BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2624
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Date of Hearing: April 25, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
AB 2624 (Smyth) - As
Introduced: February 24, 2012
SUBJECT : Sustainable communities.
SUMMARY : Adds local agency formation commissions (LAFCOs) to
the list of eligible applicants for financial assistance grants
and loans made by the Strategic Growth Council for the purpose
of developing, adopting, and implementing a regional plan or
other planning instrument to support the planning and
development of sustainable communities.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows LAFCOs to consider regional growth goals and requires
reviews of municipal services prior to sphere of influence
updates.
2)Requires Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to
consider LAFCOs' spheres of influence while preparing their
sustainable communities strategies.
3)Requires LAFCOs, in reviewing a proposal before the LAFCO, to
also consider a regional transportation plan adopted pursuant
to Section 65080 of the Government Code.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS :
1)Proposition 84, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and
Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act
of 2006, includes $90 million for planning grants and
incentives including revolving loan programs and other methods
to encourage the development of regional and local land use
plans.
SB 732 (Steinberg, 2008), created the Strategic Growth Council
(SGC) and requires the SGC to manage and award financial
assistance to Councils of Governments (COGs), Metropolitan
Planning Organizations (MPOs), Regional Transportation
AB 2624
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Planning Agencies (RTPAs), cities, counties, and Joint Powers
Authorities (JPAs) to develop, adopt, or implement a regional
plan or other planning instrument consistent with a regional
plan that improves air and water quality, improves natural
resource protection, increases the availability of affordable
housing, improve transportation, meets the goals of AB 32, and
encourages sustainable land use.
2)Local Agency Formation Commissions (LAFCOs) are required under
current law to complete a municipal service review (MSR) prior
to a sphere of influence update, which occurs every 5 years or
as necessary. MSRs are comprehensive in nature and examine
things like growth and population projections, present and
planned capacity of public facilities, infrastructure needs or
deficiencies related to sewer, water, and fire protection, and
the financial ability of agencies to provide services. In
some cases, MSRs may contain critical baseline information for
Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) and Sustainable
Communities Strategies. Because LAFCOs are funded by their
own local agencies, LAFCOs are not likely to be able to
prepare an MSR in the depth needed by the MPO or COG for their
RTP or Sustainable Communities Strategy.
3)Currently LAFCOs can only apply through an MPO or other
eligible local agency for grants that support the preparation
of Sustainable Community Strategies. AB 2624 adds LAFCOs to
the list of eligible applicants for financial assistance
grants and loans made by the Strategic Growth Council for the
purpose of developing, adopting, and implementing a regional
plan or other planning instrument to support the planning and
development of sustainable communities.
With grant funding, LAFCOs would be able to prepare much more
extensive MSRs in collaboration with MPOs to provide the data
needed to complete the RTP or Sustainable Communities
Strategy. Additionally, AB 2624 would then avoid the need for
the MPO to have to fund studies to obtain the necessary
information and would foster a greater opportunity for
collaboration among the planning agencies and the LAFCOs.
This bill is sponsored by the California Association of Local
Agency Formation Commissions (CALAFCO).
4)CALAFCO notes that "under current law, the cost of the MSR
preparation is paid for by the cities, districts and county
within each LAFCO. The limited availability of local funds
AB 2624
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can restrict the level of detail in an MSR. By making LAFCOs
eligible to apply for SGC grants, a LAFCO would be able to
prepare more comprehensive and data-rich MSRs and sphere of
influence studies in collaboration with the regional
transportation agency. This would reduce duplication of
effort and provide the transportation agencies with more
complete information regarding municipal services and growth
capacity for the preparation of the Sustainable Communities
Strategies."
5)A previous bill, SB 1006 (Hancock), Chapter 632, Statutes of
2010 added special districts and joint powers authorities to
the list of eligible applicants under the purview of the SGC,
but for a different pot of funding specifically for urban
greening projects and plans.
6)The Committee heard AB 2238 (Perea) on April 18, 2012, a bill
that contained similar provisions that added LAFCOs to the
list of entities able to apply for Proposition 84 funding
under the SGC, in addition to other provisions related
consolidation and merger of public water systems and the
Department of Public Health. That bill passed on a 6 - 3
vote.
However, AB 2238 (Perea) limited LAFCO's ability to apply for
funding for the narrow purposes of funding a public water
system consolidation, merger or extension of services for
projects for the purposes of promoting water conservation.
This bill takes a broader approach and recognizes that LAFCOs
have overlapping duties that may assist with the planning and
development of sustainable communities.
7)Support arguments : Supporters believe that this bill provides
a resource for preparing more comprehensive MSRs to better
inform both LAFCO and regional transportation agency
decisions.
Opposition arguments : None on file.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions
AB 2624
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(CALAFCO) �SPONSOR]
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958