Land Use

SB 944 (Torres) – Oppose
As amended on June 11, 2014

SB 944, by Senator Norma Torres, would impose an unprecedented interference with local land use authority by preventing local governments from pre-zoning, re-zoning or zoning surplus state property located within the local jurisdiction unless a change in zoning is requested or approved by the Department of General Services. CSAC opposes this bill because it would give unelected state officials veto power over the land use decisions made by duly-elected local representatives. Recent amendments to the bill also require the state to give equal priority to local agencies that propose to use surplus lands for projects that create “sustainable employment opportunities” as is currently provided to local agencies that propose to use surplus lands for affordable housing development.

CSAC encourages individual counties, especially those with existing or potential surplus state lands, to express their opposition to this unwarranted intrusion into local land use planning. SB 944 will be heard in the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee on June 18 and in the Assembly Local Government Committee on June 25.

AB 52 (Gatto) – Oppose 
As amended on June 2, 2014

AB 52, by Assembly Member Mike Gatto, would provide for a significant expansion of CEQA by, among other things, including potential substantial adverse impacts to tribal cultural resources as a significant effect necessitating full environmental review. Counties appreciate and understand the desire of Native American tribes to be consulted on projects that could impact culturally-significant lands and resources. Indeed, in some cases, counties have instituted processes that extend beyond what is required by law to consult with tribes on proposed projects. Unfortunately, CSAC feels strongly that the legitimate need for consultation between county and tribal governments on a project-by-project basis belongs in the Government Code, where it could expand upon existing General Plan consultation requirements, rather than within the CEQA process. CSAC’s survey of our members last fall indicated that counties have generally considered consultation with tribes for the purposes of General Plan updates and amendments under the SB 18 process to have been successful. We encourage the author to build on the successes of this program to include project-level consultations, upon requests from tribes, rather than expanding CEQA.

CSAC encourages counties to contact their legislators with their concerns about this bill. AB 52 is set for hearing in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on June 25.

Housing

AB 2135 (Ting) – Request for Comments
As amended on June 9, 2014

AB 2135, by Assembly Member Phil Ting, would amend the procedure for the disposal of surplus land by local agencies and expands the provisions relating to the prioritization of low- and moderate-income housing development if the surplus land will be used for residential development. The recent amendments require an affordable housing development constructed on disposed surplus land with at least 25% affordable units to maintain the affordability for 55 years for rental units and require an equity sharing agreement for affordable ownership units. The bill also expands the list of entities who can take legal action to enforce covenants or restrictions requiring maintenance of affordability. Developments meeting these criteria are also required to be given priority from the local agency when negotiating with entities that give notice of their interest in acquiring the surplus property for affordable housing development. The amended bill maintains the expansion of the term for good faith negotiations from 60 to 90 days. The amendments reduce the proportion of required affordable units for residential projects on disposed surplus lands from 25% in the prior version to 15% of total units for any project with 10 or more residential units.

CSAC is interested in comments from counties as to the impacts of the amended version of this bill. AB 2135 will be heard on June 17 in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.

SB 1439 (Leno) – Support
As amended on May 13, 2014

SB 1439, by Senator Mark Leno, would allow the City and County of San Francisco to enact through ordinance or ballot measure prohibitions on a rental housing owner’s ability to remove a building from the rental market under the Ellis Act unless all owners of the property have held their ownership interest for at least five years. The bill was amended so that its restrictions would no longer apply to a natural person who owns no more than two properties and no more than a total of four residential units. CSAC supports this measure as it would give the county an additional tool to ensure the continued availability of affordable rental housing at all income levels.

SB 1439 will be heard in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on June 18.

Public Works Administration 

AB 2471 (Frazier) – Oppose
As amended on May 23, 2014

AB 2471, by Assembly Member Jim Frazier, would impose arbitrary and burdensome timelines on the negotiation of a change order for a public works project. CSAC opposes this bill because it would expose counties to liability and prejudgment interest if its timeframe for negotiating a change order and making payments due pursuant the bill’s provisions are not met. Unfortunately, the latest amendments do not remove our concerns. CSAC will continue to work with the author to refocus the bill on the issue of prompt payment for undisputed portions of a project instead of constraining the change order process, however, we urge counties to communicate with their legislative delegations about the impacts of this proposed legislation, which extend beyond transportation to all public works projects undertaken by counties.

AB 2471 will be heard in the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization on June 24.

Transportation 

AB 1720 (Bloom) – Support
As amended on June 10, 2014

AB 1720, by Assembly Member Richard Bloom, would extend by one year the exemption in current law that allows transit buses to operate over state weight limits, until January 1, 2016. Further, transit agencies would be able to continue to procure overweight transit buses under specified circumstances until January 1, 2016. This bill was a negotiated solution with the California Transit Association, CSAC and other transportation stakeholders. The extension is necessary to allow the completion of a national study of issues surrounding overweight transit buses, the findings of which will be critical in the development of a permanent and cost-effective solution to this issue.

AB 1720 will be heard in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on June 17.

SB 1151 (Cannella) – Support
As amended on April 21, 2014

SB 1151, by Senator Anthony Cannella, would impose an additional thirty-five dollar fine on specified violations within zones posted with school warning signs and signs indicating increased fines. The additional fine revenue from these violations would be allocated to the Active Transportation Program for the purpose of school zone safety projects. Counties, along with cities and public schools and districts, are eligible recipients of Active Transportation Program grant funds to improve safety around schools and promote alternative transportation options.

SB 1151 will be heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee on June 16.

SB 1183 (DeSaulnier) – Support
As amended on May 27, 2014

SB 1183, by Senator Mark DeSaulnier, would allow a city, county, or regional parks district to propose to the voters the imposition of a surcharge of up to five dollars on each vehicle registration to fund the construction or maintenance of paved or natural surface bikeways or trails, as well as bicycle parking infrastructure. The bill would provide a new tool to fund off-road bike paths, which currently lack a stable funding source. The author took CSAC’s recommended amendments, which allow agencies to use funding raised by a voter-approved surcharge for a broader array of bicycle infrastructure.

CSAC supports this bill as it provides a potential funding source for several types of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure that are vital to creating a complete multi-modal network, but which occasionally have proven difficult to fund and maintain under existing revenue sources. 

SB 1183 will be heard on June 18 in the Assembly Local Government Committee.