BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:  June 27, 2012

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                                Cameron Smyth, Chair
             SB 1090 (Committee on Governance and Finance) - As Amended:  
                                    June 15, 2012

           SENATE VOTE  :  35-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  Local Government Omnibus Act of 2012.

           SUMMARY  :  Enacts the Local Government Omnibus Act of 2012, which 
          proposes twelve technical, noncontroversial changes to state 
          laws affecting local agencies' powers and duties. Specifically, 
           this bill  :   

          1)Makes the following changes regarding the annual reports of 
            school districts' financial transactions:

             a)   Requires the State Controller to publish the annual 
               reports of the financial transactions of each school 
               district on the Controller's Internet Web site; and,

             b)   Authorizes the Controller to prescribe the time, manner, 
               and format in which the Superintendent of Public 
               Instruction is required to provide data and other matters 
               required by the Controller pursuant to existing law.

          2)Revises the boundary descriptions for the Counties of Fresno 
            and Merced.

          3)Clarifies that the copies of the complete text of a charter 
            proposal or of any amended or repealed section ratified by the 
            voters of a city, or city and county, submitted to the county 
            recorder are recorded, and that the copies submitted to the 
            city archives are filed.

          4)Requires the legislative body of a general law city to submit 
            a sidewalk installation charge to the voters and receive a 
            two-thirds vote to approve the charge prior to imposing it, 
            thereby conforming these provisions to existing law.
           
           5)Makes technical, nonsubstantive changes to provisions of the 
            Williamson Act as they relate to solar-use easements.  









                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  2

          6)Includes within the definition of "abuse of office or 
            position", specified crimes related to bribery or corruption 
            of any executive officer in this state.

          7)Authorizes a local agency that has imposed an assessment 
            pursuant to the Benefit Assessment Act of 1982 to bring an 
            action in superior court to determine the validity of the 
            assessment, as specified. 

          8)Requires a city or county's update of the land use element to 
            include, if a city, an identification of each island or fringe 
            community within the city's sphere of influence that is a 
            disadvantaged unincorporated community, or, if a county, an 
            identification of each legacy community within the boundaries 
            of the county that is a disadvantaged unincorporated 
            community.  

          9)Eliminates the requirement, pursuant to the Subdivision Map 
            Act, that a city engineer, or city or county surveyor, provide 
            the expiration date of his or her registration number or 
            license for specified maps. 

          10)Makes the following changes regarding fees and charges 
            related to water, sanitation, storm drainage, or sewerage 
            services and facilities:

             a)   Deletes the 60-day delinquency and notice requirements 
               related to charges for water, sanitation, storm drainage, 
               or sewerage services and facilities, and instead, 
               authorizes the amount of unpaid charges to be secured at 
               any time by filing a specified certificate in the office of 
               the county recorder.  The amount required to be paid, with 
               interest and a penalty, would constitute a lien on all real 
               property owned by the person or afterwards acquired by him 
               or her before the lien expires.

             b)   Requires the transfer, conveyance, or attachment of real 
               property for fees related to water, sanitation, storm 
               drainage, or sewerage services and facilities in a sewer 
               district to occur during the year prior to the date on 
               which the first installment of property taxes that evidence 
               the charges appears on the tax roll, in order to preclude 
               the local public entity's lien from attaching to the real 
               property of the bona fide purchaser or encumbrancer for 
               value.








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  3


             c)   Requires the transfer, conveyance, or attachment of real 
               property related to charges for water, sanitation, storm 
               drainage, or sewerage services and facilities in a water 
               district to occur during the year prior to the date on 
               which the first installment of real property taxes that 
               evidence the charges appears on the tax roll, in order for 
               the water district's lien to not attach to the real 
               property of the bona fide purchaser or encumbrancer for 
               value. 

