BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
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|Bill No: |SB 1266 |Hearing |4/6/16 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Author: |McGuire |Tax Levy: |No |
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|Version: |3/28/16 Amended |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Weinberger |
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Joint Exercise of Powers Act: agreements: filings
Requires joint powers agencies and joint powers authorities that
provide municipal services to file copies of specified documents
with local agency formation commissions.
Background
The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act
of 2000 sets forth the powers and duties of local agency
formation commissions (LAFCOs). Located in every county, LAFCOs
are responsible for coordinating changes in governmental
boundaries and conducting studies that review ways to
reorganize, simplify, and streamline governmental structures to
ensure that services are provided efficiently and economically.
A LAFCO must make its studies available to public agencies and
any interested person.
The Joint Exercise of Powers Act allows two or more public
agencies to use their powers in common if they sign a joint
powers agreement. Sometimes an agreement creates a new,
separate government called a joint powers agency or joint powers
authority (JPA). State law requires a JPA to file a notice of
its joint powers agreement, or any amendment to the agreement,
with the Secretary of State's Office within 30 days after the
agreement or amendment takes effect. State law requires that
whenever a JPA is required to submit a notice of a joint powers
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agreement or amendment to the Secretary of State's Office, the
JPA must also file a copy of the full text of the original joint
powers agreement, and any amendments to the agreement, with the
State Controller.
State law requires LAFCOs to conduct studies of existing
governmental agencies, including studies to inventory those
agencies and determine their maximum service area and service
capacities. To support those studies government agencies must
comply with a LAFCO's request for information. The Legislature
recently included JPAs that provide municipal services in the
list of agencies from which a LAFCO can request information and
added joint powers agreements to the list of documents that a
LAFCO may request (AB 2156, Achadjian, 2014). Despite this new
statutory authority, some LAFCO officials still find it
difficult to obtain sufficient information about the activities
of JPAs that provide municipal services. In some cases, they
are not even aware of the existence of these JPAs and have no
knowledge of amendments that are made to existing agreements.
Despite the fact that JPAs are submitting information to the
State Controller, LAFCOs can't request this information if they
don't know when new JPAs are formed or when existing agreements
are amended. LAFCO officials want the Legislature to require
JPAs to provide LAFCOs with information that is similar to what
JPAs already must submit to the State Controller under current
law.
Proposed Law
Senate Bill 1266 requires that whenever current law requires a
JPA to file a copy of the full text of its joint powers
agreement, and any amendments to the agreement, with the State
Controller, it must also file those same documents with a LAFCO,
if the JPA:
Meets a specified statutory definition of a JPA formed
for the purposes of providing municipal services, and
Includes a local agency member that is a city, county,
or district.
Within 90 days after the agreement or amendment takes effect,
any JPA that meets these conditions must file a copy of the
agreement or amendment with the LAFCO in each county within
which all or any part of a local agency member's territory is
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located.
SB 1266 also applies retroactively to qualifying JPAs that were
formed before January 1, 2017. Specifically, the bill requires
that a JPA must, by July 1, 2017, file a copy of its agreement
or amendment with the LAFCO in each county within which all or
any part of a local agency member's territory is located, if the
JPA:
Was formed for the purposes of providing municipal
services before January 1, 2017,
Meets a specified statutory definition of a JPA formed
for the purposes of providing municipal services,
Includes a local agency member that is a city, county,
or district.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . Many existing JPAs provide municipal
services to communities throughout California. However, LAFCO
officials frequently possess no information about the existence
and activities of some JPAs that provide municipal services.
This lack of information about municipal service-providing JPAs
makes it difficult for LAFCOs to fulfill their statutory
responsibility to plan and oversee the responsive, efficient and
effective delivery local government services. A 2011 report
produced by the Legislative Analyst's Office noted that LAFCOs
lack the legal authority to ensure that JPAs are providing
services and using public funds efficiently and in a manner
consistent with current law. The LAO suggested that JPAs should
be subject to a higher level of LAFCO oversight and identified
"provid[ing] LAFCOs with copies of all JPA agreements, including
amendments" as a policy option. SB 1266 does not grant LAFCOs
any authority over JPAs' formation, boundaries, organization, or
services, fully preserving the flexibility and autonomy that
JPAs enjoy under current law. The bill helps LAFCOs provide
better oversight of municipal service delivery by providing them
with crucial information about JPAs that provide those services.
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2. Truth or consequences . SB 1266 requires JPAs to submit
documents that will help LAFCO officials learn more about JPAs'
true role in providing municipal services to communities
throughout California. The bill does not, however, impose any
consequences on JPAs that fail to provide LAFCOs with the
required information. Existing law prohibits any JPA that fails
to provide notice to the Secretary of State's office within the
required time period from issuing bond or other indebtedness
until the required notice is filed with the Secretary of State.
To encourage compliance with SB 1266's provisions, the Committee
may wish to consider amending the bill to impose the same
consequences on JPAs that fail to provide required information
to LAFCOs that current law imposes on JPAs that fail to provide
notice to the Secretary of State.
3. Timing . SB 1266 requires a JPA to submit specified
information to a LAFCO within 90 days of the effective date of a
joint powers agreement or amendment. However, state law already
requires a JPA to submit the same information to the State
Controller's Office within 30 days of the effective date of a
joint powers agreement or amendment. It's unclear what purpose
is served by having a longer filing period for submitting
information to LAFCOs. To avoid confusion and conform SB 1266's
provisions to deadlines in existing state law, the Committee may
wish to consider amending SB 1266 to require that JPAs must
submit information to LAFCOs within 30 days of the effective
date of a joint powers agreement or amendment.
4. Mandate . The California Constitution requires the state to
reimburse local governments for the costs of new or expanded
state mandated local programs. Because SB 1266 imposes new
filing duties on joint powers agency officials, Legislative
Counsel says that it imposes a new state mandate. SB 1266
requires the state to reimburse local agencies if the Commission
on State Mandates determines that the bill imposes a
reimbursable mandate.
Support and
Opposition (3/31/16)
Support : California Association of Local Agency Formation
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Commissions; Alameda County LAFCO; California Association of
Joint Powers Authorities; Contra Costa County LAFCO; Imperial
County LAFCO; Marin County LAFCO; San Mateo County LAFCO; Yolo
County LAFCO.
Opposition : Unknown.
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