BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1219
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 10, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 1219 (Jones) - As Introduced: February 23, 2007
SUBJECT : State property.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the sale, lease, or exchange of state
owned property, and property owned by the City of Sacramento,
that are located in the Old Sacramento State Historic Park;
authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to enter
into an operating agreement with a nonprofit organization for
the construction and operation of a children's museum in the Old
Sacramento State Historic Park; and revises the terms for the
disposition of two previously authorized state surplus property
transactions with Saint Francis High School. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), with
the approval of the Department of General Services (DGS), to
sell or exchange with the City of Sacramento, four specified
properties located in the Old Sacramento State Historic Park
in the City of Sacramento, at fair market value, and after an
independent appraisal and less any costs associated with
remediation of any hazardous wastes on the property and
reimbursement of DPR's costs. Prohibits the disposition of
the property from affecting train service from a specified
location just south of the properties. Requires the net
proceeds from the disposition of the properties to be
transferred to the bondholders of the Economic Recovery Bond
Act.
2)Authorizes DPR, until January 1, 2014, to enter into an
operating agreement with a qualified nonprofit organization
for the development, improvement, restoration, care,
maintenance, administration and control of a children's museum
in the Old Sacramento State Historic Park, and requires the
operating agreement to:
a) Designate the district superintendent for DPR as the
liaison with DPR, the nonprofit organization, and the
public;
b) Specify the manner in which the children's museum is
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proposed to be operated;
c) Address the appropriateness of the children's museum fee
structure and its affect on children's accessibility to the
facility;
d) Designate the revenues from the operation of the
children's museum for the care, maintenance, operation,
administration, improvement, or development of the museum;
and,
e) Require the children's museum structure to incorporate
historical architectural features that are consistent with
mid-1800s Sacramento buildings.
3)Requires DPR to notify each Member of the Legislature in which
the Old Sacramento State Historic Park is located when DPR
intends to enter into an operating agreement for the
children's museum.
4)States that the authorization to construct a children's museum
does not authorize the demolition of three specified
structures located in the Old Sacramento State Historic Park.
5)Revises the terms for the disposition of a previously
authorized state surplus property transaction by allowing the
Department of General Services (DGS) to sell, or lease with an
option to sell, at fair market value, surplus state property
known as the 58th Street Armory located in the City of
Sacramento to Saint Francis High School. Requires the option
to be exercised within 90 days from the completion of a
replacement facility for the Military Department, and exempts
the transaction from review under the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA). Requires the proceeds from disposition of
this property to be deposited in the Armory Fund, to the
extent that it is consistent with the State Constitutional
requirement that the proceeds from surplus property sales are
required to be used to pay off the bonds issued by the
Economic Recovery Bond Act.
6)Authorizes DGS, with the concurrence of the Adjutant General,
to extend the period of a lease, from seven years to 11 years,
of state owned real property located in Sacramento to the
Sacramento Archdiocese, and exempts the transaction from
review under CEQA.
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7)Makes Legislative findings and declarations regarding the Old
Sacramento State Historic Park and its suitability as a
location for a regional children's museum.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes DGS, with the approval of the Military Department,
to exchange for a replacement facility, state property known
as the 58th Street Armory located in the City of Sacramento,
to the Roman Catholic Bishop, Sacramento, St. Francis High
School.
2)Authorizes DPR to administer and manage units within the State
Park System.
3)Requires, pursuant to Proposition 60A adopted by the voters in
November 2004, that the proceeds from the sale of surplus
state property, with specified exceptions, be used to pay the
principal and interest on the Economic Recovery Bond Act of
2004.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office: "The
land conveyance between the City of Sacramento and State Parks
is being proposed at the request of the City of Sacramento. The
lands will be sold/exchanged at fair market value. As part of
the deal, State Parks will receive land it currently rents.
"The sale of CA National Guard property to the Catholic Diocese
would allow the St. Francis Girls High School to continue with
an expansion of their campus, as soon as the National Guard
moves to their new facility in the area formerly known as the
Sacramento Army Depot. The Sacramento Diocese and the CA
National Guard have been working on this project for a decade.
The result of their efforts is a larger, more substantial, and
more modern facility at the former Army Depot property.
"Lastly, the bill would authorize the Department of Parks and
Recreation to enter into an operating agreement with a qualified
non-profit to develop and run a "children's museum" on a vacant
piece of state owned land in Old Sacramento. The non-profit
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would be responsible for raising the funds to build, operate and
maintain the facility."
With respect to authorizing DPR to enter into an operating
agreement for the development and operation of a children's
museum, the author's office states: "The proposed site of the
museum in Old Sacramento has been mostly vacant for 30 years.
In the early 1970's, State Parks created a development plan that
recommended re-building structures that existed on that site in
1849. The plan included two hotels, a theatre and more. No
additional funds have been appropriated for development of this
site. State Parks has not requested new funding to develop this
property, nor do they plan to request funding in the near
future.
"Authorizing the Sacramento Children's Museum to develop this
site into a museum that resembles Old Sacramento in the mid
1800's would create a destination project for families from all
over northern California. It would also give the community a
sense of what the buildings in Old Sacramento looked like before
the big 1850 flood. Additionally, the project could include
interpretive elements long desired by the local historical
community."
Support . The St. Francis High School and Diocese of Sacramento,
as co-sponsors of this bill, write: "The National Guard and St.
Francis High School have worked together for these many years
with the common goal of obtaining a new armory for Sacramento
and providing St. Francis High School the land it so desperately
needs to expand to serve its community. St. Francis High
School has invested over $20 million in building Phase One and
Two of its new campus. The school plans on investing another
$10-15 million to complete the project. Without eventually
owning the adjacent property, St. Francis High School will be
without parking facilities, will have severely limited fields
for athletic programs, and a totally inadequate facility to
serve St. Francis students and the greater Sacramento community.
The school will be unable to expand its campus to serve its
intended student body of 1,200 young women."
Potential conflict with Proposition 60A . The bill suggests that
the funds from the disposition of the 58th Street Armory may be
deposited into the Armory Fund rather than be used to pay the
principal and interest on the Economic Recovery Bond Act of
2004, as required by Article III of the California Constitution.
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Article III of the California Constitution was adopted by the
voters in November 2004 when they approved Proposition 60A,
which requires that the proceeds from the sale of surplus state
property be used to pay the principal and interest on the
Economic Recovery Bond Act of 2004. This specific provision of
this bill appears to run contrary to the constitutional
requirement.
Proposed amendment . The author's office has indicated that, in
an effort to avoid the issues associated with the CEQA exemption
that has plagued recent surplus property bills (as noted below),
the author would like to delete the CEQA exemption provision
from the bill. This amendment can be accomplished by deleting
lines 35 through 37 on page 6, and lines 1 and 2 on page 7.
Previous legislation . The Sacramento Armory properties were
included various measures in recent years, including two
Administration-sponsored surplus property bills: AB 54 (Negrete
McLeod) of 2005, which was vetoed for reasons related to an
exemption from CEQA, and AB 53 (Negrete McLeod) of 2006, which
died on the Senate Floor for reasons related to an exemption
from CEQA, as a well as SB 276 (Denham) of 2006 which also was
vetoed because of issues related to a CEQA exemption.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Diocese of Sacramento
Saint Francis High School
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ross Warren / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301