          11)Makes the following changes to Property and Business 
            Improvement District (PBID) Law of 1994:

             a)   Sets forth procedures to apply to a city council that 
               proposes to conduct a single proceeding to levy both a new 
               or increased property assessment and a new or increased 
               business assessment, as specified.

             b)   Specifies that, if the improvements and activities in a 
               Property and Business Improvement District management 
               district plan proposed for each year of operation are the 
               same, this requirement may be satisfied if the management 
               plan includes a description of the first year's proposed 
               improvements and activities and a statement that the same 
               improvements and activities are proposed for subsequent 
               years.

             c)   Provides that if the total annual amount proposed to be 
               expended in each year of operation of a Property and 
               Business Improvement District is not significantly 
               different, the amount proposed to be expended in the 
               initial year and a statement that a similar amount applies 
               to subsequent years may satisfy this requirement. This bill 
               would also authorize this amount to be based upon the 
               assessment rate if the assessment is levied on businesses.

             d)   Corrects an erroneous reference within the Property and 
               Business Improvement District Law of 1994.

             e)   Provides, upon the expiration without renewal of a 
               Property or Business Improvement District, for the refund 
               of any specified remaining revenues to the owners of 
               property or businesses then located and operating within 
               the district in which assessments were levied, as 








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  4

               specified.

          12)Revises specified provisions of the Kings River Conservation 
            District Act, and requires the district board to adopt a 
            resolution on or before May 1, 2013, that divides the district 
            into seven electoral districts, as specified.  The bill would 
            also set forth the procedure by which the directors of the 
            board may be elected, and would require the board to review 
            the boundaries of the seven districts before November 1 of the 
            year following the year in which each decennial census is 
            taken.  The bill would prohibit the board from making any 
            changes to the division of the district within the 180 days 
            immediately preceding a general district election.  The bill 
            would revise the definition of the term "general district 
            election" to mean the election required to be held in the 
            district on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in 
            November in each even-numbered year.  The bill would 
            additionally make conforming changes to the act.  By 
            increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would 
            impose a state-mandated local program.

          13)Provides that no reimbursement is required by the provisions 
            of this bill pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the 
            California Constitution because the only costs that may be 
            incurred by a local agency or school district are the result 
            of a program for which legislative authority was requested by 
            that local agency or school district. 

           EXISTING LAW  : 
           
          1)Requires the Controller to compile and publish reports of the 
            financial transactions of each county, city, and special 
            district within this state, together with any other matter he 
            or she deems of public interest. 

          2)Requires the Controller to annually publish reports of the 
            financial transactions of each school district within this 
            state, together with any other matter he or she deems of 
            public interest.

          3)Sets forth the boundary descriptions of every county in the 
            state, including the Counties of Fresno and Merced.

          4)Requires three copies of the complete text of a charter 
            proposal or of any amended or repealed section ratified by the 








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  5

            voters of a city or city and county to be certified and 
            authenticated by the chairperson and the clerk of the 
            governing body and attested to by the city clerk, setting 
            forth the submission of the charter to the voters of the city, 
            and its ratification by them.

          5)Authorizes the legislative body of a general law city to 
            impose a sidewalk installation charge, as specified, upon an 
            affirmative vote of a majority of all of the electors of the 
            city voting on the proposition at an election called for that 
            purpose.  The California Constitution conditions the 
            imposition of a special tax on a city, county, or special 
            district upon the approval of two-thirds of the voters of the 
            city, county, or special district voting on that tax.  
            Existing law implements this provision of the Constitution.

          6)Authorizes the parties to a Williamson Act contract, after 
            approval by the Department of Conservation, in consultation 
            with the Department of Food and Agriculture, to mutually agree 
            to rescind the contract entered into under the Williamson Act 
            in order to simultaneously enter into a solar-use easement 
            that would require that the land be used for solar 
            photovoltaic facilities for a term no less than 20 years, as 
            specified.

          7)Requires, commencing January 1, 2012, any contract executed or 
            renewed between a local agency and an officer or employee of 
            the local agency to include a provision that requires an 
            officer or employee of a local agency who is convicted of a 
            crime involving an abuse of his or her office or position, as 
            defined, to fully reimburse the local agency for specified 
            payments made by that local agency to the officer or employee, 
            as specified. 

          8)Defines the term "abuse of office or position" to include, 
            among other things, a crime against public justice, including, 
            but not limited to, specified crimes related to bribery or 
            corruption of any judicial officer, juror, referee, 
            arbitrator, or umpire, or to any person who may be authorized 
            by law to hear or determine any question or controversy.

          9)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to make 
            available to the Controller, on an as-needed basis, data and 
            other matters required by the Controller pursuant to existing 
            law.








