BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2663|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2663
          Author:   Bonnie Lowenthal (D)
          Amended:  8/17/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 6/30/10
          AYES:  Cox, Aanestad, Kehoe, DeSaulnier, Price
           
          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  11-0, 8/12/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Ashburn, Alquist, Corbett, Emmerson, Leno,  
            Price, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  73-1, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Local government:  federal fiscal year

           SOURCE  :     City of South Lake Tahoe


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires the state to delay any  
          transfer of local funds from cities that function under a  
          federal fiscal year until October 1, but requires all  
          transfers to be complete by June 30 of the same fiscal  
          year.  Specifically, this bill delays the transfer,  
          suspension, or borrowing of Highway Users Tax Account  
          revenues. 

           ANALYSIS  :    The State of California's fiscal year begins  
          on July 1 (AB 2447 [Deddeh], Chapter 789, Statutes of  
          1970).  The federal government's fiscal year begins on  
          October 1.
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          State law does not specify a date on which a city must  
          begin its fiscal year.  Five of California's 480 cities use  
          the federal fiscal year:  El Segundo, Huntington Beach,  
          Inglewood, Long Beach, and South Lake Tahoe.

          To help close state budget deficits, the Legislature often  
          borrows funds from local governments, transfers local  
          government revenues, and suspends payments to local  
          governments.  For example, the 2009-10 budget transferred  
          $1.7 billion of redevelopment funds to offset state General  
          Fund spending and suspended Proposition 1A to borrow $1.9  
          billion of local property tax revenues.

          If the Legislature transfers, borrows, or suspends revenues  
          allocated to a city that observes the federal fiscal year  
          calendar, this bill suspends the transaction July, August,  
          and September.  This bill requires, instead, that the  
          transfer, borrowing, or suspension of revenues must  
          commence on October 1 and be completed on or before June 30  
          of that same state fiscal year.

          This bill applies only to the borrowings, transfers, or  
          suspensions of revenues from the Highway Users Tax Account  
          in the Transportation Tax Fund. 

          This bill defines "federal fiscal year" as a fiscal year  
          beginning on October 1 and ending September 30.  This bill  
          defines "state fiscal year" as a fiscal year beginning on  
          July 1 and ending June 30.

          This bill includes legislative findings and declarations  
          regarding the need to accommodate cities that observe the  
          federal fiscal year calendar.

           Comments  

          When the state borrows, transfers, or suspends local  
          governments' funds during July, August, and September - the  
          first quarter of the state's fiscal year - it  
          disproportionately affects the five cities in which those  
          three months are the final quarter of their preceding  
          fiscal year.  To avoid closing the fiscal year with a  
          deficit, those cities must adapt to state borrowing,  







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          transfers, or suspensions by sharply adjusting their  
          spending over a three-month period.  By contrast, other  
          cities can plan ahead to accommodate state fiscal policy  
          changes over a full fiscal year.  This bill grants cities  
          that follow the federal fiscal year the opportunity to wait  
          until a new fiscal year begins to adjust to state fiscal  
          policy changes.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          Unknown with latest amendments.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/17/10)

          City of South Lake Tahoe (source)
          Cities of Huntington Beach, Inglewood, and Long Beach

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/17/10)

          Department of Finance


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,  
            Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,  
            Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,  
            DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,  
            Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,  
            Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie  
            Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,  
            Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,  
            Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,  
            Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John  
            A. Perez
          NOES:  Anderson
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Miller, Norby,  
            Audra Strickland, Vacancy


          AGB:mw  8/17/10   Senate Floor Analyses 








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                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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