BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2754
Author: John A. Perez (D)
Amended: 7/15/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/30/10
AYES: Aanestad, Kehoe, DeSaulnier, Price
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-4, 8/12/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Emmerson, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-27, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Land use and planning: Office of Planning and
Research
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill creates a Planning and Clearinghouse
Unit within OPR under the direct control of a Director of
the Planning and Clearinghouse Unit who reports directly to
the OPR director. This bill allows the OPR director to
employ and fix the compensation of the Unit's director and
employees. The bill requires the State Department of
Personnel Administration to begin preparations for
converting employees to civil service status, but prohibits
OPR employees from attaining civil service status within
the Unit before July 1, 2011.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS : Existing law:
The Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) is the
state's comprehensive planning agency. Located within the
Office of the Governor, OPR coordinates state agencies'
planning activities. OPR is also responsible for helping
regional and local officials with land use planning.
OPR's employees . Because OPR is part of the Office of the
Governor, OPR's employees are constitutionally exempt from
state civil service. Each governor appoints OPR's
director. Most of OPR's staff changes with the election of
a new governor, although some employees who provide core
services have remained even when administrations changed.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) assigns OPR
the responsibility to prepare and develop the "CEQA
Guidelines" which the Secretary for Natural Resources
formally adopts as administrative regulations. OPR
operates the State Clearinghouse which coordinates state
agencies' reviews of CEQA documents. Implementing a 1982
Presidential Executive Order, the State Clearinghouse is
also California's single point of contact for federal aid
applications.
Some observers worry that the appointive status of OPR's
employees means risking the loss of their professional
expertise and institutional memory when gubernatorial
administrations change. They particularly worry about
losing the OPR employees who run the State Clearinghouse
and advise public officials about land use planning and
development topics.
This bill creates a Planning and Clearinghouse Unit within
OPR under the direct control of a Director of the Planning
and Clearinghouse Unit who reports directly to the OPR
director. This bill allows the OPR director to employ and
fix the compensation of the Unit's director and employees.
The bill requires the State Department of Personnel
Administration to begin preparations for converting
employees to civil service status, but prohibits OPR
employees from attaining civil service status within the
Unit before July 1, 2011.
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OPR's duties . Current law assigns OPR several duties,
including serving the Governor and his or her Cabinet as
staff for long-range planning and research. More
specifically, state law tells OPR to:
? Formulate long-range land use goals and policies.
? Help state departments with their functional plans.
? Resolve conflicts among state agencies.
? Help the Department of Finance integrate state
plans and the Budget.
? Coordinate federal grants to carry out state
environmental goals.
? Coordinate statewide environmental monitoring.
? Coordinate environmental reviews of development
projects.
? Coordinate state research on growth and
development.
? Coordinate state departments' technical planning
assistance.
? Manage state planning grants.
? Develop long-range growth and development policies.
? Encourage local and regional planning.
This bill assigns most of these specific duties to OPR's
new Planning and State Clearinghouse Unit, but repeals the
requirements to coordinate federal grants to carry out
state environmental goals and coordinate statewide
environmental monitoring.
By January 1, 2012, this bill requires the Unit to:
? Annually review state departments' functional plans
for consistency with the statutory state planning
priorities. If the Unit determines that a
department's plan is inconsistent with those
priorities, it must recommend changes to the
department and the Legislature.
? Biennially report to the Governor and the
Legislature on its efforts to formulate, evaluate, and
update long-range goals and policies.
? Develop long-range policies for growth and
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development every five years.
This bill directs the Unit to follow the statutory
statewide planning goals when coordinating state
departments' technical planning assistance.
This bill assigns the Unit two new duties:
? Assist the State Air Resources Board in providing
technical assistance to local governments regarding
their statutorily required sustainable communities
strategies or alternative planning strategies.
? Work with the Strategic Growth Council to assist
with planning sustainable communities and meeting the
California Global Warming Solutions Act's goals,
including technical assistance to local governments
which are eligible for grants and loans under
Proposition 84.
Military liaison . In 1994, Governor Wilson's executive
order created the Office of Military Base Retention and
Reuse within the State Technology, Trade & Commerce Agency
in anticipation of another round of military base closures.
