BILL ANALYSIS
AB 474
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 474 (Blumenfield)
As Amended September 4, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |61-14|(May 21, 2009) |SENATE: |26-10|(September 9, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
SUMMARY : Expands the authorization that allows public agencies to
enter into contractual assessments to finance the installation of
specified improvements to now include water efficiency
improvements.
The Senate amendments :
1)Clarify that the contractual assessment process is a voluntary
action on the property owner.
2)Clarify that for the purpose of financing the installation of
water efficiency improvements, "public agency" means a city,
county, city and county, municipal utility district, community
services district, sanitary district, sanitation district, or
water district.
3)Clarify that for the purpose of financing the installation of
distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy
efficiency improvements, "public agency" means a county, city,
city and county, or a municipal utility district, an irrigation
district, or public utility district that owns and operates an
electric distribution system.
4)Require a legislative body to provide written notice, at least
60 days before adopting a resolution making contractual benefit
assessment financing available to property owners, to any entity
that provides energy or water within the boundaries of the area
within which contractual assessments may be entered into.
5)State that it is the intent of the Legislature that a public
agency in the process of establishing an assessment program
should use a good faith effort to provide advance notice of the
proposed program to water and electric service providers in the
relevant service area to allow the most efficient coordination
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and collaboration between the public agency and water and
electric service providers.
6)Require a legislative body levying a contractual assessment to
designate an office, department, or bureau of the local agency
to be responsible for implementing the contractual assessment
program.
7)Require a legislative body to record a notice concurrently with
the instrument creating the voluntary contractual assessment,
and prescribes the content of such document to satisfy statutory
notice requirements.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes all cities and counties in California to designate
areas within which city officials and willing property owners
may enter into contractual assessments to finance the
installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources
and energy efficiency improvements.
2)States legislative intent that the authorization listed above
should be used to finance the installation of distributed
generation renewable energy sources and energy efficiency
improvements that are fixed to residential, commercial,
industrial, and other real property.
3)Prohibits the authorization from being used to finance the
purchase or appliances or installations not fixed to real
property.
4)Makes findings and declarations concerning the need for energy
efficiency improvements in order to address global climate
change, the deterrent effect of high up-front costs on making
those improvements, and the need to authorize an alternative
procedure for authorizing assessments to finance the cost of
energy efficiency improvements in order to make them more
affordable and promote their installation.
5)Declares that a public purpose will be served by a contractual
assessment program that provides the legislative body of any
city or county with the authority to finance the installation of
distributed generation renewable energy sources and energy
efficiency improvements to residential, commercial, industrial,
and other real property.
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6)Authorizes the legislative body of any city or county to
determine that it would be convenient, advantageous, and in the
public interest to designate an area within the city or county,
which may encompass the entire city or a lesser portion, within
which authorized city or county officials and property owners
may enter into contractual assessments to finance the
installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources
and energy efficiency improvements that are fixed to the
property.
7)Requires the legislative body of the city or county to make
these determinations by adopting a resolution indicating its
intention to do so and requires the resolution to include
certain information, including, but not limited to,
identification of the kinds of public works that may be
financed; a description of the boundaries of the area within
which contractual assessments may be entered into; and, a
description of the proposed arrangements for financing the
program.
8)States that the term "energy efficient improvements" includes,
but is not limited to: the installation of distributed
generation renewable energy resources; and, that any energy
efficiency improvement must be fixed to the real property.
9)Requires that the resolution adopted by the governing body
direct the appropriate city official to prepare a report
including specified provisions.
10)Provides that, upon the written consent of an authorized city
official, the proposed arrangements for financing the program
pertaining to the installation of distributed generation
renewable energy resources and energy efficiency improvements
fixed to real property may authorize the property owner to
purchase directly the related equipment and materials and to
contract directly for the work on the property owner's
residential, commercial, industrial, and other real property.
11)Specifies that assessments may be levied only with the free and
willing consent of the owner of each lot or parcel on which an
assessment is levied at the time the assessment is levied.
