BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
959 (Ducheny)
Hearing Date: 05/27/1010 Amended: 04/26/2010
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: LG 5-0, EQ 7-0
SB 959 (Ducheny), Page 2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 959, an urgency measure, requires cities and
counties to provide a single coordinating entity for all
permitting associated with proposed residential, commercial, and
industrial development. The bill requires the Office of Planning
and Research to develop guidelines to assist local governments
in complying with the requirements of the bill.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
OPR guideline development $125 General
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Under current law, local governments are generally responsible
for permitting proposed development projects. In addition, local
governments often act as lead agencies for implementing state
regulatory laws, such as the California Environmental Quality
Act.
SB 959 requires cities and counties to establish a single
administrative entity that would be responsible for coordinating
the review and decision making associated with any proposed
residential, commercial, or industrial development within its
jurisdiction. In addition, the bill authorizes the
administrative entity to also coordinate with special districts
or other local governments that may be involved in permitting a
proposed development. The bill authorizes cities and counties to
charge fees to a project developer to pay for those costs that
are directly attributable to coordination of decision making
related to the specific proposal.
This bill requires the Office of Planning and Research to
develop guidelines to provide technical assistance to cities and
counties in implementing the requirements of the bill. The bill
specifies a series of issues that the guidelines must cover. The
bill states that the guidelines are advisory only, and do not
mandate any additional duties by local governments.
SB 959 (Ducheny), Page 2
This bill creates a mandate on cities and counties by requiring
them to establish a coordinating administrative entity. However,
because cities and counties are authorized to charge fees to
project applicants (both under existing law and this bill) this
mandate is not reimbursable to the state. Based on discussions
with representatives of cities and counties, staff estimates
that the total statewide cost to cities and counties to provide
coordinated decision making could be between $8 million and $15
million per year.
As proposed to be amended by the author, the bill's requirements
would exclude residential development and would not apply to
cities with less than 10,000 people. Cities and counties would
be required to designate a single point of contact only upon
request by a project proponent.