BILL NUMBER: AB 139	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Brownley

                        JANUARY 20, 2009

   An act to amend Sections 2 and 16 of the Los Angeles County Flood
Control Act (Chapter 755 of the Statutes of 1915), relating to the
Los Angeles County Flood Control District.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 139, as introduced, Brownley. Los Angeles County Flood Control
District: fees and charges.
   Existing law, the Los Angeles County Flood Control Act,
establishes the Los Angeles County Flood Control District and
authorizes the district to control and conserve the flood, storm, and
other wastewater of the district. The act declares the district to
be a body corporate and politic, and to have various powers,
including the power to cause taxes to be levied and collected for the
purpose of paying any obligation of the district.
   This bill would authorize the district to impose a fee or charge
in compliance with Article XIII D of the California Constitution, to
pay the costs and expenses of the district, and to carry out the
objects or purposes of the act. The bill would require that any fees
imposed be levied and collected, together with taxes for county
purposes, and the revenues paid into the county treasury to the
credit of the district.
   The act authorizes the board of the district, subject to certain
limitations, to do all acts or things necessary or useful for the
promotion of the work or the control of the flood and storm waters of
the district, to conserve those waters for beneficial and useful
purposes, and to protect from damage from storm or flood waters, the
harbors, waterways, public highways, and property of the district.
One limitation upon the authority of the board of the district is
that it is not authorized to raise money for the district by any
method or system other than by issuing bonds, or the levying of a tax
upon the assessed value of all the real property of the district,
except from the sale and lease of its property.
   This bill would instead provide that the board of the district is
not authorized to raise money for the district by any method or
system other than by issuing bonds, or the levying of a tax, or the
imposition of a fee or charge in compliance with Article XIII D of
the California Constitution.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 2 of the Los Angeles County Flood Control Act
(Chapter 755 of the Statutes of 1915), as amended by Chapter 1276 of
the Statutes of 1975, is amended to read:
   Sec. 2.  The objects and purposes of this act are to provide for
the control and conservation of the flood  waters  ,
storm  waters,  and other waste waters of  said
  the  district, and to conserve such waters for
beneficial and useful purposes by spreading, storing, retaining or
causing to percolate into the soil within  said 
 the  district, or to save or conserve in any manner, all or
any of such waters, and to protect from damage from such flood 
waters  or storm waters, the harbors, waterways, public highways
and property in  said   the  district.

   Said 
    The  Los Angeles County Flood Control District is hereby
declared to be a body corporate and politic, and as such
shall have power   has all the following powers  :
   1. To have perpetual succession.
   2. To sue and be sued in the name of  said  
the  district in all actions and proceedings in all courts and
tribunals of competent jurisdiction.
   3. To adopt a seal and alter it at pleasure.
   4. To take by grant, purchase, gift, devise or lease, hold, use,
enjoy, and to lease or dispose of real or personal property of every
kind within or without the district necessary to the full exercise of
its power.
   5. To acquire or contract to acquire lands, rights-of-way,
easements, privileges and property of every kind, and construct,
maintain and operate any and all works or improvements within or
without the district necessary or proper to carry out any of the
objects or purposes of this act, and to complete, extend, add to,
repair or otherwise improve any works or improvements acquired by it
as herein authorized. Construction or improvement of existing
facilities may involve landscaping and other aesthetic treatment in
order that the facility will be compatible with existing or planned
development in the area of improvement.
   6. To exercise the right of eminent domain, either within or
without the district, to take any property necessary to carry out any
of the objects or purposes of this act.
   7. To incur indebtedness, and to issue bonds in the manner herein
provided.