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  6


          10)Authorizes, pursuant to the Benefit Assessment Act of 1982, 
            local agencies to impose benefit assessments to finance the 
            maintenance and operation costs of drainage, flood control, 
            street lighting, and streets, roads, or highways, if that 
            local agency is authorized to provide those services.

          11)Requires each city or county, on or before the due date for 
            the next adoption of its housing element, to review and update 
            the land use element of its general plan to include, if a 
            city, an identification of each unincorporated island or 
            fringe community within the city's sphere of influence, or, if 
            a county, an identification of each legacy community within 
            the boundaries of the county.

          12)Requires, pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act, a certificate 
            or statement by the city engineer or surveyor, or county 
            surveyor, to accompany specified maps, and requires the 
            official to provide, among other things, his or her 
            registration or license number with the expiration date, as 
            specified.

          13)Authorizes various local public entities to prescribe fees or 
            other charges for services and facilities furnished by them in 
            connection with their water, sanitation, storm drainage, or 
            sewerage system, as well as for the privilege of connecting to 
            these sanitation or sewerage facilities.  These charges, under 
            specified circumstances, may be collected on the tax roll in 
            the same manner as property taxes and the amount of the 
            charges constitutes a lien against the lot or parcel against 
            which the charge has been imposed, unless the real property 
            has been 
          transferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value, or a 
            lien of a bona fide encumbrancer for value has been created 
            and attached prior to the date upon which the first 
            installment of the property taxes would become delinquent.

          14)Requires the charges for water, sanitation, storm drainage, 
            or sewerage system services and facilities to remain 
            delinquent for 60 days and the imposing entity to provide the 
            assessee with notice of the delinquency, in order for the 
            charges to constitute a lien against the lot or parcel of land 
            for which the service was provided.

          15)Provides procedures for the collection of unpaid charges by a 








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  7

            water district for water or other services.  These unpaid 
            charges become a lien on the parcel of land upon which the 
            water and other services were used, unless the real property 
            has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for 
            value, or a lien of a bona fide encumbrancer for value has 
            been created and attached prior to the date of which the first 
            installment of taxes would become delinquent.

          16)Provides procedures to a city council that proposes to levy a 
            new or increased property assessment or a new or increased 
            business assessment.

          17)Requires, pursuant to the PBID Law, a management district 
            plan for a district to include, among other things, the 
            improvements and activities proposed for each year of 
            operation of the district and the maximum cost thereof.

          18)Requires, pursuant to the PBID Law, a management district 
            plan for a district to include, among other things, the total 
            annual amount proposed to be expended for improvements, 
            maintenance and operations, and debt service in each year of 
            operation of the district.

          19)Provides, pursuant to the PBID Law, that a city council may 
            adopt a resolution for the disestablishment of a district 
            under specified circumstances, further requires, upon the 
            disestablishment of a district, any specified remaining 
            revenues to be refunded to the owners of the property or 
            businesses then located and operating within the district in 
            which assessments were levied, as specified.

          20)Establishes, pursuant to the Kings River Conservation 
            District Act, the Kings River Conservation District, and 
            authorizes the board of the district to exclude specific 
            territory within the district.  The act divides the district 
            into divisions for purposes of elections, and requires the 
            board of the district to revise the divisions upon adding or 
            removing territory from the district, except that the board is 
            prohibited from revising the division of districts within the 
            three months immediately following the preceding general 
            district election.  The act additionally defines the term 
            "general district election" to mean the election required to 
            be held in the district on the first Tuesday after the first 
            Monday in November in each odd-numbered year.









                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  8

          21)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.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations 
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

           COMMENTS  :

          1)The Local Government Omnibus Act of 2012 compiles twelve sets 
            of noncontroversial changes to state laws affecting local 
            agencies and land use into a single bill.  Each year, local 
            officials discover problems with the state statutes that 
            affect counties, cities, special districts, and redevelopment 
            agencies, as well as the laws on land use planning and 
            development. Legislators respond by combining several of these 
            minor topics into an annual "omnibus bill."  According to the 
            author, the Senate Governance and Finance Committee, sending a 
            bill through the legislative process costs around $18,000.  By 
            drafting one omnibus bill instead of twelve small clean-up 
            bills, the Committee's measure avoids roughly $198,000 in 
            legislative costs.

