BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
853 (Arambula)
Hearing Date: 08/02/2010 Amended: 08/02/2010
Consultant: Mark McKenzie Policy Vote: L Gov 3-2
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 853 would provide for the identification of
service deficiencies in unincorporated disadvantaged communities
through the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) planning
process. Specifically, this bill would:
Define a "disadvantaged inhabited community" as a populated
area in which the median household income is less than 80
percent of the statewide average.
Require a LAFCO, when preparing municipal service reviews
(MSRs), to include a written statement determining the
location and characteristics, including infrastructure needs
and deficiencies in disadvantaged inhabited communities.
Require a LAFCO, when reviewing and updating a city or special
district sphere of influence that occurs after June 30, 2011,
to include the needs for public facilities and services in
disadvantaged inhabited communities. This would apply to the
sphere of influence of a city or special district that
provides sewer, nonagricultural water, or structural fire
protection services or facilities.
Require a county board of supervisors to adopt a resolution
for a city annexation, as specified, if a county receives a
qualifying petition requesting that annexation of territory
that constitutes a disadvantaged inhabited community, and the
territory is inhabited, within the city's sphere of influence,
and is contiguous to the city.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
County/LAFCO mandate likely substantial local costs,
non-reimbursable Local
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STAFF COMMENTS:
The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act creates a LAFCO in each county to
control the boundaries of cities and most special districts. To
plan for the future boundaries and service areas of the cities
and special districts, a LAFCO must prepare informational
reports called municipal service reviews and then adopt a policy
document for each city and special district every five years
called a sphere of influence. Boundary decisions by the LAFCOs
must be consistent with the spheres of influence of the affected
cities or districts. Many disadvantaged unincorporated
communities, such as county islands, fringe communities, and
isolated inhabited communities, lack public services and
facilities like domestic water, sanitary sewers, paved streets,
storm drains, and street lights. This bill would require LAFCOs
to identify service deficiencies in these disadvantaged
inhabited communities and include them in the spheres of
influence of cities and special districts that provide sewer,
water, and fire protection facilities and services. The bill
would also require counties to sponsor annexations of these
disadvantaged communities upon receipt of a qualifying petition,
as specified.
Page 2
AB 853 (Arambula)
AB 853 would place new burdens on counties and LAFCOs to plan
for addressing service deficiencies in disadvantaged inhabited
communities. LAFCO operations are funded by the cities,
counties, and special districts, and boundary decisions are
considered local land-use planning activities. Staff notes that
the additional identification and mapping, and quantification
and analysis of service and facility deficiencies by LAFCOs in
the municipal service review and sphere of influence process
would come at a substantial cost to LAFCOs, which are passed on
to local agencies. In addition, counties would incur some costs
associated with adopting resolutions and applying for
annexations of disadvantaged communities to cities. By imposing
these additional requirements on local agencies, this bill would
create a state-mandated local program. The bill includes
standard "local fee disclaimer" language, indicating that this
mandate is not reimbursable because affected agencies have the
authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments
sufficient to pay for the bill's requirements.
Local governments have broad fee authority to cover costs
associated with planning duties. Specifically, existing law
authorizes local agencies to impose zoning and permit fees that
include "costs reasonably necessary to prepare and revise plans
and policies that a local agency is required to adopt before it
can make any necessary findings and determinations." Case law
and previous decisions by the Commission on State Mandates
support the position that local governments' planning costs are
not reimbursable when the state imposes new planning mandates.
The costs of mandates imposed upon LAFCOs must ultimately be
passed on to counties and the cities and special district whose
boundary decisions a LAFCO handles. These new costs would have
to be absorbed by local governments.