October 21, 2005
TO: People Interested in Local Government, Public Finance, and Land Use
FROM: Senator Christine Kehoe
SUBJECT: Local Government Bills During 2005
Land Use Planning & Development
Now that the Legislature has recessed for the year, I wanted you to know about some of the more interesting bills affecting local governments and the communities they serve. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has until October 9 to sign or veto the bills that legislators sent to him. I have highlighted key measures regarding public finance, local governance, and land use topics.
LOCAL FINANCE
Legislators wrote the 2005-06 State Budget to reflect the voters’ approval of Proposition 1A last fall. Other measures adjusted local officials’ fiscal powers.
*SB 80 (Senate Budget Committee) revises the State Budget by fully repaying the Vehicle License Fee “gap loan.” It also eliminates the 2005-06 funding for the counties’ Property Tax Administration Grant Program. Status: SB 80 signed with Item Veto as Chapter 39, Statutes of 2005, effective July 11, 2005.
SB 568 (Kehoe) exempted the remainder of the health care districts from the most recent property tax shift to the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF). Status: Signed; Chapter 602, Statutes of 2005.
SB 1060 (Campbell) authorizes cities and counties to voluntarily exchange property tax and sales tax revenues, as allowed under Proposition 1A. Status: Assembly Local Government Committee; two-year bill.
*AB 138 (Assembly Budget Committee) is the State Budget trailer bill affecting state mandates, including the Peace Officers Bill of Rights (POBAR) and the Brown Act. Status: Signed; Chapter 72, Statutes of 2005.
*AB 139 (Assembly Budget Committee) is the State Budget trailer bill for general government. It directs the State Department of Finance to suspend the counties’ Property Tax Administration Grant Program in 2006-07, and allows an extraordinary allocation from the Homicide Trial Reimbursement Fund to Stanislaus County for the Scott Peterson trial. Status: Signed; Chapter 74, Statutes of 2005.
AB 1335 (Vargas) expands the scope of and changes the procedures to form Property and Business Improvement Districts. Status: Senate Local Government Committee; two-year bill.
AB 1602 (Laird) allocates Vehicle License Fee revenues to newly-incorporated cities. Status: Senate Local Government Committee; two-year bill.
LAND USE PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
Some legislators wanted to expand the scope of local general plans, but they did not succeed. More attention went to the state laws that shape how local officials approve development projects, particularly affordable housing.
SB 44 (Kehoe) requires cities and counties to add air quality concerns to their general plans. Status: Failed on the Assembly Floor.
*SB 326 (Dunn) expands the existing limited use-by-right housing provisions to duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes. Status: Signed; Chapter 598, Statutes of 2005.
SB 409 (Kehoe) requires cities and counties to correlate the water supply portion of their conservation elements with the land use elements in their general plans. Status: Failed in the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee; two-year bill.
*SB 435 (Hollingsworth) clarifies the density bonus law. Status: Signed; Chapter 496, Statutes of 2005.
*SB 575 (Torlakson) strengthens the enforcement of the existing anti-NIMBY law and limits local officials’ power to turn down projects that are inconsistent with zoning if they lack adequate sites for affordable housing. Status: Signed; Chapter 601, Statutes of 2005.
SB 655 (Ortiz) requires cities and counties to add naturally occurring asbestos mapping to the safety elements of their general plans. Status: Failed on the Assembly Floor; two-year bill.
*SB 832 (Perata) expands the existing CEQA exemption for affordable and infill housing projects. Status: Assembly Floor; Inactive File.
SB 1059 (Escutia) requires cities and counties to amend their general plans to show the electric transmission corridors designated by the California Energy Commission. Status: Assembly Desk; two-year bill.
*SB 1087 (Florez) clarifies the existing priority to provide water service to low-income housing. Status: Signed; Chapter 727, Statutes of 2005.
AB 691 (Hancock) allows cities and counties to designate existing specific plans or redevelopment plans as transit village plans. Status: Signed; Chapter 309, Statutes of 2005.