          Although the practice may violate a strict interpretation of the 
            single-subject and germaneness rules, it is an expeditious and 
            relatively inexpensive way to respond to multiple requests.  
            Furthermore, the author conducts a very public review of each 
            item.  More than 100 public officials, trade groups, 
            lobbyists, and legislative staffers see each proposal before 
            it goes into the Committee's bill.  According to the author, 
            "�s]hould any item in SB 1090 attract opposition, the 
            Committee will delete it.  In this transparent process, there 
            is no hidden agenda.  If it's not consensus, it's not 
            omnibus."

            SB 1090 proposes the following changes to the state laws 
            affecting local agencies' powers and duties:

              a)   Obsolete voter approval requirements for special taxes  .  
               Proposition 13 (1978), Proposition 62 (1986), and 
               Proposition 218 all require voter approval for new and 
               increased local taxes.  Proposition 218 specifically 
               requires special taxes to be approved by a two-thirds vote 
               (California Constitution, Article XIIIC, �2(d)).  Some 








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  9

               older statutes which were enacted before the constitutional 
               voter-approval requirements took effect appear to allow 
               local governments to impose special taxes with only 
               majority voter approval.  The author aims to update these 
               archaic statutes by cross-referencing the statutory 
               requirements for voter approval of special taxes.  SB 1090 
               deletes archaic majority voter approval language and 
               inserts cross-references to voter approval requirements for 
               special taxes into a statute authorizing cities to impose 
               charges for sidewalk installation.  

              b)   Property and Business Improvement Districts  .  The PBID 
               Law allows property owners to petition a city or county to 
               set up an improvement district and levy assessments on 
               property owners, business owners, or both, to pay for 
               promotional activities as well as for physical 
               improvements.  Practitioners who work with PBIDs have 
               identified errors and ambiguities in the PBID Law.  They 
               ask that the Legislature amend four code sections to make 
               the following corrections and clarifications: 

                Management district plans  .  State law requires each PBID's 
               management district plan to include specified information.  
               Among other things, every management plan must contain:

                     The improvements and activities proposed for each 
                 year of operation of the district.
                     The total annual amount proposed to be expended for 
                 improvements, maintenance and operations, and debt 
                 service in each year of operation of the district.

               SB 1090 permits a management plan to contain only a 
               description of the proposed improvements and activities for 
               a PBID's first year of operation if the plan states that 
               the improvements and activities proposed for each year of 
               operation are the same.  Similarly, SB 1090 permits a 
               management plan to contain only the amount proposed to be 
               expended for improvements, maintenance and operations, and 
               debt service in the PBID's first year of operation if the 
               plan states that the amount proposed to be expended in each 
               year of operation is not significantly different.

                District name correction  .  SB 1090 corrects an erroneous 
               reference to a "parking and business improvement area" by 
               replacing that phrase with "property and business 








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  10

               improvement district".

                Disposition of revenues after a PBID expires  .  State law 
               requires PBIDs to be established for a limited initial term 
               and specifies the procedures by which PBIDs can be renewed 
               for subsequent terms of up to 10 years.  State law also 
               specifies procedures by which a city council or board of 
               supervisors can disestablish a PBID and imposes 
               requirements on the disposition of revenues remaining after 
               a disestablishment.  SB 1090 clarifies that district 
               revenues remaining after a district expires without renewal 
               are subject to the same requirements that apply to revenues 
               remaining after a disestablishment.

              a)   Water and sewer districts' lien priority  . State law 
               authorizes local governments that provide water or sewer 
               service to collect specified charges for services and 
               infrastructure using the same laws that apply to the levy, 
               collection, and enforcement of property taxes.  Statutes 
               authorizing water and sewer service providers to collect 
               charges using property tax billing procedures typically 
               allow a public agency to impose a levy on real property for 
               delinquent taxes and charges.  The levy becomes a lien - or 
               "encumbrance" - on the property when that property is sold. 
                                                              The statutes, however, provide an exception to this 
               encumbrance, when the sale occurs before the charge becomes 
               delinquent.

