BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2166
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
AB 2166 (Chesbro) - As Introduced: February 18, 2010
SUBJECT : Joint powers agreement: public agencies.
SUMMARY : Authorizes Smith River Rancheria Tribal Council to
enter into a joint powers agreement (JPA) with the County of Del
Norte, the City of Crescent City, or both, and declares Smith
River Rancheria to be a public agency for purposes of that JPA.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes, under the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, two or
more public agencies (i.e. federal government, any state, any
state department or agency, county, county board of education,
county superintendent of schools, city, public corporation,
public district, and regional transportation commission in any
state) to enter into a JPA to exercise jointly any power
common to the contracting agencies that it can do by itself.
2)Authorizes Elk Valley Rancheria Tribal Council to enter into a
JPA with the County of Del Norte, the City of Crescent City,
or both, and declares Elk Valley Rancheria Tribal Council to
be a public agency for purposes of that JPA.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)California's JPAs are federations of federal, state, and local
public agencies that jointly perform duties that each entity
could perform on its own. California's JPAs collaborate to
address public needs, such as financing public facilities,
forming insurance pools, and enhancing planning and
regulation. JPAs can be structured as an agreement between
existing agencies or as a creation of a new, separate entity
called a joint powers authority.
2)In an opinion dated August 28, 1996, the California State
Attorney General (AG) found that an Indian tribe does not meet
any of the public agency definitions listed in Section 6500 of
the Government Code, but rather is a "domestic dependent
AB 2166
Page 2
nation" separate and distinct from the United States. As a
result, special legislation is necessary in order for
individual tribes to enter into JPAs with legal public
agencies.
3)The precedent for declaring Indian tribes to be public
agencies for the purpose of participating in JPAs is well
established. Before the 1996 AG opinion, the Legislature
designated Hoopa Valley Indian Tribe as a public agency for
the purpose of entering into JPAs with the members of the
Humboldt County Association of Governments. Subsequent to the
AG's opinion, AB 959 (Kelley), Chapter 19, Statutes of 2001,
authorized Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians to enter
into a JPA to participate in the Salton Sea Authority, and AB
1172 (Berg), Chapter 39, Statutes of 2003, authorized Elk
Valley Rancheria Tribal Council to enter into a JPA with Del
Norte County and Crescent City to jointly finance and manage a
regional wastewater treatment plant and later to enter into a
JPA for purposes of forming the Border Coast Regional Airport
Authority.
4)The Border Coast Regional Airport Authority was formed in 2007
through the cooperation
of Del Norte County, Crescent City, and Elk Valley Rancheria.
This joint powers authority manages and operates the Del Norte
County Regional Airport/Jack McNamara Field Airport by
providing regional representation for the entire geographic
base of its users. The initial membership of the JPA was
later joined by the City of Brookings, Oregon, and, in January
2010, Curry County, Oregon.
According to the author, Smith River Rancheria, a federally
recognized tribe, has had a standing invitation to join the
JPA, but has been unable to do so because it lacks the
legislative authority declaring the sovereign Indian tribe a
"public agency" for purposes
of JPA law. The author says, because Smith River Rancheria
would be entering an existing JPA that already has one tribal
member, AB 2166 significantly differs from prior legislative
attempts that were vetoed to allow a tribe to enter into a JPA
with a public agency.
5)Prior Legislation . AB 847 (Berg, 2008), which would have
allowed the Tribal Council of the Yurok Tribe to enter into a
JPA with public agencies for the purposes of projects and
AB 2166
Page 3
activities for the preservation and restoration of fisheries
in the Klamath River Basin, did not make it out of the Senate
Local Government Committee. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed AB
1884 (Maze, 2008), which would have allowed the Tule River
Tribal Council to enter into a JPA with the City of
Porterville to develop commercial property in the vicinity of
the Porterville Airport. AB 1962 (Berg, 2006) was vetoed by
the Governor with the veto message expressing concern about
ambiguous language and a lack of specifics about the scope of
the Yurok Tribe's participation in a JPA. The Governor also
vetoed AB 2762 (Levine, 2006), which would have allowed 17
federally recognized Indian tribal governments to enter into a
joint powers agreement to participate in the Southern
California Association of Governments. In 2005, Governor
Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 1747 (Wolk, 2005), which would have
allowed the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians to join a JPA in
Yolo County.
6)Support Arguments . Supporters say including Smith River
Rancheria in the JPA will promote the coordinated economic
development of the region and will help achieve regional
representation for all users of the Del Norte County Regional
Airport/Jack McNamara Field Airport.
7)Opposition Arguments . Prior Governor vetoes said it was
inappropriate to have a sovereign nation that is not directly
subject to all federal, state, and local laws participating in
the exercise of public power when the land in question was not
on tribal land.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Border Coast Regional Airport Authority [CO-SPONSOR]
Smith River Rancheria [CO-SPONSOR]
AB 2166
Page 4
CA Tribal Business Alliance
City of Brookings
Cloverdale Rancheria
County of Curry, Oregon
County of Del Norte
Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce
Elk Valley Rancheria
Ramona Band of Cahuilla
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Susanville Indian Rancheria
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer R. Klein / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958