BILL NUMBER: ACA 9 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huffman
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Portantino, Salas, and Torlakson)
(Coauthor: Senator Hancock)
FEBRUARY 6, 2009
A resolution to propose to the people of the State of California
an amendment to the Constitution of the State, by amending Sections 1
and 4 of Article XIII A thereof, by amending Section 2 of Article
XIII C thereof, by amending Section 3 of Article XIII D thereof, and
by amending Section 18 of Article XVI thereof, relating to local
government finance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACA 9, as introduced, Huffman. Local government bonds: special
taxes: voter approval.
(1) The California Constitution prohibits the ad valorem tax rate
on real property from exceeding 1% of the full cash value of the
property, subject to certain exceptions.
This measure would create an additional exception to the 1% limit
for a rate imposed by a city, county, or city and county to service
bonded indebtedness, incurred to fund specified public improvements,
facilities, and housing, and related costs, that is approved by 55%
of the voters of the city, county, or city and county, as applicable.
This additional exception would apply only if the proposition
approved by the voters results in bonded indebtedness that includes
specified accountability requirements.
(2) The California Constitution conditions the imposition of a
special tax by a city, county, or special district upon the approval
of 2/3 of the voters of the city, county, or special district voting
on that tax, except that certain school entities may levy an ad
valorem property tax for specified purposes with the approval of 55%
of the voters within the jurisdiction of these entities.
This measure would change the 2/3 voter-approval requirement for
special taxes to, instead, authorize a city, county, or special
district to impose a special tax with the approval of 55% of its
voters voting on the tax. This measure would also make technical,
nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
(3) The California Constitution prohibits a county, city, town,
township, board of education, or school district from incurring any
indebtedness exceeding in one year the income and revenue provided in
that year, without the assent of 2/3 of the voters and subject to
other conditions.
This measure would lower to 55% the voter approval threshold for a
city, county, or city and county to incur bonded indebtedness,
exceeding in one year the income and revenue provided in that year,
that is in the form of general obligation bonds to fund specified
public improvements.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated
local program: no.
Resolved by the Assembly, the Senate concurring, That the
Legislature of the State of California at its 2009-10 Regular Session
commencing on the first day of December 2008, two-thirds of the
membership of each house concurring, hereby proposes to the people of
the State of California, that the Constitution of the State be
amended as follows:
First-- That Section 1 of Article XIII A thereof is amended to
read:
SECTION 1. (a) The maximum amount of any ad valorem tax on
real property shall not exceed One percent (1%)
1 percent of the full cash value of such
that property. The one percent (1%)
1 percent tax to be collected by the counties
and apportioned according to law to the districts within the
counties.
(b) The limitation provided for in subdivision (a) shall not apply
to ad valorem taxes or special assessments to pay the interest and
redemption charges on any of the following:
(1) Indebtedness approved by the voters prior to July 1, 1978.
(2) Bonded indebtedness for the acquisition or improvement of real
property approved on or after July 1, 1978, by two-thirds of the
votes cast by the voters voting on the proposition.
(3) Bonded indebtedness incurred by a school district, community
college district, or county office of education for
to fund the construction, reconstruction,
rehabilitation, or replacement of school facilities, including the
furnishing and equipping of school facilities, or the acquisition or
lease of real property for school facilities, approved by 55 percent
of the voters of the district or county, as appropriate, voting on
the proposition on or after the effective date of the measure adding
this paragraph. This paragraph shall apply only if the proposition
approved by the voters and resulting in the bonded indebtedness
includes all of the following accountability requirements:
(A) A requirement that the proceeds from the sale of the bonds be
used only for the purposes specified in Article XIII
A, Section 1(b)(3)
this paragraph , and not for any other purpose, including
teacher and administrator salaries and other school operating
expenses.
(B) A list of the specific school facilities projects to be funded
and certification that the school district board, community college
board, or county office of education has evaluated safety, class size
reduction, and information technology needs in developing that list.
