BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2684
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 10, 2000

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT 
                                John Longville, Chair
                     AB 2684 (Bock) - As Amended:  April 24, 2000
           
          SUBJECT  :   State-mandated local costs.

           SUMMARY  :   Creates a mechanism for allocation of savings  
          realized in the implementation of state-mandated local programs.  
           Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Authorizes local agencies and school districts filing claims  
            for reimbursement for state-mandated local costs to submit  
            findings identifying savings realized by the agency or  
            district in implementation of the state-mandated program.

          2)Requires the Controller, upon determination by the Commission  
            on State Mandates (Commission) that savings were in fact  
            realized, to allocate those savings on the basis of one-third  
            each to the local agency or school district, the state agency  
            administering the program, and the General Fund.

          3)Becomes operative on January 1, 2003.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school  
            districts for costs incurred in the implementation of  
            state-mandated programs.

          2)Establishes procedures for local agencies and school districts  
            to file claims with the Commission for reimbursement of  
            state-mandated costs.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown costs.

           COMMENTS  :

          1)AB 2684 currently fails to reflect many of the complex factors  
            that would be involved in establishing a savings allocation  
            program.  One of the primary issues the bill fails to address  
            is the difference between mandates involving Proposition 98  
            funds and other mandates.  Proposition 98 and local agency  
            reimbursement claims follow the same procedure up to the point  








                                                                  AB 2684
                                                                  Page  2

            where the first payment of the claim is made.  This first  
            payment is retroactive, since several years have usually  
            passed from the time the costs were initially incurred, and is  
            made out of the General Fund.  At that point, Proposition 98  
            claims and local agency claims diverge.  While the local  
            agency's annual reimbursement continues to be made out of the  
            General Fund, the Proposition 98 claim is paid for with Prop.  
            98 funds.  Other complications arise when programs are  
            transferred to or from local agencies and Proposition  
            98-funded entities.  This and other differences in state  costs   
            needs to be factored into any calculation of savings.  AB 2684  
            also fails to state how savings would be identified.

          2)The author has indicated an interest in shifting the  
            responsibility for determining whether savings have been  
            realized from the Commission to the Controller.  The author  
            has also indicated an interest in reducing the amount of  
            savings that would be allocated to the state agency overseeing  
            the mandated program and increasing the amount that would go  
            to the General Fund.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support  

          None on file

           Opposition  

          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    J. Stacey Sullivan / L. GOV. / (916)  
          319-3958