BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 418|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 418
Author: Mullin (D)
Amended: 1/27/14 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 5-1, 1/15/14
AYES: Wolk, Beall, DeSaulnier, Hernandez, Liu
NOES: Knight
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SUBJECT : Local government: special tax, assessment, or
property-related fee
SOURCE : City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo
County
DIGEST : This bill allows the City/County Association of
Governments (C/CAG) of San Mateo County to impose a special tax
or property-related fee to fund stormwater management programs.
ANALYSIS : Existing law allows counties and cities to impose
special taxes and benefit assessments to fund some water
pollution prevention and stormwater management programs. Under
Proposition 218 (1996), a special tax needs 2/3-voter approval
and benefit assessments need weighted majority property owner
approval.
Property related fees are another potential source of revenues
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for county and city stormwater compliance efforts. Proposition
218 (1996) defined a property-related fee or charge as any levy
other than an ad valorem tax, a special tax, or an assessment
imposed by an agency on a parcel or on a person as an incident
of property ownership, including a user fee or charge for a
property-related service.
The Joint Exercise of Powers Act allows two or more public
agencies to use their powers in common if they sign a joint
powers agreement. Sometimes an agreement creates a new,
separate government called a joint powers authority (JPA).
Public officials have created more than 700 JPAs, which are
confederations of governments working together for common
purposes.
Formed in 1991, the C/CAG is a JPA with a membership comprised
of San Mateo County and the 20 cities within San Mateo County.
In addition to its primary role as the county's congestion
management agency, C/CAG performs several other roles, including
managing the Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program.
This bill allows the C/CAG of San Mateo County to impose, for
the purposes of implementing stormwater management programs
consistent with the agencies' joint powers agreement, either:
A special tax subject to the procedures and requirements set
forth in Article XIIIC of the California Constitution, or
A property-related fee subject to the procedures and
requirements set forth in Article XIII D of the California
Constitution.
This bill allows the special tax or property-related fee, at the
option of the C/CAG of San Mateo County, to be collected on the
tax rolls of the county in the same manner, by the same persons,
subject to the same penalties, and at the same time as, together
with and not separate from, county ad valorem property taxes.
This bill allows the county auditor to deduct, from what is
collected on the tax rolls, an amount required to reimburse the
county for its actual cost of collection.
This bill states legislative intent relative to the unique
circumstances of the C/CAG of San Mateo County to clarify
C/CAG's powers under the Joint Exercise of Powers Act.
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Comments
Like many agencies throughout the state, San Mateo County's
local governments are struggling to fund countywide stormwater
compliance activities. San Mateo County voters approved a
vehicle registration fee to provide some funding for stormwater
pollution prevention and other local agencies fund stormwater
programs using special assessments and, in some cases, General
Fund revenues. However, these funding sources are not keeping
pace with the increasing costs of regulatory compliance. C/CAG
estimates that San Mateo's countywide funding deficit for
providing compliant stormwater programs over the next five years
will exceed $15 million annually. Because C/CAG already manages
San Mateo's Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program, and
because its board includes an elected official from San Mateo
County and each city within the county, C/CAG is viewed as the
most appropriate entity to raise additional funding for
countywide programs. However, C/CAG officials worry that they
may lack the authority to levy taxes or impose property related
fees because the Joint Exercise of Powers Act does not
explicitly extend that authority to JPAs. In response to this
statutory ambiguity, and the conflicting legal interpretations
that it invites, this bill provides C/CAG with clear and
explicit authority to raise revenues for stormwater programs by
levying special taxes or property related fees.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 1/27/14)
City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County
(source)
Cities of Belmont, Brisbane, Daly City, Foster City, Pacifica,
San Mateo, and Town of Colma
OPPOSITION : (Verified 1/27/14)
CalTax
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The sponsors state that this bill
provides "clear and specific authority for our agency to pursue
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local funding on behalf of its member agencies for stormwater
pollution prevention programs. C/CAG's member agencies are
facing ever-increasing costs under municipal stormwater
regulations. C/CAG's member agencies are facing anticipated
funding deficits in the tens of millions of dollars per year to
meet regulatory mandates in the coming years as they struggle to
address significant and ubiquitous pollutants in urban runoff
including trash, pesticides, mercury, and polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs). Significant new funding streams are necessary
for our member agencies to continue protecting our receiving
water bodies and their associated beneficial uses and remain in
compliance with these important state and federal requirements."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : According to CalTax:
San Mateo County, its cities, and some of its special
districts already have authority to fund stormwater programs
using existing revenue tools. Therefore, the bill is
unnecessary.
In addition, San Mateo County voters already approved a
vehicle registration fee to provide some funding for
stormwater pollution prevention.
Other local agencies in San Mateo County fund stormwater
programs using special assessments and, in some cases, general
fund revenues. Under current law, if a local government
determines that funding is not sufficient to finance its
stormwater management needs, there are other options.
AB:k 1/27/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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