SB 188, as amended, Hancock. Municipal utility district: utility charges: delinquencies.
(1) The existing Municipal Utility District Act authorizes the formation of a municipal utility district. The act authorizes a district to acquire, construct, own, operate, control, or use works for supplying the inhabitants of the district and public agencies with light, water, power, heat, transportation, telephone service, or other means of communication, or means for the collection, treatment, or disposition of garbage, sewage, or refuse matter. The act authorizes a municipal utility district, by resolution or ordinance, to require the owner of record of privately owned real property within the district to pay the fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges for certain utility services rendered to a lessee, tenant, or subtenant, and provides that those charges that have become delinquent, together with interest and penalties, are a lien on the property when a certificate is filed by the district in the office of the county recorder and that the lien has the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien.
The act, in addition to the above-described methods, establishes procedures, until January 1, 2016, for a municipal utility district to collect delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges, together with interest and penalties thereon, for services rendered to a lessee, tenant, or subtenant, through the tax roll, in the same manner as property taxes. The act, until January 1, 2016, authorizes a municipal utility district to collect delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges, together with interest and penalties thereon, for services rendered to a lessee, tenant, or subtenant, by recording in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the affected parcel is located, a certificate declaring the amount of the delinquent charges, together with interest and penalties thereon, which would then constitute a lien against the affected real property of the delinquent property owner in that county and have the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien. The act, until January 1, 2016, requires a municipal utility district that exercises these collection measures to reimburse the county for the reasonable expenses incurred by the county.
This bill would extend the operation of these provisions indefinitely. By requiring county auditors and recorders to undertake certain actions in response to the exercise of collection measures by a municipal utility district, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) The act prohibits a municipal utility district from collecting delinquent fees or charges using the above-described collection measures for the furnishing of electrical services and, beginning January 1, 2016, for the furnishing of water or sewer service to residential property.
This bill would permanently authorize a municipal utility district to collect delinquent fees or charges using the above-described collection measures for the furnishing of water or sewer service to residential property.
(3) The act requires any district that places a lien on a property for water or sewer service on or before December 31, 2014, pursuant to the above-described collection measures, to submit a report containing certain information to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary and to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Local Government on or before January 1, 2015.
This bill would delete this provision.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
begin insertThis act is intended to remove the end insertbegin insertsunset date in
2Section 12811.1 of the Public Utilities Code on the authority of a
3municipal utility district to collect delinquent fees, tolls, rates,
4rentals, and other charges on the tax rollend insertbegin insert. This act is not intended
5to change existing law regarding the protection provided to a
6property owner pursuant to Section 12822.6 of the Public Utilities
7Code, which
prohibits a municipal utility district from collecting
8delinquent charges or penalties from a property owner accrued
9by a residential tenant in a nonmaster-metered building.end insert
Section 12811.1 of the Public Utilities Code, as
12amended by Section 1 of Chapter 485 of the Statutes of 2010, is
13amended to
read:
(a) Except when prohibited by Section 12822.6, a
15district may, by resolution or ordinance, require the owner of record
16of real property within the district to pay the fees, tolls, rates,
17rentals, or other charges for services rendered to a lessee, tenant,
18or subtenant, and those fees, tolls, rates, rentals, and other charges
19that have become delinquent, together with interest and penalties
20thereon, are a lien on the property when a certificate is filed in the
21office of the county recorder pursuant to subdivision (b) and the
22lien has the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien. No lien
23may be created under this section on any publicly owned property.
24(b) A lien under this section
attaches when the district files for
25recordation in the office of the county recorder a certificate
26specifying the amount of the delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals,
27or other charges together with interest and penalties thereon; the
28name of the owner of record of the property to which services were
29rendered by the district; and the legal description of the property.
30Within 30 days of receipt of payment of all amounts due, including
31recordation fees paid by the district, the district shall file for
32recordation a release of the lien.