               This exception was intended to cover only sales and new 
               mortgage liens occurring in the "gap period" after the 
               agency submits the charge for placement on the tax bill and 
               before the tax bill becomes due.  However, a 1981 court 
               decision, County of Butte v. North Burbank Public Utility 
               District, interpreted the exception more broadly.  That 
               decision expanded the exception to cover any existing 
               mortgage lien.  The court held that, when a lender holding 
               an existing mortgage forecloses and sells the property, 
               later-added unpaid tax liens for delinquent utility charges 
               are wiped out, regardless of when they were added. This 
               interpretation of the bona fide encumbrance exception 
               raises questions about the priority of liens that water and 
               sewer providers use to collect unpaid taxes and charges.

               In response to the Butte decision, the Legislature amended 
               the public utility district statutes involved in that 








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  11

               decision and the Irrigation District Law.  Those amendments 
               narrowed the exception to apply only to transfers and 
               encumbrances created during a specified window preceding 
               the tax bill showing the charges.  That bill, however, did 
               not amend any of the other statutes with the bona fide 
               encumbrance exception to include this clarification.
                
               Last year, the Legislature approved AB 741 (Huffman), 
               Chapter 106, Statutes of 2011, which authorizes sewer 
               service providers, at a property owner's request, to 
               construct sewer improvements on private property and charge 
               the property owner for the costs.  Irvine Ranch Water 
               District officials are concerned that local governments 
               will face risks in implementing AB 741 unless statutes that 
               authorize water and sewer districts to use tax bill 
               collection procedures are conformed to the language enacted 
               by prior legislation.  
               SB 1090 narrows the bona fide encumbrance exception to 
               protect sewer and other water agencies using the tax bill 
               collection mechanisms from the Butte decision's expansive 
               interpretation of the exception. 

              b)   Fresno and Merced Counties' boundaries  .  State statutes 
               recite the official boundary descriptions of all 58 
               counties.  State law also allows counties to adjust their 
               mutual boundaries.  After counties use this procedure, they 
               ask the Legislature to revise their statutory boundary 
               descriptions to match the new realities.  In 2007, Fresno 
               and Merced county officials used these procedures to shift 
               4,175 acres from Fresno County to Merced County near the 
               City of Dos Palos.  After those boundary changes took 
               effect on January 1, 2008, the Legislature then corrected 
               the counties' statutory boundary descriptions 
             �SB 894 (Senate Local Government Committee), Chapter 699, 
               Statutes of 2010].  County officials recently identified 
               errors in the new boundary descriptions that were enacted 
               in 2010 and ask the Legislature to correct these errors.  
               SB 1090 corrects Fresno and Merced Counties' statutory 
               boundary descriptions. 

              c)   Williamson Act and Photovoltaic Solar Facilities  .  
               Statutes enacted by SB 618 (Wolk), Chapter 596, Statutes of 
               2011, authorize a city or county and a landowner to 
               simultaneously rescind a Williamson Act contract on 
               marginally productive or physically impaired lands and 








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  12

               enter into a solar-use easement that restricts the use of 
               land to photovoltaic solar facilities.  Some of the 
               statutes enacted by SB 618 contained drafting errors and 
               inconsistent terminology:

                     One statute incorrectly refers to agricultural 
                 "productively" instead of "productivity". 
                     Two statutes incorrectly refer to the time an 
                 easement "terminates" instead of the time it "is 
                 extinguished".
                     One statute incorrectly refers to an easement's 
                 "abandonment" instead of its "termination".

               To help local governments and land owners use SB 618's 
               provisions properly, Williamson Act practitioners ask the 
               Legislature to correct these errors.   

              a)   "Abuse of office or position" definition  .  State law 
               requires a local agency's employment contracts to contain a 
               provision to reimburse the local agency for specified 
               salary, legal, and settlement costs if an employee is 
               convicted of a crime involving an abuse of his or her 
               office or position �AB 1344 (Feuer), Chapter 692, Statutes 
               of 2011].  For the purposes of this requirement, Government 
               Code �53243.4 defines "abuse of office or position" as 
               either:

                     An abuse of public authority, including, but not 
                 limited to, waste, fraud, and violation of the law under 
                 color of authority.
                     A crime against public justice, including, but not 
                 limited to, a crime described in Title 7 (commencing with 
                 Section 92) of Part 1 of the Penal Code.