(C) A requirement that the school district board, community
college board, or county office of education conduct an annual,
independent performance audit to ensure that the funds have been
expended only on the specific projects listed.
(D) A requirement that the school district board, community
college board, or county office of education conduct an annual,
independent financial audit of the proceeds from the sale of the
bonds until all of those proceeds have been expended for the school
facilities projects.
(4) (A) Bonded indebtedness, approved by 55 percent of the voters
of the city, county, or city and county, as applicable, voting on the
proposition on or after the effective date of the measure adding
this paragraph, incurred by a city, county, or city and county to
fund any or all of the following:
(i) Construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement
of either:
(I) Public improvements, including, but not limited to,
improvements to transportation infrastructure, streets, highways,
sewer systems, waters systems, wastewater systems, and park and
recreation facilities.
(II) Public safety agency facilities.
(ii) Development of housing affordable to lower and moderate
income households.
(iii) Acquisition or lease of real property for the public
improvements, public safety agency facilities, and housing described
in clauses (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph.
(B) This paragraph shall apply only if the proposition approved by
the voters and resulting in the bonded indebtedness includes all of
the following accountability requirements:
(i) A requirement that the proceeds from the sale of the bonds be
used only for the purposes specified in this paragraph, and not for
any other purpose, including public employee salaries and other
operating expenses of a public improvement, public safety agency
facility, or housing development once completed.
(ii) A list of the specific projects to be funded and
certification that the city council or county board of supervisors
has evaluated the costs of operating the public improvements, public
facilities, or affordable housing.
(iii) A requirement that the city council or county board of
supervisors conduct an annual, independent performance audit to
ensure that the proceeds from the sale of the bonds have been
expended only on the specific projects listed.
(iv) A requirement that the city council or county board of
supervisors conduct an annual, independent financial audit of the
proceeds from the sale of the bonds until all of those proceeds have
been expended for the specific projects to be funded from the bonds.
(v) A requirement for a public process that solicits a wide range
of public comment from the community about the types of facilities
that should be funded with the bond.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law or of this
Constitution, a school districts
district , community college districts
district , and county offices
office of education , or a city, county, or
city and county may levy a 55 percent vote ad valorem tax
pursuant to subdivision (b).
Second-- That Section 4 of Article XIII A thereof is amended to
read:
Section 4. Cities, Counties and special districts,
A city, county, or special district, by a
two-thirds 55 percent vote of
the qualified electors of such district its voters
voting on the proposition , may impose special taxes
on such district a special tax within that city,
county, or special district , except an ad valorem
taxes tax on real property or a
transaction transactions tax or sales
tax on the sale of real property within such City, County
that city, county, or special district.
Third-- That Section 2 of Article XIII C thereof is amended to
read:
SEC. 2. Local Government Tax Limitation.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution:
(a) All taxes A tax imposed by any
local government shall be deemed to be is
either a general taxes tax
or a special taxes tax
. Special A special purpose
districts district or agencies
agency , including a school
districts, shall have district, has no
power authority to levy a general
taxes tax .
(b) No A local government
may shall not impose, extend, or
increase any general tax unless and until that tax is submitted to
the electorate and approved by a majority vote of its voters
voting on the proposition . A general tax shall
is not be deemed to have been
increased if it is imposed at a rate not higher than the maximum
rate so approved. The election required by this subdivision shall be
consolidated with a regularly scheduled general election for members
of the governing body of the local government, except in cases of
emergency declared by a unanimous vote of the governing body.
(c) Any general tax imposed, extended, or increased, without voter
approval, by any local government on or after January 1, 1995, and
prior to the effective date of this article, shall
may continue to be imposed only if that general tax
is approved by a majority vote of the voters voting in an
election on the issue of the imposition, which election
shall be is held within two years of
the effective date of this article no later than
November 6, 1998, and in compliance with subdivision (b).
