BACKGROUND
Government relations staff will continue to review, monitor, and update the list of bills introduced by the Legislature and will develop master and priority lists of tracked legislation. Staff will develop and advance the advocacy positions articulated by the City Council’s Legislative Platform on specific bills within the lists.
Staff continues to focus on bills that would impact local control, have implications to both land use and housing, and that would require the City to provide a service or benefit without appropriate and full funding, which ultimately would negatively affect the City’s budget including the General Fund and enterprise funds.
The following bills represent the kinds of issues of specific concern to various City departments:
Housing
- AB 1568 (McCarty) General Plans: Housing Element: Production Report (Oppose) Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to review each production report submitted by a city or county to determine if that city or county has met applicable minimum housing production goal for that reporting period.
Staff Comments: The City is opposed to this bill due to the unrealistic expectations it places on local government along with the consequences it imposes on local governments that do not meet their housing production goals. This bill would withhold transportation funding generated by SB1, the gas-tax revenue affirmed by voters in November 2018, from cities that do not meet their housing production goals. In addition, the bill would impose even more dramatic consequences such as diverting a local government’s transportation funds to other local governments if they did not meet their housing production goals after a defined number of years. Requiring local governments to be responsible for the production of housing is a radical threshold being proposed by the legislature. Local governments are responsible for land-use, zoning and approval of permits for the construction of housing. Local governments are not responsible for the actual construction of those units. This is, and has always been, a function of the marketplace.
- AB 1640 (Boerner Horvath) Local Government Finance: Budget Reserves (Watch) This bill would require a local government by September 1, 2020, and annually thereafter, to submit a written report to the State Controller's office on how it plans to spend any of its budget reserves, as defined, on specified priorities over a five-year fiscal period, including, among others, mental and behavioral health services and affordable housing. The bill would provide this reporting requirement only applies to a local government if the local government's budget reserve in the immediately preceding fiscal year was in excess of 30 percent of the total expenditures of the local government in that fiscal year.
Staff Comments: The City has significant concerns regarding what this bill is attempting to accomplish. The state continues to intrude into the business and operations of local governments and this bill appears to continue that trend. Staff is researching the bill in greater detail and will define a more specific position as more is understood about the intent of bill and what the author is attempting to accomplish.
- AB 1697 (Grayson) Housing: Department of Housing and Development (Watch) States the Legislature's intent to enact legislation that would, among other things, establish an efficient process for the department to identify housing-related goals, identify associated data needs, and provide funding and technical support to help local jurisdictions meet the supply of needed data.
Staff Comments: Staff is interested in the possibilities this bill represents for developing a more effective statewide housing strategy. The Legislature continues attempt to address the statewide housing crisis through an assortment of housing bills. However, the lack of a cohesive housing plan hampers the efforts to make meaningful headway against the housing shortage. Staff is interested in understanding how this bill may change that condition and what opportunities it may present for local governments.
- SB 13 (Wieckowski) Accessory Dwelling Units: (Oppose) Amends the Planning and Zoning Law. Authorizes the creation of accessory dwelling units in areas zoned to allow single-family or multifamily dwelling use. Prohibits a local agency from requiring the replacement of parking spaces if a garage, carport, or covered parking is demolished to construct an accessory dwelling unit. Prohibits a local agency from requiring occupancy of either the primary or the accessory dwelling unit.
Staff Comments: Staff is concerned this bill would prohibit local governments from requiring certain conditions of a project; specifically, the replacement of parking spaces. Staff continually works with project owners to find equitable solutions for issues surrounding accessory dwelling units. Implementing a prohibition is not an effective solution and limits the ability to ensure an equitable outcome.
- SB 330 (Skinner) Housing Crisis Act (Watch) Prohibits the legislative body of a county or city from enacting an amendment or ordinance that would change the zoning classification of a parcel or parcels of property to a less intensive use within an existing zoning district below what was allowed under the general plan use designation and zoning ordinances of the county or city as in effect on January 1, 2018. Imposes a moratorium on housing development in certain jurisdictions.
Staff Comments: The City is watching this bill to ensure it understands the full scope of this bill and how it would change the role of local governments’ in where housing is built and the fees that are required of housing projects. The bill may have significant implications for local governments, and staff will refine its advocacy position based on the information gathered from the research conducted on the bill.
- SB 450 (Umberg) Environmental Quality Act Exemption: Supportive Housing (Watch) This bill would exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), projects related to the conversion of a structure with a certificate of occupancy as a motel, hotel, apartment hotel, transient occupancy residential structure, or hostel to supportive housing or transitional housing, as defined. Because the lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of this exemption, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Staff Comments: An assortment of bills are focused on CEQA exemptions for various types of housing projects. Staff will be reviewing each of those bills to better understand what benefits they could provide and how they might be used to effectively construct more housing in the region and throughout the state.
Other
- SB 333 (Wilk) Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (Watch) Requires the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, by July 1, 2021, to develop and implement a statewide strategic plan for addressing homelessness in the state, as specified. Requires the council, by January 1, 2021, to implement strategic plans to assist federal Housing and Urban Development Continuum of Care lead agencies in better implementing Housing and Urban Development recommended activities and meeting Housing and Urban Development requirements.
Staff Comments: The City is watching this bill to understand what the results would be of the statewide strategic plan and what resources it might provide to local governments to address homelessness in the state.
- AB 43 (Gloria) Mental Health (Watch) States the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to ensure that Mental Health Services Act funds are used in accordance with the provisions of the act and that there is adequate oversight of excess unspent funds.
Staff Comments: Staff is interested in what this bill will become and the direction the author takes the bill to meet its intent. Mental health issues are one of the most significant contributors to homelessness and staff is interested in knowing what opportunities this bill might present to provide new programs or resources for those with mental health issues. In addition, staff is interested in understanding if the bill would also provide greater transparency and accountability for the amount of proportionate spending of Mental Health Services Act funds a county provides to the various cities within the county.
- AB 1413 (Gloria) Transportation: Local Transportation Authorities (Support) This bill would authorize a local transportation authority to impose a tax applicable to only a portion of its county if 2/3 of the voters voting on the measure within the portion of the county to which the tax would apply vote to approve the tax, as specified, and other requirements are met, including that the revenues derived from the tax be spent within, or for the benefit of, the portion of the county to which the tax would apply.
Staff Comments: The City is supporting this bill as it would provide the opportunity for local transportation authorities, such as the Placer County Transportation Authority, to define areas within their county for a transportation tax measure. Changes to the levels of funding provided to local governments by the state and federal governments continues to fluctuate. The structure for developing defined areas within a county transportation, as outlined in this bill, would provide transportation authorities with a reliable source of revenue for transportation specific projects. The proposed tax measure would be required to be approved by 2/3 of the voters in the area where the tax would apply.
Conclusion
Government relations staff will continue to refine the active list of priority bills from the bills introduced this year. The priority list of bills establishes the City’s legislative advocacy efforts and staff will continue to update the L&R Committee each month on the most critical bills on the list. Staff will also remain actively engaged in informing the City’s state and federal representatives regarding the City’s positions as the bills move through the legislative process.