   7a.  In addition to the powers given in the next preceding
subsection, to   To  borrow money from the United
States of America, any agency or department thereof, or from any
nonprofit corporation, organized under the laws of this state, to
which the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a corporation organized
and existing under and by virtue of an act of Congress, entitled
"Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act," or other agency, or
department, of the United States government, has authorized, or shall
hereafter authorize, a loan to enable such nonprofit corporation to
lend money to  said   the  Los Angeles
County Flood Control District, for any flood control work authorized
under this act, and to repay the same, in annual installments, over a
period of not to exceed twenty (20) years, with interest at a rate
 of  not to exceed four and one-fourth per centum
(41/4%) per annum, payable semiannually, and, without the necessity
of an election when authorized by resolution of the board of
supervisors, as evidences of such indebtedness,  said
  the  district is hereby authorized to execute and
deliver a note, or a series of notes, or bonds, or other evidences
of indebtedness, signed by the chairman of the board of supervisors
of  said   the  district, which notes,
bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness, shall be negotiable
instruments if so declared in  said   the 
resolution of the board of supervisors providing for their issuance,
and  said  notes, bonds, or other evidences of
indebtedness, may have interest coupons attached to evidence interest
payments, signed by the facsimile signature of  said
chairman   the chairperson  of  said
  the  board. All applications for such loans shall
specify the particular flood control work or projects for which the
funds will be expended, and when received, the money shall be
deposited in a special fund, and shall be expended for those purposes
only which are described and referred to in the applications. If a
surplus remains after the completion of  said  
the  work, such surplus shall be applied to the payment of the
note, notes, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness, executed as
aforesaid, for the loan including interest coupons. The board of
supervisors shall annually, levy a tax upon the taxable real property
of  said   the  district, clearly
sufficient to pay the interest and installments of principal, as the
same shall become due and payable, under any loan made pursuant to
the authority of this section, and to create and maintain a reserve
fund to assure the prompt payment thereof, as may be provided by
 said  resolution of the board of supervisors;
provided, however, that the amount of taxes levied in any year,
pursuant to the provisions of this subsection, shall, pro tanto,
reduce the authority of the board of supervisors, during any such
year, to levy taxes under Section 14 of this act, but this proviso
shall not be a limitation upon the power and duty to levy and collect
taxes under this subsection. Notwithstanding any other provisions of
law, interest earned on funds representing the proceeds of bonds of
the district shall be deposited and retained in the reserve fund of
the district to meet the principal and interest falling due on such
bonds.
   Notwithstanding anything in this subsection  7a 
to the contrary, the total amount  which said  
the  district may borrow under the authority of any or all of
the provisions of this subsection is limited to and shall not exceed
in the aggregate the sum of four million five hundred thousand
dollars ($4,500,000).
   7b. The power granted in the next preceding subsection is hereby
extended to authorize the issuance and sale of bonds or other
evidences of indebtedness of  said   the 
district to the County of Los Angeles and the purchase thereof by
 said   the  county in accordance with "An
act authorizing the investment and reinvestment and disposition of
any surplus moneys in the treasury of any county, city and county,
incorporated city or town or municipal utility district or flood
control district," approved April 23, 1913, as amended; all subject
to the provisions and limitations of the next preceding subsection
relative to the disposition and use of funds, interest rate, period
of repayment, tax rate and mode of issuance. The total amount of
bonds or other evidence of indebtedness, in the aggregate, which the
district may issue and sell under the authority of subsection 7a and
of this subsection is limited to and shall not exceed four million
five hundred thousand dollars ($4,500,000).
   8. To cause taxes to be levied and collected for the purpose of
paying any obligation of the district in the manner 
hereinafter  provided  in this section  . 
   8a. To impose a fee or charge, in compliance with Article XIII D
of the California Constitution, to pay the costs and expenses of the
district, and to carry out the objects or purposes of this act. Any
fee that is imposed shall be levied and collected together with, and
not separately from, taxes for county purposes, and the revenues
derived from the fees shall be paid into the county treasury to the
credit of the district, and the board of supervisors may expend these
funds to pay for costs described in this section. 
   9. To make contracts, and to employ for temporary services only,
expert appraisers, consultants and technical advisers, and to do all
acts necessary for the full exercise of all powers vested in 
said   the  district, or any of the officers
thereof, by this act.
   10. To grant or otherwise convey to counties, cities and counties,
cities or towns easements for street and highway purposes, over,
along, upon, in, through, across or under any real property owned by
 said   the  Los Angeles County Flood
Control District.
   11. To remove, carry away and dispose of any rubbish, trash,
debris or other inconvenient matter that may be dislodged,
transported, conveyed or carried by means of, through, in, or along
the works and structures operated or maintained hereunder and
deposited upon the property of  said   the 
district or elsewhere.
