BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2551|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2551
Author: Wilk (R), et al.
Amended: 5/23/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/11/14
AYES: Wolk, Knight, Beall, DeSaulnier, Hernandez, Liu, Walters
SENATE ELECTIONS & CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND. COMM. : 5-0, 6/24/14
AYES: Padilla, Anderson, Hancock, Jackson, Pavley
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/15/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Local ballot measures: bond issues
SOURCE : California League of Bond Oversight Committees
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
DIGEST : This bill requires local agencies, when submitting
bond measures for voter approval, to include in sample ballot
materials information on the estimated total debt service,
including the principal and interest, which will be required to
be repaid if all the bonds are issued and sold.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires local agencies to provide
voters with information on the cost of proposed bond measures
when submitting those measures to the voters for approval.
Local agencies are required to provide information on three
specific, estimated fiscal impacts of a proposed bond measure:
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AB 2551
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The estimated tax rate that would need to be levied to fund
the bond during the first fiscal year after the first sale of
the bond.
The estimated tax rate that would need to be levied to fund
the bond during the first fiscal year after the last sale of
the bond, if sold in a series, and an estimate of the year
that rate would apply.
The estimated highest tax rate that would need to be levied to
fund that bond issue, and an estimate of the year that rate
would apply.
The ballot information also may include information on revenue
sources that could be used to fund the bond issue, other than ad
valorem taxes, and how those sources of revenues may offset the
need for a new tax rate to fund the proposed bond issue.
This bill requires local agencies, when submitting bond measures
for voter approval, to include in sample ballot materials
information on the estimated total debt service, including the
principal and interest, which will be required to be repaid if
all the bonds are issued and sold. That estimate may include
information about the assumptions used to determine the
estimate.
Comments
This bill extends to local bond measures a practice that is
standard with state bond measures. For state bonds, the
Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) includes in its ballot
information guides information on the total repayment costs of a
bond measure that is on the ballot. This bill includes that
requirement for local agencies' bond measures. Including this
additional information in voter information materials will
provide voters with a clear and concise understanding of the
full fiscal impacts of a proposed bond measure.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/26/14)
California League of Bond Oversight Committees (co-source)
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Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (co-source)
California Taxpayers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "AB 2551 will
establish a minimum standard of transparency for the fiscal
analysis of local bond measures that is very similar to what the
LAO already does for state General Obligation bond measures.
This standard would be equally applied, and because we are
simply educating voters as to how the tax rate estimate is
achieved, there should be no struggle in complying with these
provisions.
"In order to estimate tax rates, there needs to be a clearer
fiscal effect/impact statement similar to what the LAO does.
However, it needs to be open-ended enough to not place excessive
burdens on county counsel."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/15/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mansoor, Vacancy
AB:nl 6/26/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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