BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 178|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 178
Author: Aanestad (R)
Amended: 5/21/09
Vote: 27
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 12-0, 4/28/09
AYES: Wright, Harman, Benoit, Calderon, Denham, Florez,
Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Wiggins, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-0, 5/28/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, DeSaulnier, Hancock,
Leno, Oropeza, Runner, Walters, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SUBJECT : State property: Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection
SOURCE : City of Redding
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the Director of the
Department of General Service to sell, lease or exchange
approximately three acres of state-owned real property
located at 875 Cypress Avenue, in the City of Redding, that
is specifically not declared surplus to the State's needs
and is currently used by the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection as its Shasta-Trinity Unit Headquarters,
for the purpose of consolidating operations on or near the
Redding Airport.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS : Existing law generally requires the Department
of General Services (DGS) to perform various functions with
respect to state property and provides for the sale, lease,
or transfer of surplus state property.
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 (Government Code
Section 11011.1) 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
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use to obtain the surplus state real property.
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; (c) the basis for agreeing to terms and
conditions other than fair market value.
Existing law (Government Code 11011 (k) (1) and (2))
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.
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:
1.Authorizes DGS to sell, exchange, lease (for no more
than 66 years), or any combination thereof, all or a
portion of the state-owned Cypress Property in the City
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of Redding (City) that is currently used by the
Department of Forestry and Firefighters (CalFire).
2. Requires the Director of the DGS to use the proceeds of
any sale, exchange, lease, or any combination thereof to
acquire the land and facilities in order to consolidate
or expand the operations of the Shasta-Trinity Unit of
CalFire.
3.Requires DGS to initially offer the Cypress Property to
the City and if the City fails to purchase the property,
to sell, exchange or lease the property to the public.
4.Requires any transaction to be for no less than fair
market value, as determined by an independent appraisal
or pursuant to a competitive selection process.
5.Stipulates that compensation for the Cypress Property
may include land, or a combination of land, improvements
and money.
6. Requires any funds received from the sale, exchange,
lease, or combination thereof of all or a portion of the
Cypress Property to be held in trust and used only for
the acquisition, lease, lease-purchase, lease with
option to purchase, or lease-purchase finance of the
land and facilities and shall be appropriated to the DGS
for expenditure for these purposes.
7.Authorizes DGS to enter into one or more agreements or
leases for the purpose of providing a substitute
location for the Shasta-Trinity Unit on or near the
Redding Airport in order to consolidate or expand the
operations of the Shasta-Trinity Unit.
8.Also, provides that, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, DGS shall use the proceeds of any sale,
exchange, or lease explicitly for consolidation or
expansion of the Shasta-Trinity Unit.
9.States that the disposition of the Cypress Property is
not subject to provisions of law requiring the proceeds
from the sale of state surplus property is used to pay
the principal and interest on the Economic Recovery
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Bonds or provisions of law requiring state surplus
property be offered first to local government agencies
and affordable housing interests.
10.Provides that any use or redevelopment of the Cypress
Property awarded to a nongovernmental entity and not
involving the exercise of sovereign activities of the
State or another government agency shall be subject to
the zoning and building code regulations of the City.
11.Requires DGS to develop the terms and conditions of any
disposition agreement and provide them to the Department
of Finance (DOF) prior to soliciting bids. Also,
requires DGS to obtain approval from DOF prior to
execution of any disposition agreement regarding the
Cypress Property.
12.Requires the Department of General Services to notify
the chairperson of the committee in each house of the
Legislature that considers appropriations and the
Chairperson of the Join Legislative Budget Committee, or
his/her designee, in writing of the Director's intention
to enter into a lease or an agreement, not less than the
minimum time that the Chairperson of the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee, or his/her designee, may
in each instance determine.
13.Makes various legislative findings and declarations
regarding the Cypress Property.
Comments
Under the provisions of Proposition 60A, the proceeds of
the sale of surplus property must be used to pay the
holders of the state's deficit reduction bonds. These
payments are intended to accelerate the redemption of the
state's debt, and reduce future General Fund payments to
the bondholders. This bill avoids the transfer of the
proceeds associated with the disposition of the property by
specifying that the disposition of the Red Bluff Property
does not constitute a sale or other disposition of surplus
state property that would otherwise be subject to Section 9
of Article III of the Constitution.
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CEQA Exemption . Last year the Governor vetoed SB 553
(Aanestad) which would have authorized DGS to lease, sell,
or exchange at fair market value this same parcel of
state-owned property in the City of Redding being used by
the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as its
Shasta-Trinity Unit Headquarters. The Governor's veto
message essentially stated that the disposal of the Redding
property and other surplus property should be exempt from
CEQA because historically, such properties have generally
been exempt from the CEQA process.
The ability to get excess properties declared surplus by
the Legislature has been impeded these past few years by a
disagreement between the Legislature and the Administration
regarding the removal of a statutory exemption for the
State's surplus properties from the requirements of CEQA.
This disagreement has at least for now been resolved with
enactment of AB 8xx (Nestande), Chapter 6, Statutes of 2009
Second Extraordinary Session, that places within Section
11011 of the Government Code an ongoing CEQA exemption for
all properties declared surplus by the Legislature.
This bill makes it explicit that its provisions do not
constitute a sale or other disposition of surplus property ,
thus, DGS staff contends that a CEQA exemption is not
needed for this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
Fund
Sale of non surplusUnknown, likely significant, one time
General
state property increase in revenue; unknown potential
cost for new CDF office or lease
cost
avoidance depending on how property
is disposed
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SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/09)
City of Redding (source)
Department of Forestry and Firefighters (CalFire)
Shasta Trinity Headquarters
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
because of deteriorating and cramped conditions, the City
of Redding currently is in the process of looking for a new
location for its police headquarters. A recent review of
possible locations for a new police station identified the
Cypress Property in Redding as the most suitable site
because it is positioned adjacent to City Hall and because
it has good ingress and egress for emergency situations.
However, the property is currently utilized by CalFire as
its Shasta-Trinity Unit headquarters. City staff has
worked closely with CalFire to develop a strategy to
purchase this state-owned property in exchange for a site
approved by CalFire near the Redding Airport which is more
suitable for CalFire's needs.
TSM:do 5/29/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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