To All Interested Parties

November 14, 2006

TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES:

From the perspective of the Assembly Committee on Local Government, the 2005-06 legislative session was relatively uneventful, though not without significant events. The overall volume of legislation was down. The Assembly's attention to local government issues seemed to have been distracted in 2005 by the Governor's special election and its attendant maneuverings and squabbles, and in 2006 by first the infrastructure bond package negotiations and then the impending election and massive turnover of membership due to term limits. The combination of the ongoing deficits in the State Budget and the aftereffects of the passage of Proposition 1A in 2004 meant that both the volume and scope of legislation pertaining to fiscal issues were markedly reduced. Issue areas such as affordable housing and Smart Growth were also less frequently before the Committee. Many bills passed out of the Committee but failed to make it either out of the Legislature or past the Governor's veto. In this context, particular note should be made of the fates of AB 1899 (Wolk), AB 2500 (Laird), and SB 1796 (Florez), attempts to restore a modicum of sanity to land use policy in flood-prone areas of the Central Valley that all passed out of this Committee but then died in the last days of the session.

Despite these factors, the Committee still dealt with a number of significant bills that were subsequently signed in 2005-06. As a result of the lifting of the moratorium on legislation authorizing the use of design-build contracting, a number of bills on the issue came before the Committee, four of which (AB 1511 (Evans), SB 287 (Cox), SB 535 (Runner), and AB 1329 (Wolk)) were chaptered. Among other bills heard by the Committee and subsequently signed, SB 53 (Kehoe) requires redevelopment agencies to specify how they intend to use eminent domain and make additional findings of blight if they extend their eminent domain timelines. The process of approving the siting of wireless communication facilities was streamlined by
SB 1627 (Kehoe). Indian tribal burial sites will receive at least a degree of increased respect and protection as a result of AB 2641 (Coto). AB 2951 (Goldberg) authorizes public agencies that provide public utility services to charge public agencies rates, charges, surcharges, or fees on the same basis as comparable nonpublic users. The Committee addressed issues of ethics and compensation for elected officials in AB 1234 (Salinas) and AB 11 (De La Torre). Anti-NIMBY Law was strengthened by SB 575 (Torlakson). Finally, a wide range of bills dealt with the governance and financing of California's myriad special districts.

The following report summarizes legislation referred to the Committee during the 2005-06 legislative session, and indicates its current status. The report is divided into five categories: land use and housing, local government finance, local powers and duties, open meetings and conflict of interest, and special districts.

ASSEMBLY LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE

2005-06 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

(Bills marked with an asterisk (*) were amended and subsequently utilized as vehicles for other bill proposals, some of which stayed within the Committee's jurisdiction.)

LAND USE AND HOUSING

AB 14 (Harman) Property tax: subdivisions: separate assessments and valuations.

Prohibits an assessor from assigning any parcel numbers or preparing a separate assessment or separate valuation to divide any existing residential structure into a subdivision, until state and local requirements have been complied with.

Status: Chapter 281, Statutes of 2005

AB 266 (DeVore) Large family day care homes: permits.

Would prohibit cities and counties from requiring an up-front deposit for the review and processing of a conditional use permit for a large family day care home, limits the scope of that review, and requires a city or county to provide verification of fees charged for review and processing of applications. Status: In Assembly Committee on Local Government: Set, second hearing, failed passage. From committee without further action pursuant to Joint Rule 62(a).

AB 350 (Matthews) Jobs-housing opportunity zones. *

Would authorize cities and counties to create infrastructure financing districts in designated jobs-housing opportunity zones to finance public facilities in the five-county Inter-Regional Partnership area of Northern California. Status: Referred to Senate Committee on Local Government; amended and re-referred to committee (see section on Local Powers and Duties for summary of bill's new provisions).

AB 486 (Leslie) Urban open space and recreation.

Would allow urbanized counties, as defined, to compete along with cities and recreation and park districts in urbanized areas for the percentage of moneys available under the Roberti-Z'Berg-Harris Urban Open-Space and Recreation Program for grants on a project-by-project basis and on the basis of need for the acquisition or development of, or special major maintenance of, recreational lands and facilities, or for innovative recreation programs.

Status: From Assembly Committee on Appropriations: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.

AB 549 (Salinas) Affordable housing.

Would establish a pilot program as an alternative means of determining whether a housing element substantially complies with these provisions by establishing an affordable housing requirement if specified conditions are met by a city, county, or city and county. The bill would require a city, county, or city and county that adopts an alterative production-based certification of its housing element to submit a certification of compliance to the department within 10 days of the adoption of the final draft and to meet other specified criteria, including an unspecified percentage of the jurisdiction's share of the regional housing need for very low, low-, and moderate-income households, as specified. Status: Referred to Assembly Committees on Local Government and Housing and Community Development. From Committee on Local Government: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.

AB 623 (Gordon) Redevelopment: Los Angeles Air Force Base.

Would authorize the legislative bodies of communities located in Los Angeles County to adopt ordinances to expend their tax-increment moneys outside of their territorial jurisdiction to

implement the Los Angeles Air Force Base Retention Program through the formation of a separate joint powers entity, as specified. Status: From Assembly Committee on Local Government: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.

AB 648 (Jones) Development projects: disclosure requirements.

Would require an applicant for a development permit to provide the identity of the persons or entities that will own, lease, or occupy the project, if that identity is known to the applicant at the time of the application.

Status: Vetoed

AB 691 (Hancock) Transit village plans.