               Some law enforcement officials worry that this definition's 
               cross-reference to the Penal Code excludes important crimes 
               that are defined in Title 5 of Part 1 of the Penal Code. SB 
               1090 adds a cross-reference to the Penal Code to more 
               accurately define the phrase "abuse of office or position".

              a)   Benefit Assessment Act of 1982 validations  .  Numerous 
               statutes authorize a local government to file a validation 
               lawsuit, asking a superior court to determine the validity 
               of actions the local government has taken.  The Benefit 
               Assessment Act of 1982 allows local governments to levy 








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  13

               assessments on real property to pay for the maintenance and 
               operation costs of drainage, flood control, and street 
               lighting services.  Unlike many other benefit assessment 
               acts, the 1982 Act does not expressly authorize local 
               governments to use validation lawsuits to validate 1982 Act 
               assessments.  The California Central Valley Flood Control 
               Association asks the Legislature to allow local governments 
               that levy benefits assessments under the 1982 Act to use 
               validation suits to confirm their actions.  SB 1090 adds 
               language to the 1982 Act that mirrors the validation 
               language that was added to the North Delta Water Agency's 
               governing statutes by the Local Government Omnibus Act of 
               2009 �SB 113 (Senate Local Government Committee) Chapter 
               332, Statutes of 2009].

              b)   Engineers' and surveyors' seals on subdivision maps  .  
               The Subdivision Map Act governs how cities and counties 
               approve applications to convert large properties into 
               smaller parcels for sale, lease, or financing.  A major 
               subdivision creates five or more parcels and requires both 
               a tentative map and a final map.  A minor subdivision (lot 
               split) creates four or fewer parcels and usually needs only 
               a parcel map.  Final maps and parcel maps must be certified 
               by a licensed engineer or land surveyor, who must "indicate 
               his or her registration or license number with expiration 
               date and the stamp of his or her seal" on a certified map.  
               The Legislature recently repealed the requirement that an 
               expiration date appear on the seal that licensed engineers 
               and surveyors stamp on specified engineering and land 
               surveying documents �AB 645 (Niello), Chapter 368, Statutes 
               of 2009].  The California Land Surveyors Association asks 
               the Legislature to conform the Subdivision Map Act to these 
               changes.  SB 1090 deletes the requirement that final maps 
               and parcel maps must be stamped with a seal that indicates 
               the expiration date of an engineer's or surveyor's license. 
                

              c)   Kings River Conservation District's elections  .  The 
               Kings River Conservation District (Fresno County) is a 
               special act special district that provides flood control, 
               water resource management, and power generation services to 
               communities within its 1.2 million acre jurisdiction.  The 
               District is governed by a seven-member elected board of 
               directors.  
             Six of the directors represent six electoral divisions within 








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  14

               the District and the seventh director represents the entire 
               District.  Because the boundaries of these electoral 
               divisions are defined in the District's special act, using 
               metes and bounds descriptions, the boundaries can only be 
               adjusted by the Legislature, not by the District's board of 
               directors.  The Legislature last amended the statute 
               describing the District's electoral boundaries in 1955.  

               District officials worry that the antiquated statutes 
               governing their board of directors' electoral divisions 
               prevent the District from complying with federal Voting 
               Rights Act requirements.  They ask the Legislature to 
               repeal and amend outdated provisions of the Kings River 
               Conservation District Act governing the district's 
               electoral divisions.  Specifically, SB 1090:

                     Repeals the statutory descriptions of the District's 
                 electoral boundaries. 
                     Repeals other antiquated statutory provisions 
                 governing district elections.
                     Requires district directors to establish seven 
                 electoral divisions that must be, as far as practicable, 
                 equal in population, using the most recent federal census 
                 data as a basis.
                     Allows directors, when establishing division 
                 boundaries, to consider the topography, geography, 
                 cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, compactness of 
                 territory, and the community of interests of the 
                 electoral divisions.
                     Requires directors to review and, if necessary, 
                 adjust the District's electoral division boundaries 
                 following each decennial census.
                     Requires a candidate for the board of directors to 
                 reside in the electoral division for which he or she is a 
                 candidate.
                     Requires a director to continue to reside within the 
                 electoral division during his or her term of office.
                     Prohibits a change in boundaries of an electoral 
                 division from affecting an incumbent director's term of 
                 office.
                     Establishes a schedule for conducting elections for 
                 each division.
                     Defines directors' terms of office.
                     Requires the District to conduct elections in 
                 accordance with the Uniform District Election Law.








