BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 184|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 184
Author: Committee on Governance and Finance
Amended: 4/16/15
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/29/15
AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Moorlach
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/11/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Local government: omnibus bill
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill proposes several non-controversial changes to
state laws governing local governments' powers and duties.
ANALYSIS: Each year, local officials discover problems with
the state statutes that affect counties, cities, special
districts, and redevelopment agencies, as well as the laws on
land use planning and development. These minor problems do not
warrant separate (and expensive) bills. According to the
Legislative Analyst, in 2001-02 the cost of producing a bill was
$17,890.
Legislators respond by combining several of these minor topics
into an annual "omnibus bill." In 2014, for example, the local
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government omnibus bill was SB 1462 (Committee on Governance and
Finance, Chapter 201), which contained noncontroversial
statutory changes to 10 areas of local government law, avoiding
more than $150,000 in legislative costs.
This bill proposes the following changes to the state laws
affecting local agencies' powers and duties:
1)County recorders. County recorders accept and officially
record legal documents, notices, or papers. Among the papers
that they record are "instruments," which are written papers
signed by the persons who are transferring real property. The
County Recorders Association of California is proposing
several amendments to clarify statutes governing county
recorders' activities and conform state law to current
document recording practices:
a) Gender-neutral language. Some statutes that govern
county recorders have not been amended for many decades and
use the masculine pronouns "he" and "him" to refer to a
county recorder.
This bill replaces outdated references to "he" and "him"
with gender-neutral terms. [See SEC. 2, SEC. 3, SEC. 4,
SEC. 5, SEC. 6, SEC. 7, SEC. 8, SEC. 10, and SEC. 15 of
this bill.]
b) Internal revenue stamps. State law allows a county
recorder to make marginal notations on records to indicate
whether "internal revenue stamps" were affixed to specified
documents (Government Code §27203).
This bill deletes the references to "internal revenue
stamps" and substitutes language that allows a recorder to
make marginal notations as part of the recording process.
[See SEC. 3 of this bill.]
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c) Separate index of married women's property. Section 14
of Article XI of California's 1849 Constitution established
a wife's right to own property separately from her husband
and decreed that, "Laws shall also be passed providing for
the registration of the wife's separate property." Section
5 of Chapter 103 of the Statutes of 1850, included language
allowing a complete inventory of a wife's separate property
to be filed in a county recorder's office as notice that
"all property belonging to her, including the inventory,
shall be exempt from seizure or execution for the debts of
her husband." State law still requires county auditors to
keep an index of the separate property of married women
(Government Code §27251).
This bill repeals this antiquated requirement. [See SEC. 9
of this bill.]
d) Electronic indexing. State law allows a county recorder
to keep a "general grantor-grantee index" of specified
recorded documents relating to real property transfers
(Government Code §27257).
This bill allows a county recorder to combine the general
grantor-grantee index in computerized or electronic format
and requires that the names of the grantors must be
distinguished from the names of the grantees by an easily
recognizable mark or symbol. [See SEC. 11 of this bill.]
e) Name of person requesting recordation. State law
specifies the procedures that a county recorder must follow
to record an instrument that is authorized by law to be
recorded and deposited in the recorder's office. Among
those procedures is a requirement that the recorder must
endorse upon the document the "name of the person at whose
request it is recorded" (Government Code §27320). A more
recently enacted statute specifies that the name of a
person requesting recording must be shown in the left hand
margin of a document (Government Code §27361.6, enacted by
AB 689, Tucker, 1992).
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This bill deletes the outdated requirement that a recorder
must include a requestor's name in the endorsement upon the
document. [See SEC. 12 of this bill.]
f) Returning recorded documents. Read narrowly, state law
could be interpreted as requiring a county recorder to use
the mail to return a recorded document to the person who
submitted it for recording (Government Code §27321).
This bill clarifies that a county recorder may immediately
return a document that has been recorded to the party who
submitted the document. [See SEC. 13 of this bill.]
g) Tax statement declaration. State law requires that a
deed or instrument executed to convey fee title to real
property must, before a recorder accepts it for recording,
note across the bottom of the first page the name and
address to which future tax statements may be mailed
(Government Code §27321.5).
This bill deletes language specifying that the information
must appear "across the bottom" of the page, allowing the
tax statement declaration to appear at the top of the page.
[See SEC. 14 of this bill.]
2)Subdivision Map Act - Payments for setting final monuments.
The Subdivision Map Act controls how counties and cities
approve the conversion of large landholdings into separate
parcels. The Act requires that an engineer or surveyor making
a survey for a final map or parcel map must set sufficient
durable monuments so that another engineer or surveyor may
readily retrace the survey (Government Code §66495). A city
or county may require a subdivider to provide a deposit to
ensure the payment of various fees and services related to a
final map or parcel map, including payment of the cost of
setting the final monuments. The Act requires that if an
engineer or surveyor's costs of setting final monuments are
to be paid from the deposit held by the city or county, the
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payment must be made by the city or county's "legislative
body" (Government Code §66497). As a result, an item
approving the release of funds from a subdivider's deposit
must be placed on the legislative body's agenda for approval.
