BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
Senator Tom Torlakson, Chair
BILL NO: AB 1138 HEARING: 6/19/02
AUTHOR: Pescetti FISCAL: No
VERSION: 6/10/02 CONSULTANT: Detwiler
RANCHO CORDOVA INCORPORATION (URGENCY)
Background and Existing Law
Successful city incorporations require five steps:
Filing an application with the local agency formation
commission (LAFCO).
LAFCO review and approval.
A protest hearing by the "conducting authority."
An election.
Filing formal documents.
If the LAFCO approves a proposed incorporation, the
conducting authority must hold a noticed public hearing to
measure any protests. The conducting authority can
continue this protest hearing for up to 60 days. If a
majority of the registered voters within the proposed new
city file written protests, the conducting authority must
terminate the proceedings. If there is no majority
protest, the conducting authority must adopt a formal
resolution, calling an election on the question of
cityhood. The election occurs on the next regular election
date that is at least 88 days after the conducting
authority adopts its resolution.
Before 2001, a county board of supervisors was the
"conducting authority" for city incorporation proposals.
As part of a major overhaul of boundary laws, the LAFCO is
now the conducting authority (AB 2838, Hertzberg, 2000).
Boundary change proposals filed before January 1, 2001
still follow the prior law.
In late 1999, community leaders filed their application to
incorporate Rancho Cordova with the Sacramento LAFCO. The
Sacramento LAFCO approved the proposed Rancho Cordova
incorporation on May 22, 2002. As the conducting
authority, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will
open the protest hearing on July 16. The deadline to place
items on the November 5, 2002 ballot is August 9. State
law allows the county supervisors to continue their hearing
AB 1138 -- 6/10/02 -- Page 2
for up to 60 days, until September 16. If the county
supervisors take that long, they can postpone the Rancho
Cordova incorporation election until 2004.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 1138 sets August 19, 2002 as the deadline to
close the protest hearing on the proposed Rancho Cordova
incorporation. AB 1138 extends the deadline for calling
the election on the proposed Rancho Cordova incorporation
from 88 days to 78 days before the next regular election
date.
Comments
1. The long and winding road . Achieving cityhood requires
synchronizing complicated statutes with community politics.
Some incorporations take two or three attempts before they
succeed. Past resistance by the Sacramento County Board of
Supervisors make the cityhood advocates worry that the
county supervisors may take advantage of the state law and
use the full 60 days for the protest hearing. That delay
would keep Rancho Cordova off the November ballot and push
the election out to 2004. Although completely legal, that
delay could dissipate the incorporation drive's political
momentum. By shortening the deadlines for the protest
hearing and for calling the election, AB 1138 keeps the
Rancho Cordova incorporation on track.
2. Public trust, political trust . Besides representing
the political interests of individual unincorporated
communities, county supervisors are also responsible for
running state-mandated programs that advance the public
health and social welfare. They must balance this public
trust with their constituents' political desires. With
looming cuts in state funding, county supervisors must be
prudent in all they do. Placing the Rancho Cordova
incorporation on the November 2002 ballot may satisfy local
political desires but it may not be fiscally prudent. The
Committee may wish to consider whether the Legislature
should alter the standard incorporation schedule for just
one unincorporated community.
3. Special legislation . The California Constitution
AB 1138 -- 6/10/02 -- Page 3
prohibits special legislation if a general law could apply
(Article IV, 16 [b]). The California Constitution also
requires the Legislature to adopt a uniform procedure for
forming new cities (Article XI, 2 [a]). The
Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act is the uniform state law under
which local officials and voters incorporate new cities.
Special legislation is acceptable when special
circumstances don't fit the general statutes. Because AB
1138 singles out Rancho Cordova for special treatment, the
Committee may wish to consider amending the bill to insert
the so-called "special legislation disclaimer" along with
an explanation about why the current law is inadequate.
4. Legislative history . When it passed the Assembly in
May 2001, Mr. La Suer's bill allowed the California
Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank to make
low-interest loans to private companies to build power
plants. The June 10, 2002 amendments removed both the
bill's content and author, changing it into Mr. Pescetti's
measure relating to the Rancho Cordova incorporation.
AB 1138 -- 6/10/02 -- Page 4
Assembly Actions
Not relevant to the June 10 version of the bill.
Support and Opposition (6/13/)
Support : Unknown.
Opposition : Unknown.