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  15


              a)   Annual reports of school districts' financial 
               transactions  .  Since 1949, state law has required the 
               Controller to annually publish reports of the financial 
               transactions of each school district.  The Controller's 
               staff has been unable to comply with this requirement 
               because a recent software conversion at the California 
               Department of Education (CDE) is incompatible with the 
               computer system that the Controller's Office uses to 
               collect the data and publish the annual financial 
               transactions reports.  The proposed law allows the 
               Controller's Office to meet its school district financial 
               transactions reporting requirement by making the CDE's 
               financial transactions data available on the Controller's 
               website.

              b)   Recording counties' and cities' voter-approved charter 
               language  .  State law requires that a certified and 
               authenticated copy of the complete text of a charter 
               proposal or of any revised, amended, or repealed section 
               ratified by the electors of a county must be recorded in 
               the office of the recorder of the county.  State law 
               requires that a certified and authenticated copy of the 
               complete text of a charter proposal or of any amended or 
               repealed section ratified by the voters of a city or city 
               and county must be filed with the recorder of the county in 
               which the city is located.  City clerks worry that the 
               discrepancy between the requirement that counties must 
               record charter language with a county recorder and the 
               requirement that cities must file charter language with a 
               county recorder creates uncertainty and confusion about 
               recording city charter language.  The proposed law conforms 
               the statutory requirements for submitting charter language 
               to a county recorder by clarifying that city charter 
               language must be recorded in a county recorder's office. 

              c)   Planning for disadvantaged communities  .  State law 
               requires local agencies to plan for specified disadvantaged 
               communities through the Local Agency Formation Commission 
               planning process and general plan updates.  A 
               recently-enacted statute �SB 244 (Wolk), Chapter 513, 
               Statutes of 2011] bill defines the terms "disadvantaged 
               unincorporated community," "unincorporated fringe 
               community," "unincorporated island community," and 
               "unincorporated legacy community".  The statute requires a 








                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  16

               city, on or before the next due date for adopting the 
               housing element of its general plan, to review and update 
               the land use element of its general plan to include an 
               identification of each unincorporated island or fringe 
               community within the city's sphere of influence.  The 
               statute requires a county, on or before the due date for 
               the next adoption of the housing element of its general 
               plan, to review and update the land use element of its 
               general plan to include an identification of each legacy 
               community within the boundaries of the county, but not 
               including any area within the sphere of influence of any 
               city.  Based on conversations with stakeholders involved 
               with last year's bill, Senator Wolk's staff asked to 
               clarify these statutory definitions and requirements.  The 
               proposed law clarifies that:

                     A city council or board of supervisors must review 
                 and update the land use element of its general plan to 
                 include an analysis, based on specified data, of 
                 unincorporated island, fringe, or legacy communities 
                 inside or near its boundaries.
                     A city does not need to identify every 
                 unincorporated island or fringe community within its 
                 sphere of influence, but must identify only those island 
                 or fringe communities that also are disadvantaged 
                 unincorporated communities.  
                     A county does not need to identify every legacy 
                 community within its boundaries, but must identify only 
                 those legacy communities that are also disadvantaged 
                 unincorporated communities.

          1)Certain provisions of this bill conflict with those contained 
            in AB 276 (Alejo) and SB 186 (Kehoe).  The author may wish to 
            consider 'chaptering-out' amendments to resolve the conflict. 

           2)Support arguments  : According to the Senate Governance and 
            Finance Committee, sending a bill through the legislative 
            process costs around $18,000.  By drafting one omnibus bill 
            instead of twelve small clean-up bills, the Committee's 
            measure avoids roughly $198,000 in legislative costs. 
            Moreover, the sponsor adds "�s]hould any item in SB 1090 
            attract opposition, the Committee will delete it.  In this 
            transparent process, there is no hidden agenda.  If it's not 
            consensus, it's not omnibus."









                                                                  SB 1090
                                                                  Page  17

             Opposition arguments  : None on file.

           















          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          Association of California Water Agencies
          California Central Valley Flood Control Association
          California Land Surveyors Association
          City Clerk's Association of California
          County of Fresno
          County of Merced
          Irvine Ranch Water District
          Kings River Conservation District
          League of California Cities
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file. 

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Hank Dempsey / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958