The California Land Surveyors Association notes that the
requirement that a local legislative body must act before an
engineer or surveyor can receive payments from a subdivider's
deposit can result in substantial delays and unnecessary
costs.
This bill allows a local legislative body to designate a
public officer or employee to release or reduce the amount of
a deposit to pay an engineer or surveyor for setting final
monuments, subject to specified conditions and rules. [See
SEC. 16 of this bill.]
3)Subdivision performance securities. Counties and cities
commonly impose conditions when they approve proposed
subdivisions, often requiring the subdividers to install
public works such as street lights, curbs, and sewers.
Sometimes subdividers must provide assurances that the work
will be completed, including performance bonds, deposits,
credit instruments, liens, or other property interests. Until
2006, counties and cities followed their own procedures in
deciding when to release these securities. At the request of
builders, the Legislature adopted uniform procedures and time
limits by which counties and cities must either release the
securities provided for subdivision conditions or tell the
subdividers about the incomplete performance or unsatisfactory
work (Government Code §66499.7, enacted by AB 1460, Umberg,
Chapter 411, Statutes of 2005). Wary that these new
requirements might not work, city officials asked the
Legislature to impose a January 1, 2011 sunset clause. In
2010, the Legislature extended the statute's sunset date by
five years, until January 1, 2016. Since the 2005 Umberg
bill, there are no reported problems with the statutory
procedures for releasing subdivision performance securities,
nor have counties and cities filed any claims for
state-mandated local costs. The California Building Industry
Association wants legislators to make the statute permanent.
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This bill repeals the sunset date in the statute governing the
timeframe and procedures for releasing subdivision performance
securities, thereby allowing the statute to remain in effect
indefinitely. [See SEC. 17 of this bill.]
4)County Auditors and Sanitation and Sewage Systems. Cities,
counties, special districts, and authorized public
corporations can collect fees for the sanitation and sewage
services and facilities they provide (Health & Safety Code
§5471). If a local government wants to collect these fees as
part of its general taxes, or if it plans to place a lien on a
parcel of land to collect these charges, the Health and Safety
Code requires officials to give written notice to affected
property owners and file a copy of this notice with "the
auditor." The Code defines "auditor" as "the financial
officer of the [local government] entity" (Id. at §§5473 and
5474 et seq., 5740). The California State Association of
Counties notes that the word "auditor" in this context is
confusing, as these code sections only relate to duties and
powers of county auditors.
This bill adds the word "county" before the word "auditor" in
the three relevant sections of the Health and Safety Code.
[See SEC. 18, SEC. 19, and SEC. 20 of this bill].
5)Public utility districts cross-reference correction. The
California Public Contract Code specifies rules that public
utility districts must follow when letting contracts for
certain types of work (Public Contract Code §20200 et seq.).
The Tahoe City Public Utility District notes that a Public
Contract Code provision contains an erroneous cross-reference
to the Public Utility Code statutes that govern public utility
districts.
This bill corrects the cross-reference. [See SEC. 21 of this
bill.]
6)California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act
updates. The Public Contract Code spells out the procedures
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that local officials follow when they build public works
projects, including limits on the contracts' values. When
counties, cities, special districts, school districts, and
community college districts voluntarily adopt the standards
and procedures of the Uniform Public Construction Cost
Accounting Act (UPCCAA), they can use higher limits for their
contracts (Public Contract Code §22000, enacted by AB 1666,
Cortese, 1983). About 770 local agencies participate. The
UPCCAA created the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting
Commission (Commission), which is responsible for
administering the UPCCAA. The Commission consists of 14
members: 13 are appointed by the State Controller and one is
a designated member of the Contractors State License Board.
Seven members represent the public sector (counties, cities,
school districts, and special districts). Six members
represent the private sector (public works contractors and
unions). At its December 17, 2014 meeting, the Commission
voted unanimously to approve several proposed amendments to
the UPCCAA to clarify some provisions and improve the Act's
functionality:
a) School representatives. The UPCCAA requires that two
Commission members must represent school districts, one
with an average daily attendance over 25,000 and one with
an average daily attendance under 25,000 (Public Contract
Code §22010).
This bill repeals the language specifying average daily
attendance thresholds, thereby allowing the Commission's
two school representatives to come from districts of any
size. [See SEC. 22 of this bill.]
b) Controller's appointments. The UPCCAA specifies that
the members of the Commission hold office for terms of
three years, and until their successors are appointed
(Public Contract Code §22014).
This bill clarifies that the State Controller may reappoint
members for subsequent three year terms. This bill also
increases, from 90 days to 120 days, the period of time
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within which the Controller must appoint a replacement to
fill a vacancy on the Commission. [See SEC. 23 of this
bill.]
c) Travel reimbursements. Commission members cannot receive
compensation for serving on the Commission, but must be
reimbursed for travel and other expenses necessarily
incurred in the performance of their duties (Public
Contract Code §22015).