*AB 712 (Canciamilla) extends the sunset clause on the requirement for paying attorneys fees to enforce the no-net loss for affordable housing zoning law. Status: Vetoed on 10/7/05.
AB 797 (Wolk) allows Williamson Act rescissions within the Delta Protection Commission’s planning areas. Status: Senate Third Reading; two-year bill.
*AB 1233 (Jones) requires cities and counties to zone for affordable housing to accommodate previously unmet needs from the prior housing element planning cycle. Status: Assembly Transportation Committee; two-year bill.
*AB 1227 (Torrico) awards attorneys fees to plaintiffs who enforce the Planning and Zoning Law’s anti-discrimination provisions. Status: Vetoed on 9/29/05.
REDEVELOPMENT
Legislative interest in how redevelopment officials use their eminent domain powers prompted renewed interest in the statutory definition of “blight.” Although none of the 2005 bills affects that definition, interim hearings may lead to new bills in 2006.
SB 521 (Torlakson) allows redevelopment agencies to promote development in project areas covered by transit village plans. Status: Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee; two-year bill.
*SB 527 (Alquist) clarifies the proportionality requirement for senior housing for redevelopment agencies’ Low and Moderate Income Housing Funds. Status: Signed; Chapter 262, Statutes of 2005.
*AB 983 (Laird) extends the sunset clause on the program allowing redevelopment agencies in Santa Cruz County to use different eligibility standards for affordable homeownership assistance. Status: Signed; Chapter 225, Statutes of 2005.
*AB 1390 (Jones) extends the statute-of-limitations for enforcing Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund requirements. Status: Signed; Chapter 409, Statutes of 2005.
EMINENT DOMAIN
The United States Supreme Court’s Kelo ruling prompted legislative interest in where, when, and how local governments condemn private property.
*SB 53 (Kehoe) requires redevelopment plans to explain where, when, and how officials will use eminent domain; later plan changes are referendable. Status: Assembly Local Government Committee; two-year bill.
*SB 1026 (Kehoe, et al.) imposes a two-year moratorium on redevelopment agencies’ use of eminent domain on owner-occupied residential property to transfer the property to another private owner. The bill requires studies by the California Research Bureau and the California Law Revision Commission. Status: Amended to be Senator Kuehl’s highway construction bill.
*SB 1099 (Hollingsworth) prohibits eminent domain on agricultural property for public use, with exceptions. Status: Senate Agriculture Committee; two-year bill.
*SCA 12 (Torlakson & Kehoe) declares that public use does not include taking owner-occupied residential property for private use. Status: Senate Judiciary Committee; two-year bill.
*SCA 15 (McClintock, et al.) prohibits taking or damaging private property for private use. Status: Failed in the Senate Judiciary Committee; two-year bill.
*AB 590 (Walters, et al.) declares that public use does not include taking or damaging private property for private use, including economic development. Status: Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee; two-year bill.
*AB 1162 (Mullin & Salinas) imposes a two-year moratorium on redevelopment agencies’ use of eminent domain on owner-occupied residential property to transfer the property to another private owner. The bill requires studies by the California Research Bureau and the California Law Revision Commission. Status: Senate Rules Committee; two-year bill.
*ACA 15 (Mullin & Nation) prohibits redevelopment agencies from using eminent domain unless they first find that the property contains conditions of both physical and economic blight. Status: Assembly Government Organization Committee; two-year bill.
*ACA 22 (La Malfa, et al.) prohibits taking or damaging private property for private use. Status: Assembly Rules Committee; two-year bill.
LOCAL POWERS & GOVERNANCE
Legislators paid close attention to the laws governing local officials’ compensation. Expanding counties and cities’ design-build powers was another topic of interest.
SB 121, SB 122, and SB 123 (Senate Local Government Committee) are the annual Validating Acts. Status: Signed; Chapters 8, 169, and 170, Statutes of 2005.
SB 135 (Kehoe) rewrites the Community Services District Law. Status: Signed; Chapter 249, Statutes of 2005.
SB 274 (Romero) codifies the common law doctrine that prohibits public officials from holding incompatible offices. Status: Signed; Chapter 254, Statutes of 2005.
