BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2801|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2801
Author: Gallagher (R)
Amended: 5/4/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/15/16
AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach,
Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/19/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Local government: fees and charges: written
protest
SOURCE: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
DIGEST: This bill requires local agencies to retain written
protests for a minimum of two years.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires local governments to follow specified procedures to
impose fees, assessments, and taxes, including voter approval
in some cases.
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Page 2
2)Specifies the process for seeking voter approval and requires
local officials to hold ballots for at least two years
following the election (SB 553, Yee, Chapter 215, Statutes of
2013), including:
a) Prior to imposing or increasing a property-related fee,
a local government is required to identify the parcels,
mail a written notice to all the property owners subject to
the fee detailing the amount of the fee, the reason for the
fee, and the date, time, and location of a public hearing
on the proposed fee.
b) No sooner than 45 days after mailing the notice to
property owners, the agency must conduct a public hearing
on the proposed fee.
c) If a majority of owners of the identified parcels
provide written protests against the fee, it cannot be
imposed or increased by the agency.
d) Only one written protest per parcel, filed by an owner
or tenant of the parcel, counts in order to calculate the
majority protest.
3)Establishes similar procedures for assessments (SB 1477,
Lewis, Chapter 220, Statutes of 2000).
This bill requires an agency that proposes to charge a new
property related fee or increase an existing one to maintain all
written protests for at least two years after the hearing at
which the protests were counted.
Background
AB 2801
Page 3
Article XIIID of the California Constitution (Proposition 218,
1996) distinguishes among fees for property-related services,
taxes, and assessments, and local governments must take certain
actions before they can impose those charges. Counties and
other local agencies with police powers may impose any one of
these charges on property owners, after meeting the requirements
established by Proposition 218. Special districts created by
statute, however, must have specific authority for each of these
revenue sources.
The Constitution defines a fee (or charge) as any levy other
than an ad valorem tax, special tax, or assessment that is
imposed by a local government on a parcel or on a person as an
incident of property ownership, including a user fee for a
property-related service. The fee imposed on any parcel or
person cannot exceed the proportional cost of the service that
is attributable to the parcel. Additionally, a property-related
fee cannot be imposed for general governmental services like
police, fire, and library services.
The Legislature enacted the Proposition 218 Omnibus
Implementation Act to translate many of Proposition 218's
requirements into statutory definitions and procedures (SB 919,
Rainey, 1997). Prior to imposing or increasing a
property-related fee, a local government is required to identify
the parcels, mail a written notice to all the property owners
subject to the fee detailing the amount of the fee, the reason
for the fee, and the date, time, and location of a public
hearing on the proposed fee. No sooner than 45 days after
mailing the notice to property owners, the agency must conduct a
public hearing on the proposed fee. If a majority of owners of
the identified parcels provide written protests against the fee,
it cannot be imposed or increased by the agency. Only one
written protest per parcel, filed by an owner or tenant of the
parcel, counts in order to calculate the majority protest.
Additionally, the California Constitution requires voter
approval for most property-related fees, except for fees or
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Page 4
charges for sewer, water, and refuse collection services, which
are specifically exempted from the voter approval requirement.
State law specifies the process for seeking voter approval and
requires local officials to hold ballots for at least two years
following the election (SB 553, Yee, 2013). Previous
legislation established similar procedures for assessments (SB
1477, Lewis, 2000).
Some taxpayer advocates want to clarify the requirements local
agencies must meet following a protest hearing for a fee
increase.
Comments
Purpose of the bill. On several occasions, the Legislature has
recognized the value in preserving records related to
Proposition 218's requirements for imposing fees and charges on
property owners. Most recently, SB 553 enacted a comprehensive
framework for conducting elections for those property-related
fees that require voter approval, including a requirement to
hold ballots for two years. But written protests are not as
transparent and accessible as the ballots for other types of
fees and charges, even though both protests and ballots
determine whether a fee may be imposed. By requiring local
officials to retain written protests for at least two years
following the protest hearing, AB 2801 takes a small but
important step towards preserving written protests so that the
public can be certain of the integrity of protest procedures.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified6/29/16)
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (source)
AB 2801
Page 5
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/29/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/19/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chang, Mathis, McCarty, Williams
Prepared by:Anton Favorini-Csorba / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
6/29/16 15:50:54
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