12)States that assessments levied pursuant to this chapter, and
the interest and any penalties thereon shall constitute a lien
against the lots and parcels of land on which they are made
until they are paid.
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13)Specifies that the collection of assessments in the same manner
and at the same time as the general taxes of the city on real
property are payable.
14)Requires that a specified city official enter into
consultations with the office of the county auditor or
controller in order to reach agreement on what additional fees,
if any, will be charged to the city or county for incorporating
the proposed contractual assessments into the assessments of the
general taxes of the city or county on real property, and to
include a report on the results of these consultations in the
report to be submitted to the legislative body of the city.
15)Requires a legislative body to publish notice of a hearing
regarding contractual assessments.
16)Defines "city" for purposes of this bill as a city, county, or
city and county.
17)Defines "water district" as any district or other political
subdivision, other than a city or county, a primary function of
which is the irrigation, reclamation, or drainage of land or the
diversion, storage, management, or distribution of water
primarily for domestic, municipal, agricultural, industrial,
recreation, fish and wildlife enhancement, flood control, or
power production purposes.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Authorized a public agency to enter into a contractual
assessment with a willing property owner to finance the
installation of water efficiency measures.
2)Added agriculture to the types of properties that can enter into
a contractual assessment with a public agency to finance the
installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources,
energy efficiency, and water efficiency improvements.
3)Added municipal utility districts and community service
districts to the list of entities that may enter into
contractual assessments with a willing property owner to finance
the installation of distributed generation renewable energy
sources, energy efficiency, and water efficiency improvements.
4)Stated that it is the intent of the Legislature to address
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chronic water needs throughout California by permitting
voluntary individual efforts to improve water efficiency.
5)Stated that it is the intent of the Legislature that the
authorization created by this bill should be used to finance the
installation of water efficiency improvements that are
permanently fixed to residential, commercial, industrial,
agricultural, or other real property, including,
but not limited to, recycled water connections, synthetic turf,
cisterns for stormwater recovery, and water-porous concrete.
6)Prohibited a water district from entering into any contractual
assessment with a property owner to finance any energy
efficiency improvements.
7)Required a public agency to include a brief description of
criteria that will be used for determining the creditworthiness
of a property owner in its resolution of intention.
8)Redefined "efficiency improvements" to include agricultural
property.
9)Defined "public agency" as a city, county, city and county,
municipal utility district, community services district, or
water district as defined.
10)Required a legislative body to provide written notice of a
hearing to any entity that provides energy or water within the
boundaries of the area within which contractual assessments may
be entered into.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : AB 811 (Levine), Chapter 159, Statutes of 2008,
proposed to further the public interest of addressing climate
change through energy conservation efforts by authorizing cities
to provide up-front financing to property owners to install solar
or other renewable energy-generating devices or make specified
energy efficiency improvements to their properties through a
system of contractual assessments. Prior to AB 811, contractual
assessments were only authorized for certain types of public works
projects. Under contractual assessments, the property owner or
owners within a designated area choose to assess themselves for
the cost of energy efficiency improvements or public works project
(i.e., under grounding of power lines or installation of
streetlights). The local government then provides the up-front
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funds for the project, and the property owners pay an annual
assessment until those funds, plus interest, are repaid. The
underlying purpose is to create a means by which a project that
provides both a public benefit and an incidental benefit to
particular property owners can be financed without imposing the
cost on property owners in other parts of the city who derive no
benefit.
This bill adds water efficiency improvements to the list of
improvements that can be paid for through a contractual assessment
between a willing property owner and a public agency. The author
believes that this bill fills a financing void by offering upfront
funding to private property owners to pay for costly water use
efficiency improvements such as permeable pavement, recycled water
piping, drip irrigation, cisterns, synthetic turf, or other water
conservation measures. The author states that this bill will
create financing opportunities to residential, commercial, and
agricultural property owners who want to be more responsible water
users but have limited financial resources to make those
investments.
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
FN: 0003055