   12. To pay premiums on bonds of contractors required under any
contract  wherein   if  the amount payable
to the contractor exceeds five million dollars ($5,000,000);
provided, that the specifications in such cases shall specifically so
provide and state that the bidder shall not include in his  or
her  bids the cost of furnishing the required bonds.
   13. To lease, sell or dispose of any property (or any interest
therein) whenever in the judgment of  said   the
 board of supervisors  said   the 
property, or any interest therein or part thereof, is no longer
required for the purposes of  said   the 
district, or may be leased for any purpose without interfering with
the use of the same for the purposes of  said  
the  district, and to pay any compensation received therefor
into the general fund of  said   the 
district and use the same for the purposes of this act; provided,
however, that nothing herein shall authorize the board of supervisors
or other governing body of the district or any officer thereof to
sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any water, water right, reservoir
space or storage capacity or any interest or space therein except to
public agencies for recreational purposes when such use is not
inconsistent with the use thereof by the district for flood control
and water conservation purposes; or except as  hereinafter
 provided by Section 17 of this act; provided, however, that
 said   the  district may grant and convey
to the United States of America, or to any federal agency authorized
to accept and pay for such land or interests in land, all lands and
interests in land, now owned or hereafter acquired, lying within any
channel, dam or reservoir site, improved or constructed, in whole or
in part, with federal funds, upon payment to the district of sums
equivalent to actual expenditures made by it in acquiring the lands
and interests in land so conveyed and deemed reasonable by the
Secretary of War and the Chief of Engineers.
   14. To provide, by agreement with other public agencies or private
persons or entities or otherwise, for the recreational use of the
lands, facilities, and works of  such   the
 district which shall not interfere, or be inconsistent, with
the primary use and purpose of such lands, facilities, and works by
such district.
   15. In addition to its other powers, the district shall have the
power to preserve, enhance, and add recreational features to its
properties and upon a finding by the board of supervisors that the
acquisition is necessary for such purposes, to acquire, preserve,
enhance, and add recreational features to lands or interests in lands
contiguous to its properties, for the protection, preservation, and
use of the scenic beauty and natural environment for such properties
or such lands and to collect admission or use fees for such
recreational features where deemed appropriate.
   The  said  district by or through its board of
supervisors, or other board or officers at any time succeeding to the
duties or functions of its board of supervisors, is hereby
authorized and empowered to warrant and defend the title to all land
and interests therein so conveyed to the United States of America or
to any such agency and their respective assigns; to covenant and
agree to indemnify and keep indemnified and to hold and save harmless
and exonerated the United States of America or any such agency, to
which such lands or any interest therein are so conveyed by 
said   the  district, from and against all demands,
claims, liabilities, liens, actions, suits, charges, costs, loss,
damages, expenses and attorneys' fees of whatsoever kind or nature,
resulting from, arising out of or occasioned by any defect or defects
whatsoever in the title to any such land or interest in land so
conveyed by  said   the district; to
reimburse and save harmless and exonerated the United States of
America or any such agency for any and all amounts, paid, and
expenses incurred, in the compromise or settlement of any demands,
claims, liabilities, liens, actions, suits, charges, costs, loss,
damages, expenses and attorneys' fees of whatsoever kind or nature,
resulting from, arising out of or occasioned by any claim to or
defect or defects whatsoever in the title to any such land or
interests in land so conveyed by  said   the
 district; to pay all just compensation, costs and expenses,
which may be incurred in any condemnation proceeding deemed necessary
by the United States of America or such agency, in order to perfect
title to any such land or interests in land, including without
limitation all attorneys' fees, court costs and fees, costs of
abstracts and other evidences of title, and all other costs, expenses
or damages incurred or suffered by the United States of America or
such agency; and consent is hereby given to the bringing of suit or
other legal proceedings against  said   the
 district by the United States of America or such agency, as the
case may be, in the proper district court of the United States, upon
any cause of action arising out of any conveyance, contract or
covenant made or entered into by  said   the
 district pursuant to the authority granted in this act, or to
enforce any claims, damages, loss or expenses arising out of or
resulting from any defect whatsoever in the title to such land or any
interest therein or any claims of others in or to such land or
interest therein.
