BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2279|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2279
Author: Evans (D)et al
Amended: 8/9/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 8-1, 6/22/10
AYES: Wright, Calderon, Denham, Florez, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Price, Yee
NOES: Harman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-3, 8/2/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Emmerson, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-24, 5/6/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Surplus state property: County of Napa
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill grants the Director of General
Services (DGS) the authority to sell or exchange at fair
market value, based upon appraisal approved by DGS, by
January 1, 2015, to the County of Napa, certain property
located in the County upon terms and conditions the
Director deems are in the best interests of the state.
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes DGS to perform various
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functions with regard to state property and provides for
the sale, lease, or transfer of surplus state property, if
authorized or contemplated by law.
Existing law requires the Director of DGS to request
authorization by the Legislature prior to the disposition
by sale or otherwise of state land reported to it by a
state agency as being in excess of its foreseeable needs.
Each state agency is required to annually review
proprietary state lands under its jurisdiction to determine
what lands are in excess of the agency's foreseeable needs
and to report to DGS.
This annual review of proprietary state lands does not
apply to tax-deeded land, land held for highway purposes,
lands under the jurisdiction of the State Lands Commission,
land that has escheated to the state or that has been
distributed to the state by a court decree in estates of
deceased persons, and lands under the jurisdiction of the
State Coastal Conservancy. Jurisdiction of all land
reported as excess is transferred to DGS, when requested by
the Director of DGS, for sale or disposition or as may
otherwise be authorized by law.
Existing law provides criteria for state agencies to use in
determining and reporting to DGS lands in excess of the
agency's foreseeable needs. A state agency is to include
land not currently being utilized, or currently being
underutilized, for any existing or ongoing program; land
for which the agency has not identified any specific
utilization relative to future needs; and land not
identified by the agency within its master plan for
facility development.
Where applicable within its jurisdiction, DGS is
responsible for determining if surplus land is needed by
any other state agency. Existing law requires the state to
first offer surplus state real property to local agencies,
and next, to offer the property to nonprofit affordable
housing sponsors, as defined, prior to offering the
property to private entities. Existing law also prescribes
the procedure for local agencies and nonprofit affordable
housing sponsors to use to obtain the surplus state real
property.
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Existing law specifies that the Legislature may authorize a
particular surplus property be sold at less than fair
market value and provides that 30 days prior to executing
such a transaction, DGS must report to the chairs of the
fiscal committees of the Legislature the following
information: (a) the financial terms of the transaction;
(b) a comparison of fair market value for the property and
financial terms; and (c) the basis for agreeing to terms
and conditions other than fair market value.
Existing law contains provisions exempting the sale of
surplus property from designated provisions of the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Specifically,
the law provides that any disposition of a parcel of
surplus property made on an "as-is" basis shall be exempt
from statutory requirements of CEQA; however, the law makes
it explicit that the buyer or transferee of a parcel shall
be subject to any local governmental entitlement or land
use approval requirements and CEQA.
Furthermore, existing law provides that if any transaction
is not on an "as-is" basis sale and close of escrow is
contingent on satisfying any local governmental approvals
for entitlement or land use requirements, including
compliance by the local government with CEQA, then the
execution of the purchase and sale agreement or exchange
agreement is exempt from CEQA.
Existing law requires DGS to maintain a complete and
accurate inventory of all real property held by the state
and categorize that inventory by agency and geographic
location. The law also requires DGS to update the
inventory annually.
Proposition 60A of November 2004 (SCA 18 [Johnson],
Resolution Chapter 103, Statutes of 2004) which was adopted
by the electorate (73 percent margin) requires, among other
things, that the proceeds from the sale of surplus state
property, with specified exceptions, be used to pay the
principal and interest on the Economic Recovery Bond Act of
2004.
This bill:
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1. Authorizes the Director of DGS to sell or exchange, at
current fair market value, based upon an appraisal
approved by DGS, by January 1, 2015, approximately 850
acres of property, known as Skyline Park, (located at
the Napa State Hospital, 2100 Napa Vallejo Highway, in
the County of Napa) to the County of Napa, upon terms
and conditions the Director deems are in the best
interests of the state.
2. Stipulates that any agreement for the sale or exchange
of the property must require the County of Napa to
retain title to the entire property for use as a park or
wilderness preserve, or in the event of a future sale of
that property by the County, require the County, by
recorded easement, to restrict future uses of the
property to those same uses.
3. Provides that any agreement for the sale or exchange of
the property must preserve Napa State Hospital's
ownership and use of the property known as "Camp Coombs"
and include an easement that provides the Hospital with
access to the Camp.
4. Provides that DGS shall be reimbursed from sale proceeds
for any costs incurred to sell the property.
Additionally, requires that net proceeds be deposited
into the Deficit Recovery Bond Retirement Sinking Fund
Subaccount.
5. Permits the County of Napa to enter into an agreement
with a nonprofit land trust or nonprofit conservation
entity for the purpose of sharing the costs associated
with the sale or exchange of the property.
6. Contains legislative findings and declarations relative
to the importance of Camp Coombs and declares the
County's intent to ensure that Napa State Hospital
maintains ownership, usage and access to the Camp.
7. Declares legislative intent that any purchase agreement
clearly state that the operations and activities at Camp
Coombs shall remain unobstructed and unaffected by the
sale and that access to the Camp be preserved through a
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recorded easement.
Comment
According to the author's office, the 850 acres of
state-owned property, known as Skyline Park, has been
leased to Napa County and operated as a public park and
natural area since 1979. The property includes more than
12 miles of hiking, riding and bicycling trails, a native
plant garden, horse arena, archery range and a "disc" golf
course.
The Napa County Board of Supervisors considers "the
preservation of Skyline Park as a publicly-owned
recreational facility a key policy issue and a high
legislative priority."
The author's office points out that the County of Napa has
a Transient Occupancy Tax ordinance in place which sets
aside money to fund county parks, and thus, has a dedicated
revenue stream to afford this property.
Prior Legislation
The provisions of this bill were originally contained in
the annual surplus property bills of 2005 and 2006 (AB 54
and AB 53 - both authored by Assembly member Negrete McLeod
- AB 54 was vetoed by the Governor because of provisions
requiring DGS to initiate a CEQA review process on the
properties identified prior to any sale, lease, or
exchange; and, AB 53 died on the Senate Inactive File).
Additionally, this bill is nearly identical to SB 1226 of
2006, authored by Senator Chesbro which was held on the
Assembly Floor and SB 678 (Wiggins) of 2007 which was
vetoed by the Governor on the basis that it did not contain
a CEQA exemption.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
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Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
Sale or lease of One time
revenue increase from General*
state property sale or exchange, less that fair
market value to the extent
specified
sale conditions reduce potential
bidder interest
*Deficit Recovery Bond Retirement Sinking fund Subaccount
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/9/10)
Napa County Board of Supervisors (source)
Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District
City of American Canyon
Numerous local residents
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Coto, Davis, De La
Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jones, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Monning, Nava, Nestande, Norby, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Yamada, John A.
Perez
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Cook, DeVore, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines,
Garrick, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller,
Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran,
Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Block, Gilmore, Mendoza, Vacancy
TSM:do 8/9/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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