(d) No A local government
may shall not impose, extend, or increase any
special tax unless and until that tax is submitted to the electorate
and approved by a two-thirds 55 percent
vote of its voters voting on the proposition . A special
tax shall is not be
deemed to have been increased if it is imposed at a rate not higher
than the maximum rate so approved.
Fourth-- That Section 3 of Article XIII D thereof is amended to
read:
SEC. 3. Property Taxes, Assessments, Fees and Charges
Limited. (a) No
(a) An agency shall not assess a tax,
assessment, fee, or charge shall be assessed by any agency
upon any parcel of property or upon any person as an
incident of property ownership except:
(1) The ad valorem property tax imposed pursuant to Article XIII
and Article XIII A.
(2) Any special tax receiving a two-thirds vote pursuant
to Section 4 of Article XIII A
approved by the voters of the city, county, or city
and county, as appropriate, voting on the proposition, as required by
the California Constitution .
(3) Assessments as provided by this article.
(4) Fees or charges for property related
property-related services as provided by this article.
(b) For purposes of this article, fees for the provision of
electrical or gas service shall are not
be deemed charges or fees imposed as an incident
of property ownership.
Fifth-- That Section 18 of Article XVI thereof is amended to read:
SEC. 18. (a) No county, city, town, township, board of
education, or school district, shall incur any indebtedness or
liability in any manner or for any purpose exceeding in any year the
income and revenue provided for such that
year, without the assent of two-thirds of the voters of the
public entity voting at an election to be held for that purpose,
except that with respect to any such public entity which
that is authorized to incur indebtedness for
public school purposes, any proposition for the incurrence of
indebtedness in the form of general obligation bonds for the purpose
of repairing, reconstructing , or replacing public school
buildings determined, in the manner prescribed by law, to be
structurally unsafe for school use, shall be adopted upon the
approval of a majority of the voters of the public entity voting on
the proposition at such that election;
nor unless before or at the time of incurring such
the indebtedness , provision shall be made for
the collection of an annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on
such the indebtedness as it falls due,
and to provide for a sinking fund for the payment of the principal
thereof, on or before maturity, which shall not exceed forty years
from the time of contracting the indebtedness.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), on or after the
effective date of the measure adding this subdivision
November 8, 2000 , in the case of any school district,
community college district, or county office of education, any
proposition for the incurrence of indebtedness in the form of general
obligation bonds for the construction, reconstruction,
rehabilitation, or replacement of school facilities, including the
furnishing and equipping of school facilities, or the acquisition or
lease of real property for school facilities, shall be adopted upon
the approval of 55 percent of the voters of the district or county,
as appropriate, voting on the proposition at an election. This
subdivision shall apply only to a proposition for the incurrence of
indebtedness in the form of general obligation bonds for the purposes
specified in this subdivision if the proposition meets all of the
accountability requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of
Section 1 of Article XIII A.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), on or after the effective
date of the measure adding this subdivision, in the case of any city,
county, or city and county, any proposition to incur indebtedness in
the form of general obligation bonds shall be adopted by 55 percent
of the voters of the city, county, or city and county, as applicable,
voting on the proposition at an election, where the general
obligation bonds fund any or all of the following:
(1) Construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement
of either:
(A) Public improvements, including, but not limited to,
improvements to transportation infrastructures, streets, highways,
sewer systems, waters systems, wastewater systems, and park and
recreation facilities.
(B) Public safety agency facilities.
(2) Development of housing affordable to lower and moderate income
households.
(3) Acquisition or lease of real property for the public
improvements, public safety agency facilities, and housing described
in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subdivision.
(c)
(d) When two or more propositions for incurring any
indebtedness or liability are submitted at the same election, the
votes cast for and against each proposition shall be counted
separately, and when two-thirds or a majority or 55 percent of the
voters, as the case may be, voting on any one of those propositions,
vote in favor thereof, the proposition shall be deemed adopted.