BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



          
           AB 1582
                                                                  Page  1

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 1582 (Local Government Committee)
          As Amended  June 10, 2009
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |77-0 |(May 21, 2009)  |SENATE: |40-0 |(June 24,      |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2009)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    L. GOV.  

           SUMMARY  :  Makes several minor, non-controversial changes to the  
          laws affecting local government organization and reorganization.  
           

           The Senate amendments  add clarifying language that would allow a  
          local agency formation commission (LAFCO) to waive the protest  
          proceedings for boundary changes affecting legally uninhabited  
          territory if a private railroad company does not submit written  
          opposition to the proposed waiver of protest proceedings.

           EXISTING LAW  establishes the procedures for the organization and  
          reorganization of cities, counties, and special districts.

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill:  

          1)Allowed a LAFCO to have a one-year window to establish sphere  
            of influence for a new district, beginning January 1, 2010.

          2)Made technical changes to the requirements that must be  
            contained in a petition for a change of organization or  
            reorganization.

          3)Changed the term "affected local agency" to "subject local  
            agency" to conform to terminology referenced elsewhere in the  
            Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act (Act).

          4)Specified that several counties may be involved in  
            reorganization proceedings.

          5)Provided that the value of written protests shall be  
            determined pursuant to other sections in the Act.









          
           AB 1582
                                                                  Page  2

          6)Clarified that members of the city council in future elections  
            can be elected "from district" in addition to the other  
            methods contained in the Act, which conforms to another  
            section regarding elections in the Act.

          7)Renumbered one section in the Act that currently has the same  
            number as another section.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None

           COMMENTS  :  As statutes go into effect, local officials and  
          others often discover problems or inconsistencies in the  
          language of the law and approach the Legislature to correct  
          them.  These minor problems do not warrant separate bills,  
          particularly since, according to the Legislative Analyst, in  
          2001-02, the average cost to produce a single bill was $17,890.

          The Assembly Local Government Committee (Committee) has found  
          that it is expeditious and relatively inexpensive to respond to  
          multiple minor, non-controversial requests on related issues by  
          combining them into an annual "omnibus bill."  Since AB 720  
          (Local Government 
          Committee), Chapter 388, Statutes of 2001, which was a clean-up  
          bill for AB 2838 (Hertzberg), Chapter 761, Statutes of 2000, the  
          major rewrite of the laws governing local agency organization  
          and reorganization, the Committee has focused its omnibus bill  
          efforts on LAFCO-related issues, most recently with AB 3047  
          (Local Government Committee), Chapter 68, Statutes of 2008.  The  
          Committee has carried on this practice this year by addressing a  
          number of minor, but still necessary, changes in this bill.  The  
          bill reflects the concerns of LAFCOs and others who have brought  
          proposals and issues to the Committee.  All proposals have been  
          thoroughly vetted by a large number of stakeholders.  Any  
          proposal that provokes any controversy or opposition is rejected  
          for inclusion.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)  
          319-3958 


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