Permits a city, county, or city and county to declare any specific plan or redevelopment plan adopted prior to January 1, 2006, that conforms to the requirements set forth in the Transit Village Development Planning Act of 1994 (TVDPA), as amended by AB 1320 (Dutra), Chapter 42, Statutes of 2004, a transit village plan (TVP) if that entity makes findings and declarations demonstrating the conformity of the existing plan to TVDPA, and takes action prior to December 31, 2006, to declare that the conforming plan constitutes its TVP.

Status: Chapter 309, Statutes of 2005

AB 712 (Canciamilla) Land use: density.

Would modify the circumstances that trigger the requirement that a local government make a housing density reduction finding.

Status: Vetoed

AB 797 (Wolk) Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Authorizes an agricultural land conservation easement within the primary or secondary zone in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta be related to contract rescissions in any other portion of the secondary zone without respect to county boundary limitations and expands the Delta Protection Commission's membership from 19 to 23 members.

Status: Chapter 547, Statutes of 2006

AB 802 (Wolk) Land use: water supply.

Would require local governments to include flood management in the conservation element of their general plans. Status: From Senate Committee on Rules without further action.

AB 939 (Mullin) Redevelopment.

Would expand the area where an eligible housing development may be located to include within ½ mile of San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District stations located within San Mateo County and within ½ mile of that portion of El Camino Real located within San Mateo County. Limits the maximum amount of pooled housing funds that may be used to purchase property to the equivalent of 80% of the appraised value of the property to be purchased.

Status: Referred to Assembly Committees on Housing and Community Development and Local Government. From Committee on Housing and Community Development: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10 (c) of the Constitution.

AB 986 (Torrico) Transit-oriented development.

Would require the joint policy committee to prepare a plan identifying regional priority transit oriented development zones for the San Francisco Bay Area region. The report would be reviewed and approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the executive board of the Association of Bay Area Governments and submitted to the Legislature by

January 1, 2007. Status: Referred to Assembly Committees on Local Government and Transportation. From Committee on Local Government: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.

AB 1020 (Hancock) Planning: smart growth models.

Would require certain federally designated metropolitan planning organizations and certain state-designated regional transportation planning agencies to develop and implement improved

regional travel models incorporating smart growth concepts and to undertake other related planning activities, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to provide all necessary financial assistance to these agencies. The bill would require all transportation models used by state or regional agencies to be usable on personal computers and to be made available to the public. The bill would enact other related provisions. Status: Vetoed

AB 1167 (Chu) Transit-oriented redevelopment project.

Would authorize the City of El Monte and the El Monte Community Redevelopment Agency to amend, on or after July 1, 2007, the Redevelopment Plan for the Downtown El Monte Redevelopment Project to allow it to carry out one or more transit oriented redevelopment projects and, with regard to those projects, to eliminate the time limit on the establishment of loans, advances, and indebtedness that can be outstanding at any one time, increase the amount of bonded indebtedness that may be outstanding at any one time and incurred specifically for that purpose, increase the amount of tax increment revenues that may be allocated and paid to the redevelopment agency to repay indebtedness incurred specifically for that purpose, or extend the time limit on the effectiveness of that redevelopment plan for up to an additional
10 years, as specified. The bill would define a "transit oriented redevelopment project" in terms of its geographical location and other requirements.

Status: Referred to Assembly Committees on Housing and Community Development and Local Government. From Committee on Housing and Community Development: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.

AB 1205 (Blakeslee) Development project fees: protests.

Would allow an individual to bring an "as applied" challenge to exactions imposed on a development project even though a "facial" challenge to the ordinance establishing the exactions was not filed. Status: From Assembly Committee on Local Government: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.

AB 1227 (Torrico) Housing: discrimination.

Would add "continuing care retirement community" to the definition of "residential development" for purposes of banning prohibition or discrimination against such communities for specified reasons by local agencies until January 1, 2009.

Status: Vetoed

AB 1233 (Jones) Housing element: regional housing need.

Requires that any portion of a local government's share of the regional housing need that remains unprovided for at the end of one planning period be carried over into, and provided for through zoning or rezoning in, the subsequent planning period.

Status: Chapter 614, Statutes of 2005

AB 1352 (Bogh) Redevelopment: transfer of funds.

Would allow two redevelopment agencies located within the same housing region to adopt a resolution for the purpose of pooling their low- and moderate-income housing funds for affordable housing uses. Status: Referred to Assembly Committees on Local Government and Housing and Community Development: From Committee on Local Government: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.

AB 1367 (Evans) General plans: regional housing need.

Would prohibit a state, local, or regional agency, or any other governmental entity from enacting regulations applicable to a city or county's fair share of the regional housing need that are contrary to the land use determinations made in compliance with locally adopted land use

initiatives. Status: Referred to Assembly Committees on Local Government and Housing and Community Development: From Committee on Local Government: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.

AB 1450 (Evans) Land use: density bonus.

Would require that units targeted for moderate-income households as part of a housing development receiving a density bonus be affordable at a rent that does not exceed 30% of 120% of the area's median income, and creates requirements for the continued affordability and resale of these units. Status: Referred to Assembly Committees on Local Government and Housing and Community Development: From Committee on Housing and Community Development: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.

AB 1457 (Baca) State property: transfer restrictions: City of San Bernardino.

Authorizes the City of San Bernardino to transfer Seccombe Lake Park to the Redevelopment Agency of the City of San Bernardino in exchange for replacement park land elsewhere. Status: Chapter 852, Statutes of 2006

AB 1460 (Umberg) Subdivisions: release of performance security.

Creates time limits and procedures by which a local government must either notify a subdivider or contractor of any incomplete performance or unsatisfactory work or release the security given for faithful performance of the act or agreement.