BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2698
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:  May 9, 2012

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                                Cameron Smyth, Chair
             AB 2698 (Committee on Local Government) - As Amended:  April 
                                      30, 2012
           
          SUBJECT  :  The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government 
          Reorganization Act of 2000.

           SUMMARY  :  Makes several minor, non-controversial changes to the 
          laws affecting local government organization and reorganization. 
          Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Reorganizes protest provisions contained in the 
            Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 
            2000 (Act).  

           2)Repeals an outdated exemption contained in the Act for the 
            Goleta West Sanitary district that expired January 1, 2003.  
                 
           3)Revises and recasts provisions related to the initiation of a 
            change of organization or reorganization that affects more 
            than one special district, as specified.  
                 
           4)Authorizes the waiver of protest proceedings under specified 
            circumstances, and sets forth procedures that apply to those 
            waivers, including the mailing of specified notices.  
                 
           5)Makes other technical and conforming changes.  
           
           EXISTING LAW  establishes the procedures for the organization and 
          reorganization of cities, counties, and special districts.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None

           COMMENTS  :   

          1)As statutes go into effect, local officials and others often 
            discover problems or inconsistencies in the language of the 
            law and approach the Legislature to correct them.  These minor 
            problems do not warrant separate bills, particularly since, 
            according to the Legislative Analyst, in 2001-02 the average 
            cost to produce a single bill was $17,890.









                                                                  AB 2698
                                                                  Page  2

            The Assembly Local Government Committee has found that it is 
            expeditious and relatively inexpensive to respond to multiple 
            minor, non-controversial requests on related issues by 
            combining them into an annual "omnibus bill."  Since AB 720 
            (Local Government Committee), Chapter 388, Statutes of 2001, 
            which was a clean-up bill for AB 2838 (Hertzberg), Chapter 
            761, Statutes of 2000, the major rewrite of the laws governing 
            local agency organization and reorganization, the Committee 
            has focused its omnibus bill efforts on LAFCO-related issues, 
            most recently with AB 2795, Chapter 47, Statutes of 2010, and 
            AB 1430, Chapter 300, Statutes of 2011.  The Committee has 
            carried on this practice this year by addressing a number of 
            minor, but still necessary, changes in this bill.  The bill 
            reflects the concerns of LAFCOs and others who have brought 
            proposals and issues to the 


            Committee.  All proposals have been thoroughly vetted by a 
            large number of stakeholders.  Any proposal that provokes any 
            controversy or opposition is rejected for inclusion.

           2)Support arguments  :  This bill provides an efficient and 
            cost-effective way to make a number of minor technical and 
            non-controversial changes to law, rather than introducing a 
            bill for each change.
             
            Opposition arguments :  None on file.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions 
          (CALAFCO) �SPONSOR]
          Butte County LAFCO
          San Diego County LAFCO

           Opposition 
           
          None on file

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916) 
          319-3958 









                                                                  AB 2698
                                                                  Page  3