BILL NUMBER: SB 959 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Ducheny
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Caballero)
FEBRUARY 5, 2010
An act to add Sections 65913.3 and 65922.3 to the Government Code,
relating to development, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 959, as amended, Ducheny. Development: expedited permit review.
(1) Existing law requires various applications and permits in
connection with land use and development. Existing law requires a
public agency that is the lead agency for a development project to
approve or disapprove the project within certain periods. Existing
law creates the Office of Planning and Research in the Governor's
Office.
This bill would require the Office of Planning and Research to
develop guidelines that would provide technical assistance to
counties and cities in establishing and operating an expedited
development permit process, as specified , and would provide
that these guidelines are advisory in nature . The bill would
require every city, county, or city and county to provide for
coordination of review and decisionmaking , and the
provision of information regarding the status of , all
applications and permits for residential, commercial, and industrial
developments by a single administrative entity, as defined. The
bill would authorize the administrative entity to coordinate the
review and decisionmaking process with other affected entities, and t
he city, county, or city and county to charge fees to
defray costs directly attributable to the administrative entity's
coordination of the review and decisionmaking process for an
application or permit. By creating a new duty for local
agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would permit the administrative entity to
coordinate the review and decisionmaking process with other affected
entities.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
(3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
(3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 65913.3 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
65913.3. (a) Every city, county, or city and county shall provide
for coordination of review and decisionmaking and the provision of
information regarding the status of all applications and permits for
residential, commercial, and industrial developments, as required by
the city, county, or city and county, by a single administrative
entity. For the purposes of this section, "administrative entity"
means a person or agency designated by the legislative body of the
city, county, or city and county to coordinate the review and
decisionmaking and provide information regarding the status of all
permits or applications required by the local agency. The city,
county, or city and county may charge fees to defray costs
incurred by the administrative entity that are directly
attributable to the entity's coordination of the review and
decisionmaking process for an application or permit for development.
(b) A city, county, or city and county may adopt, by resolution or
ordinance, procedures for the implementation of this section by the
designated administrative entity.
(c) At the request of an applicant, the administrative entity may
coordinate the review and decisionmaking process with affected
special districts and the administrative entity designated by the
legislative body of any other city, county, or city and county in the
jurisdiction of which the application for approval of the
development is also being made, in order to provide concurrent
processing within those jurisdictions.
SEC. 2. Section 65922.3 is added to the Government Code, to read:
65922.3. (a) The Office of Planning and
Research shall develop guidelines to provide technical assistance to
counties and cities in establishing and operating an expedited
development permit process. In developing the guidelines, local
variations in population rate of growth, types of proposed
development projects, geography, and differences in local government
structure shall be recognized. The guidelines for a local permit
process shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following
elements:
(a)
(1) A central contact point with a public agency where
all permit applications can be filed and information on all permit
requirements can be obtained.
(b)
(2) A referral process that provides for one or a
combination of the following elements:
(1)
(A) Refers the applicant to the appropriate functional
area for resolution of problems and fulfillment of requirements.
(2)
(B) Refers the applicant to cities within the county in
whose sphere of influence the proposed project lies for review,
comment, or imposition of condition permits.
(3)
(C) Assigns an individual from the local government to
be responsible for guiding the application through all local permit
bodies.
(c)
(3) A master permit document that covers permits for
all functional areas and that could be used for obtaining the
approvals of the various functional areas.
(d)
(4) A method of tracking progress on various permit
applications, that may include identifying a staff person responsible
for monitoring permits.
(e)
(5) A determination as to the completeness of the
master permit document upon its submission and a written statement of
specific information that is missing, if any.
(f)
(6) Timetables for action on individual permits.
(g)
(7) A variety of administrative mechanisms that will
describe the least costly approaches for implementation in a variety
of local circumstances.
(b) The guidelines established by the office pursuant to this
section shall be advisory in nature. In no way shall these guidelines
constitute a mandate upon cities or counties to take any of the
actions contained therein.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because a local agency or school district has the
authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to
pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
The continued economic crisis in the state requires immediate
attention, and an expedited permit process that will allow
long stalled allows long-stalled development
projects to commence will serve as a basis for new economy
stimulating economic development in the state.