporation of a city under
the Act.
2)Defines "disincorporation" to mean "the dissolution,
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extinguishment, or termination of the existence of a city and
the cessation of its corporate powers, except for the purpose
of winding up the affairs of the city."
3)Requires the city to provide a written statement to the local
agency formation commission (LAFCO) prior to filing a proposal
to initiate disincorporation proceedings that determines and
certifies specified information.
4)Requires the LAFCO executive officer to prepare a
comprehensive fiscal analysis for a disincorporation proposal,
and provides a specified list of financial information that
first must be reviewed and included in the fiscal analysis.
5)Requires the county tax collector, if a tax has been levied by
the disincorporated city and remains uncollected, to collect
it when due and pay it into the county treasury on behalf of
the designated successor agency or county to wind up with
affairs of the disincorporated city.
6)Requires the board of supervisors to provide for collection of
debts due the city and wind up its affairs. Requires the
appropriate county officer, upon an order by the board of
supervisors, to perform any act necessary for winding up the
city affairs, as specified.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill:
1)Added assessments to the list of information, which includes
the amount of any tax or obligation due to the city that must
be provided by a city in a written statement to LAFCO prior to
initiating disincorporation proceedings.
2)Added to the list of information required to be in a
comprehensive fiscal analysis prepared by a LAFCO executive
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officer for a proposal to discorporate a city, the following:
a) all current and long-term liabilities, including, but not
limited to, debt obligations of the city proposed for
disincorporation, including the balance of restricted and
unrestricted funds available to extinguish the obligations and
liabilities; and, b) the potential financing mechanism or
mechanisms to address any shortfalls and obligations for those
specified responsibilities, including, but not limited to,
taxes or assessments.
3)Required the county tax collector, if an assessment has been
levied by the disincorporated city and remains uncollected, to
collect it in the same manner provided in law for the
collection of taxes.
4)Required the governing body of the successor, instead of the
board of supervisors, to provide for the collection of debts
due to the city and wind up its affairs. Requires the officer
of the successor, instead of the county officer, to perform
any acts necessary for winding up the city affairs, upon order
by LAFCO.
5)Provided that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines
that this bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those
costs shall be made, pursuant to current laws governing state
mandated local costs.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
1)Background and Bill Summary. LAFCOs are responsible for
coordinating logical and timely changes in local governmental
boundaries, conducting special studies that review ways to
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reorganize, and simplify, and streamlining governmental
organization for each city and special district within each
county. The courts refer to LAFCOs as the Legislature's
"watchdog" over local boundary changes. The Act establishes
procedures for local government changes of organization,
including city disincorporations. AB 851 (Mayes), Chapter
304, Statutes of 2015, updated the city disincorporation
process in the Act and amended many statutes that were enacted
decades ago.
This bill makes several minor changes to the statutes that
govern the city disincorporation process. For example, this
bill will add additional financial information to the list
established by AB 851 to be included in the financial analysis
as part of an executive director's report to LAFCO in
recommendation of approving or disapproving a proposed change
of organization or reorganization. Current law requires a
fiscal analysis to be done for disincorporation and would
provide LAFCO, successors, and the public with more
information about the financial status and impact of a city
disincorporation. This bill is sponsored by the State
Association of County Auditors.
2)Arguments in Support. The State Association of County
Auditors argues that this bill contains several technical, but
important amendments to recently enacted law for the city
disincorporation process.
3)Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:
Misa Lennox / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958 FN:
0003581
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