SB 287 (Cox) allows several counties to use design-build contracting; linked to AB 1511 (Evans). Status: Signed; Chapter 376, Statutes of 2005.
SB 393 (Ortiz) requires ethics training for special districts’ board members and managers, and increases districts’ auditing and whistle-blower protection requirements. Status: Senate Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File; two-year bill.
SB 861 (Speier) allows cities and counties to adopt breed-specific spay and neuter, and breeding ordinances. Status: Signed; Chapter 668, Statutes of 2005.
SB 966 (Senate Local Government Committee) is the annual Local Government Omnibus Act, making 17 relatively minor and noncontroversial changes to the state laws affecting local agencies’ powers and duties. Status: Signed; Chapter 158, Statutes of 2005.
AB 11 (De La Torre) limits community development commissions’ compensation and limits compensation for city commissions. Status: Signed; Chapter 178, Statutes of 2005.
AB 159 (Salinas) drops the landowner qualification requirement for some irrigation districts’ boards of directors. Status: Senate Local Government Committee; two-year bill.
AB 1131 (Torrico) extends the sunset clause on the requirement for health care districts to get voter approval before transferring 50% or more of their assets. Status: Signed; Chapter 194, Statutes of 2005.
AB 1234 (Salinas) requires ethics training for counties, cities, and special districts’ governing bodies and designated employees, and sets limits on local officials’ compensation and expenses. Status: Signed; Chapter 700, Statutes of 2005.
AB 1318 (Evans) allows several counties to consolidate specified county offices without the usual voter approval. Status: Signed; Chapter 407, Statutes of 2005.
AB 1329 (Wolk) allows the cities in Solano and Yolo counties to use design-build contracting. Status: Signed; Chapter 228, Statutes of 2005.
AB 1511 (Evans) allows several counties to use design-build contracting; linked to SB 287 (Cox). Status: Signed; Chapter 350, Statutes of 2005.
AB 1747 (Wolk) allows the Rumsey Band to join a joint powers agency in Yolo County. Status: Vetoed on 10/7/05.
LAFCOs & BOUNDARY CHANGES
Legislators gave LAFCOs two more years to revise their spheres of influence.
AB 818 (Leslie) reenacts the law allowing cities and counties to use consultation, mediation, and arbitration to reach property tax exchange agreements for city annexations. Status: Signed; Chapter 189, Statutes of 2005.
SB 967 (Florez) adds two seats to the Kern LAFCO, reserving one for the City of Bakersfield. Status: Signed; Chapter 559, Statutes of 2005.
AB 1746 (Assembly Local Government Committee) extends the deadline for LAFCOs to update their spheres of influence to January 1, 2008, and makes seven other changes to the state laws governing local boundaries, including the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act. Status: Signed, Chapter 347, Statutes of 2005.
* = The Senate Local Government Committee did not hear this bill.
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The fastest way to get copies of these bills and the Committee’s analyses, other analyses, histories, voting records, and any veto messages is from the California Legislature’s official website:www.leginfo.ca.gov. You can also order a free printed copy of any bill by writing directly to the Bill Room, State Capitol (Room B-32), Sacramento CA 95814-4906.
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During the fall recess, the Committee will hold two interim hearings on redevelopment topics to prepare legislators for the bills that they may vote on in 2006. In late October, the Committee will hold an interim hearing on “Redevelopment & Blight.” In mid-November, the hearing topic will be “Redevelopment Reforms.” More details on these hearings will be available later in September.
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The Committee has published the summary report from its August 17, 2005 hearing, “Kelo and California: How The Supreme Court’s Decision Affects California’s Local Governments.” This new report discusses who’s affected, the California effects, eminent domain procedures, and the “blight” definition. Information on how to order a copy is available on the Committee’s website www.sen.ca.gov/locgov or by calling the Committee’s office at (916) 651-4115.
More information about the Committee’s work, including detailed references on land use, redevelopment, LAFCOs, and links to useful websites is available on the Committee’s own website:www.sen.ca.gov/locgov.