  SEC. 2.  Section 16 of the Los Angeles County Flood Control Act
(Chapter 755 of the Statutes of 1915), as amended by Chapter 1276 of
the Statutes of 1975, is amended to read:
  SEC. 16.  The  said  board of supervisors of
 said   the  district shall have power to
make and enforce all needful rules and regulations for the
administration and government of  said   the
 district, and to perform all other acts necessary or proper to
accomplish the purposes of this act. 
   Said 
    The  board of supervisors shall have power to do all
work and to construct and acquire all improvements necessary or
useful for carrying out any of the purposes of this act; and 
said   the  board of supervisors shall have power
to acquire either within or without the boundaries of  said
  the  district, by purchase, donation or by other
lawful means in the name of  said   the 
district, from private persons, corporations, reclamation districts,
swampland districts, levee districts, protection districts, drainage
districts, irrigation districts, or other public corporations or
agencies or districts, all lands, rights-of-way, easements, property
or materials necessary or useful for carrying out any of the purposes
of this act; to make contracts to indemnify or compensate any owner
of land or other property for any injury or damage necessarily caused
by the exercise of the powers conferred by this act, or arising out
of the use, taking or damage of any property, rights-of-way or
easements, for any of such purposes; to compensate any reclamation
district, protection district, drainage district, irrigation district
or other district, public corporation or agency or district, for any
right-of-way, easement or property taken over or acquired by
 said   the  Los Angeles County Flood
Control District as a part of its work of flood control or
conservation or protection provided for in this act, and any such
reclamation district, protection district, drainage district,
irrigation district or other district or public corporation or agency
is hereby given power and authority to distribute such compensation
in any manner that may be now or hereafter allowed by law; to
maintain actions to restrain the doing of any act or thing that may
be injurious to carrying out any of the purposes of this act by
 said   the  district, or that may
interfere with the successful execution of said work, or for damages
for injury thereto; to do any and all things necessary or incident to
the powers hereby granted, or to carry out any of the objects and
purposes of this act; to require, by appropriate legal proceedings,
the owner or owners of any bridge, trestle, wire line, viaduct,
embankment or other structure which shall be intersected, traversed
or crossed by any channel, ditch, bed of any stream, waterway,
conduit or canal, so to construct or alter the same as to offer a
minimum of obstruction to the free flow of water through or along any
such channel, ditch, bed of any stream, waterway, conduit or canal,
and whenever necessary in the case of existing works or structures,
to require the removal or alteration thereof for such purpose;
provided, however, that nothing in this act contained shall be deemed
to authorize  said   the  district in
exercising any of its powers to take, damage or destroy any property
or to require the removal, relocation, alteration or destruction of
any bridge, railroad, wire line, pipeline, facility or other
structure unless just compensation therefor be first made, in the
manner and to the extent required by the Constitution of the United
States and the Constitution of California.
   The board of supervisors of  said   the 
district is hereby vested with full power to do all other acts or
things necessary or useful for the promotion of the work of the
control of the flood  waters  and storm waters of 
said   the  district, and to conserve such waters
for beneficial and useful purposes, and to protect from damage from
such storm  waters  or flood waters the harbors, waterways,
public highways and property in  said   the
 district; provided, however, that nothing in this act contained
shall be deemed to authorize  said   the 
district, or any person or persons, to divert the waters of any
river, creek, stream, irrigation system, canal or ditch, from its
channel, to the detriment of any person or persons having any
interest in such river, creek, stream, irrigation system, canal or
ditch, or the waters thereof or therein, unless previous compensation
be first ascertained and paid therefor, under the laws of this state
authorizing the taking of private property for public uses; and
provided further, that nothing in this act contained shall be
construed as in any way affecting the plenary power of any
incorporated city, city and county, or town, or municipal or county
water district, to provide for a water supply of such public
corporation, or as affecting the absolute control of any properties
of such public corporations necessary for such water supply, and
nothing herein contained shall be construed as vesting any power of
control over such properties in  said   the
 Los Angeles County Flood Control District, or in any officer
thereof, or in any person referred to in this act; and provided
further, that nothing in this act contained shall be deemed to
authorize  said   the  board of supervisors
to raise money for said   the  district by
any method or system other than that by the issuing of bonds, or the
levying of a tax  upon the assessed value of all the real
property in said district   , or the imposition of a fee
or charge in compliance with Article XIII     D of
the California Constitution, in the manner in this act
provided, except from the sale and lease of its property as herein
provided.