This bill specifies that the reimbursement rates must
conform to the Controller's travel guideline rates. [See
SEC. 24 of this bill.]
d) Updates to Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
circular. The UPCCAA requires the Commission, as part of
its deliberations and review, to take into consideration
relevant provisions of OMB Circular A-76, which relates to
the performance of commercial activities (Public Contract
Code §22017).
This bill clarifies that the Commission's consideration
should include any periodical revisions of that OMB
circular. [See SEC. 25 of this bill.]
e) Informal bid solicitation procedures. The UPCCAA
requires participating local agencies to adopt an informal
bidding ordinance that, among other things, specifies the
manner in which notices inviting informal bids are to be
sent to a list of qualified contractors, construction trade
journals, or both (Public Contract Code §22034).
This bill clarifies the informal bid solicitation
procedures and allows notices inviting informal bids to be
mailed, faxed, or emailed to the appropriate contractors
list or trade journals. [See SEC. 26 and SEC. 27 of this
bill.]
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f) Adoption of plans, specifications, and working details.
The UPCCAA requires a participating agency's governing body
to adopt plans, specifications, and working details for
public projects that exceed a specified value.
This bill allows the plans, specifications, and working
details to be prepared by a designated representative of
the governing body, which will accommodate the Division of
the State Architect's role in the plan approval process for
school districts. [See SEC. 28 of this bill.]
g) Commission review of non-accounting practices. Senate
Bill 184 requires the Commission to review the
non-accounting practices of any participating public agency
where an interested party presents evidence that the public
agency is not in compliance with the UPCCAA's provisions.
This bill also specifies the manner in which an interested
party must request such a review. [See SEC. 29 of this
bill.]
h) Commission findings after compliance review. The UPCCAA
requires the Commission to prepare written findings after
it reviews an agency's compliance with the Act's provision
(Public Contract Code §22044). The proposed amendments
require that the written finding must be presented to the
agency within 30 days of the Commission's review. The
UPCCAA requires a local agency to present the Commission's
findings to its governing board and requires the board to
hold a hearing within 30 days of receiving the findings.
The proposed amendments require that the board must be
presented with the findings within 30 days and allows the
board to hold a hearing within 60 days of receiving the
findings.
For Commission findings relating to non-accounting
practices, this bill requires the agency's board to notify
the Commission in writing, within 60 days of receipt of
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written notice of the findings, of the public agency's
efforts to comply. [See SEC. 30 and SEC. 31 of this bill.]
7)California Water District contracting authority. All 135
California Water Districts are governed by the provisions of
the California Water District Law (Water Code §34000 et seq.,
enacted by SB 1123, Donnelly, 1951). The Law requires that
contracts necessary to carry out a California Water District's
powers and purposes must be executed by a district's president
and secretary (Water Code §35406). Statutes governing several
other types of special districts allow the districts' boards
to delegate the power to sign contracts to district officers
and employees. For example, the Municipal Water District Law
of 1911 allows a district's board to "delegate and re-delegate
to officers of the district ? the power to bind the district
by contract" (Water Code §71309, enacted by SB 15, Backstrand,
1963). Officials of the Irvine Ranch Water District, which is
governed by the California Water District Law, note that a
strict interpretation of the Law's requirement that a
district's president and secretary must sign each contract
would create unnecessary administrative burdens.
This bill grants California Water Districts' governing boards
the authority to delegate to district officers and employees
the power to sign contracts on the district's behalf. [See
SEC. 32 of this bill.]
Comments
SB 184 compiles, into a single bill, noncontroversial statutory
changes to seven parts of state laws that affect local agencies
and land use. Moving a bill through the legislative process
costs around $18,000. By avoiding six other bills, the
Committee's bill avoids more than $100,000 in legislative costs.
Although the practice may violate a strict interpretation of
the single-subject and germaneness rules, the Committee insists
on a very public review of each item. More than 100 public
officials, trade groups, lobbyists, and legislative staffers see
each proposal before it goes into the Committee's bill. Should
any item in SB 184 attract opposition, the Committee will delete
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it. In this transparent process, there is no hidden agenda. If
it's not consensus, it's not omnibus.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potential minor reimbursable mandate costs related to
provisions that eliminate the sunset on releasing subdivision
performance securities. It is noted that no mandate claims
have been filed in the 10 years that these provisions have
been in statute, so it is unlikely that local agencies would
submit a reimbursement claim in the future.
The remaining provisions of this bill are expected to have
negligible fiscal impacts.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/12/15)
Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Association
Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors Association
California Building Industry Association
California Land Surveyors Association
California Legislative Conference of the Plumbing, Heating and
Piping Industry Construction Industry Force Account Council
Irvine Ranch Water District
Finishing Contractors Association of Southern California
National Electrical Contractors Association
United Contractors
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/12/15)
None received
Prepared by:Brian Weinberger / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
5/13/15 16:45:30
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