BILL ANALYSIS
AB 419
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 419 (Caballero)
As Amended January 14, 2010
Majority vote
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 5-0
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|Ayes:|Caballero, Knight, | | |
| |Arambula, Davis, Skinner | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires a county board of supervisors or city council
to take timely action on items approved by a local agency
formation commission (LAFCO) that require an election.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a LAFCO upon approval of a proposal that would
require an election to be conducted, to inform the county or
city elections official of that county or city.
2)Requires the county board of supervisors or city council to
take action within 45 days to direct the elections official to
conduct the necessary election, upon the notification by the
LAFCO that a determination has been made that requires an
election.
3)Specifies that if the board of supervisors or city council
fails to direct the elections official to conduct the election
within the 45 days of receipt of the notification by the
LAFCO, the elections official shall place the item on the
ballot for the next regular election.
4)Provides that the 45-day requirement contained in the bill
will take effect on January 1, 2011, and will not affect any
applications filed with the LAFCO prior to that date.
5)Makes other conforming changes to sections of the
Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Reorganization Act of 2000 (Act).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the procedures for the organization and
reorganization of cities, counties, and special districts
AB 419
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under the Act.
2)Provides that when a board of supervisors or a city council is
informed by the LAFCO that a determination has been made that
requires an election, it shall direct the elections official
to conduct the necessary election.
3)Provides that the board of supervisors or city council shall
call, provide for, and give notice of a special election or
elections upon that question, fix a date for that election,
designate precincts and polling places, and take any other
action necessary to call, provide for, and give notice of the
special election or election and to provide for the conduct
and the canvass of returns of the election.
4)Provides that any person or affected agency may file a written
request with the executive officer requesting amendments to or
reconsideration of the resolution within 30 days of the
adoption of the initial or superseding resolution by the LAFCO
making determinations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill makes a number of changes to the Act in
order to bring clarity to a vague section of law regarding the
timeframe and process to be undertaken by local governments upon
notification by the LAFCO that an item approved by LAFCO
requires an election. Under current law, there is no deadline
specified for a county board of supervisors, city council, or
elections official from that city or county to place the
LAFCO-approved item on the ballot. The requirements contained
in this bill would not apply to any current application filed
with LAFCO, and instead, the bill's provisions would take effect
on January 1, 2011.
The action by the city or county to place an item approved by
LAFCO on the ballot constitutes a ministerial act, meaning that
the city or county has no discretion in the action once the
local government is in receipt of the notification from LAFCO.
It is possible under current law that a LAFCO-approved item
could face significant delay in being placed on the ballot. AB
419 would remedy this by specifying that a county board of
supervisors or city council would have 45 days to direct the
elections official to conduct the necessary election, upon
receipt of the notification by LAFCO of the item requiring an
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election. This bill also requires the LAFCO, upon approval of
an item that would require a ballot election, to notify the
elections official, in addition to the current notification
requirements of the affected county board of supervisors or the
city council. If the board of supervisors or city council fails
to direct the elections official within 45 days of notification
to conduct the election, this bill requires the elections
official to place the item on the ballot for the next regular
election.
The California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions
(CALAFCO), writing in support, notes that this "adds precision
to the process timeline and sets expectations for both LAFCO
applicants and the commission itself on when applications that
require an election must be completed and forwarded to the board
of supervisors or city council to be placed on a ballot."
CALAFCO believes that "current law is vague and could lead to a
missed deadline for placing an item on the ballot" and that this
bill "helps assure better implementation of the
Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act."
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0003549