33(c) A district may, by resolution or ordinance, provide that any
34delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges, together with
35interest and penalties thereon, including any delinquent fees, tolls,
P4 1rates, rentals, or other charges for services rendered to a lessee,
2tenant, or subtenant, may be collected
on the tax roll in the same
3manner as property taxes. Before any entity may collect any
4delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges, together with
5interest and penalties thereon, including any delinquent fees, tolls,
6rates, rentals, or other charges for services rendered to a lessee,
7tenant, or subtenant on the tax roll, the district shall prepare a
8report, provide notice, conduct a public hearing, and file a
9certificate in the office of the county recorder, as follows:
10(1) The general manager shall prepare and file with the district
11board of directors a report that describes each affected parcel of
12real property and the amount of the delinquent fees, tolls, rates,
13rentals, or other charges, together with interest and penalties
14thereon, including any delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other
15charges for services
rendered to a lessee, tenant, or subtenant for
16each affected parcel for the year. The general manager shall give
17notice of the filing of the report and of the time, date, and place
18for a public hearing by publishing the notice pursuant to Section
196066 of the Government Code in a newspaper of general
20circulation, and by mailing the notice to the owner of each affected
21parcel at least 14 days prior to the date of the hearing.
22(2) At the public hearing, the board of directors shall hear and
23consider any objections or protests to the report. At the conclusion
24of the public hearing, the board of directors may adopt or revise
25the delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges, together
26with interest and penalties thereon, including any delinquent fees,
27tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges for services rendered to a
28lessee, tenant, or
subtenant. The board of directors shall make its
29determination on each affected parcel and its determinations shall
30be final.
31(3) On or before August 10 of each year following these
32determinations, the general manager shall file with the county
33auditor a copy of the final report adopted by the board of directors.
34The county auditor shall enter the amount of the delinquent fees,
35tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges, together with interest and
36penalties thereon, including any delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals,
37or other charges for services rendered to a lessee, tenant, or
38subtenant, against each of the affected parcels of real property as
39they appear on the current assessment roll. The county tax collector
40shall include the amount of the delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals,
P5 1or charges, together with interest and penalties thereon,
including
2any delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges for
3services rendered to a lessee, tenant, or subtenant, on the tax bills
4for each affected parcel of real property and collect the delinquent
5fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or charges, together with interest and
6penalties thereon, including any delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals,
7or other charges for services rendered to a lessee, tenant, or
8subtenant, in the same manner as property taxes.
9(4) The district may recover any delinquent fees, tolls, rates,
10rentals, or other charges, together with interest and penalties
11thereon, including any delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other
12charges for services rendered to a lessee, tenant, or subtenant, by
13recording in the office of the county recorder of the county in
14which the affected parcel is located, a
certificate declaring the
15amount of the delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or charges,
16together with interest and penalties thereon, including any
17delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges for services
18rendered to a lessee, tenant, or subtenant, due, and the name and
19last known address of the person liablebegin delete therefore.end deletebegin insert therefor.end insert From
20the time of recordation of the certificate, the amount of the
21delinquent fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or charges, together with
22interest and penalties thereon, including any delinquent fees, tolls,
23rates, rentals, or other charges for services rendered to a lessee,
24tenant, or subtenant, constitutes a lien against the affected real
25property of the delinquent property owner in that county. This
lien
26shall have the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien. Within
2730 days of receipt of payment of all amounts due, including
28recordation fees paid by the district, the district shall file for
29recordation a release of the lien.
30(5) The district shall not recover on the tax roll any delinquent
31fees, tolls, rates, rentals, or other charges for services for
32commercial use to a commercial tenant under an account
33established by the commercial tenant, from any subsequent tenant
34or the property owner, due to nonpayment of charges by a previous
35commercial tenant. For this purpose, the term “subsequent
36commercial tenant” shall not include an entity or adult person that
37was located at the same address during the period the charges or
38penalties accrued. This paragraph does not apply to master-metered
39accounts.
P6 1(d) Notwithstanding Sections 6103 and 27383 of the
2Government Code, in filing any instrument, paper, or notice
3pursuant to this section, the district shall pay all applicable
4recording fees prescribed by law.
5(e) A district shall reimburse the county for the reasonable
6expenses incurred by the county pursuant to this section.
7(f) The remedies in this section are cumulative and in addition
8to any other remedy provided by law. The district may pursue
9remedies alternatively or consecutively.
10(g) This section does not apply to delinquent fees or charges
11for the furnishing of electrical service.
Section 12811.1 of the Public Utilities Code, as added
14by Section 2 of Chapter 485 of the Statutes of 2010, is
repealed.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
17Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
18a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
19charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
20level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
2117556 of the Government Code.
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