When the State Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency was
abolished, the Legislature renamed the Office of Military
Base Retention and Reuse as the Office of Military and
Aerospace Support, moved it to the State Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency (SB 926, Knight, Chapter
907, Statutes of 2004), and then extended its operations
until January 1, 2009 (SB 1698, Ashburn, Chapter 681,
Statutes of 2006). In 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger's
executive order created the position of the Governor's
Advisor of Military Affairs within OPR to coordinate:
? Land use planning to ensure sustainable defense
activities.
? Bills to support California's relationship with the
Department of Defense.
? State regulatory activities that affect defense
operations.
? Administration officials to cooperate with the
military.
? Issues important to military personnel and their
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families.
? Advocacy on policies that affect armed forces based
in California.
Cities and counties must include military installations,
aviation routes, airspace, and readiness activities in
their state-mandated general plans. OPR must provide
guidance to local officials as part of its advisory General
Plan Guidelines (SB 1468, Knight, Chapter 971, Statutes of
2002).
This bill designates OPR as the liaison with the U.S.
Department of Defense with responsibility for:
? Coordination to ensure sustainable defense
activities.
? Bills to support California's relationship with the
Department of Defense.
? State regulatory activities that affect defense
operations.
? Identifying administration officials to cooperate
with the military.
? Issues important to military personnel and their
families.
? Advocacy on policies that affect armed forces based
in California.
Planning Advisory and Assistance Council . Current law
requires the OPR director to appoint a Planning Advisory
and Assistance Council composed of local, regional, and
tribal officials to advise OPR on its statutory duties.
There are no current appointments and the Council has not
met in years. Assembly bill 2754 tells the Planning
Advisory and Assistance Council to advise OPR's new
Planning and State Clearinghouse Unit about its statutory
duties. This bill also requires OPR by August 31, 2011, to
prepare, develop, and transmit to the Secretary of Natural
Resources Agency recommended proposed changes or amendments
to the guidelines implementing the submission requirement.
Strategic Growth Council . Proposition 84 (2006) authorized
$5.4 billion in state bonds, with $90 million specifically
set aside for planning grants and incentives. The
Strategic Growth Council awards and manages these grants.
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The Council coordinates the state's programs to improve air
and water quality, improve natural resources protection,
increase the availability of affordable housing, improve
transportation, meet the goals of the California Global
Warming Solutions Act (AB 32, Nu?ez, Chapter 488, Statutes
of 2006), encourage sustainable land use planning, and
revitalize community centers. The Council must comment on
the state's five-year infrastructure plan and OPR's State
Environmental Goals and Policies Report.
The six-member Council consists of the:
? The OPR director.
? Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency.
? Secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency.
? Secretary of the Business, Transportation and
Housing Agency.
? Secretary of the California Health and Human
Services Agency.
? A public member, appointed by the Governor.
The Council's staff must reflect its membership. The
Legislature appropriated $500,000 in Proposition 84 funds
to the Resources Agency for the Council's support (SB 732,
Steinberg, Chapter 729, Statutes of 2008). The State
Natural Resources Agency estimates that it will have spent
about $200,000 by the end of the 2010 calendar year.
This bill requires OPR to administer the Strategic Growth
Council. This bill transfers the balance of the
appropriation to OPR to administer the Council.
Related Legislation
Earlier this year, the Senate Local Government Committee
heard and passed two other bills relating to OPR. SB 959
(Ducheny) restores some of the duties of the former Office
of Permit Assistance to OPR. SB 1445 (DeSaulnier)
increases the state's vehicle license fee by $1 to pay for
an expanded Planning Advisory and Assistance Council and
for regional planning efforts. In addition, AB 153 (Ma)
allows regional agencies to increase the VLF by up to $4 to
pay for planning programs and expands the Planning Advisory
and Assistance Council.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
Clearinghouse Unit staff $115 $230
$230General
SUPPORT : (unable to verify at time of writing)
Association of Environmental Professionals
OPPOSITION : (unable to verify at time of writing)
Department of Finance
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De
Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jones, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, V.
Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Blakeslee, Conway,
Cook, DeVore, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight,
Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, Silva,
Smyth, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Audra Strickland,
Vacancy
AGB:nl 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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