BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1266
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Date of Hearing: June 29, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1266
(McGuire) - As Amended April 12, 2016
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|Policy |Local Government |Vote:|9 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
Yes
SUMMARY: This bill requires joint powers authorities (JPA) or
joint powers agencies that provide municipal services to file
joint powers agreements and amendments with local agency
formation commissions (LAFCOs). Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires a JPA to file with a LAFCO the full text of the joint
powers agreement, and any amendments to the agreement, in the
same manner as filed with the State Controller under existing
law, if the JPA:
a) Meets the definition of a JPA provided in existing law
which defines a JPA formed for the local performance of
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governmental functions that includes the provision of
municipal services; and,
b) Includes a local agency member that is a city, county,
or district.
2)Requires the filing to be with the LAFCO in each county within
which all or any part of a local agency's member's territory
is located.
3)Requires a JPA formed prior to January 1, 2017, and that meets
the criteria in 1) above, to file a copy of the agreement and
any amendments to the agreement with the LAFCO in each county
which all or any part of a local agency's territory is located
no later than July 1, 2017.
4)Prohibits any agency or entity administering a joint powers
agreement or amendment to an agreement which fails to file the
notice with a LAFCO, from issuing any bonds or incurring
indebtedness of any kind until filings are completed.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Negligible state fiscal impact. This bill requires JPAs to
provide LAFCOs with information that is similar to what they
already must submit to the State Controller. JPAs have limited
authority to submit claims for reimbursable mandates and it is
highly unlikely that reimbursement claims would be filed as a
result of this bill.
COMMENTS:
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1)Purpose. 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 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 (LAO) 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 "providing LAFCOs with copies
of all JPA agreements, including amendments" as a policy
option.
This bill 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. This bill helps LAFCOs provide better oversight
of municipal service delivery by providing them with crucial
information about JPAs that provide those services.
2)Background. 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, Chapter 21, Statutes of 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
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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 cannot request
this information if they do not 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.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081