BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1238
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 9, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Anna Marie Caballero, Chair
AB 1238 (Plescia) - As Amended: May 2, 2007
SUBJECT : County property: exchanges.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the board of supervisors of a county to
exchange real or personal property, as specified, provided that
the value of any private real property exchanged is equal to, or
greater than, 75% of the value of the county property offered in
exchange, and limits other personal property added to the
balance of the transaction, as specified, to be no more than 25%
of the value of the county property. Specifically, this bill :
1)States that when a county is exchanging real properties with a
private entity, and the real properties to be exchanged are
not of equal value, either party to the exchange may
contribute cash or other real or personal assets, acceptable
to the other party, to balance the transaction.
2)Requires the value of any private real property exchanged to
be equal to, or greater than, 75% of the value of the county
property offered in exchange.
3)Requires that the cash or other real or personal assets added
to balance the transaction not be greater than 25% of the
value of the county property proposed for exchange.
4)Exempts property that is valued at $50,000 or less from this
requirement.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes a board of supervisors to, by a four-fifths vote,
exchange real property with any person, firm or corporation,
for the purpose of removing defects in the title to real
property owned by the county, or where the real property to be
exchanged is not required for county use and the property to
be acquired is required for county use.
2)States that whenever a board of supervisors determines that
any real property or interest therein belonging to the county
is no longer necessary for county or other public purposes,
AB 1238
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and its estimated value does not exceed $25,000, the county
may sell, exchange, quitclaim, or convey that real property or
interest therein in the manner and upon the terms and
conditions approved by the board of supervisors.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)According to the sponsor, the County of San Diego (County), at
least several times a year,
it is approached regarding favorable land exchanges. However,
current law requires that such exchanges involve properties of
equal value. This requirement has impeded numerous
development projects and infrastructure improvements in the
County. For example, the County has a project to widen and
improve Valley Center Road. At least three property owners
have presented exchange options, but the County has been
unable to commit to any of them because of the equal value
exchange provision.
2)AB 1238 will give a county board of supervisors authorization
to exchange real or personal property when the properties
offered for exchange are not of equal value by allowing cash
or other assets to be used to balance the value of the
exchange. The bill also stipulates that the property to be
exchanged must be equal to, or greater than, 75% of the value
of the county property offered in exchange. The sponsor
believes that AB 1238 will provide counties with more
flexibility in arranging and finalizing real property exchange
agreements.
3)The sponsor points out that current law provides protection
against the provisions of this bill being used for so called
"sweetheart" deals. Property owned by a county that exceeds
$25,000 in value is subject to public bid. This provision
will ensure that an exchange is not promoted with the goal of
circumventing a public surplus sale requirement.
4)PROPOSED COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS : These amendments clarify that
a county can only accept cash or real property to balance the
value of the exchange and ensures that any property that is
over the $25,000 threshold established in existing law must go
through the public bid process.
AB 1238
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a) On page 2 line 22 after "real" strike "or personal" and
insert:
property
b) On page 2 line 26 after "real" strike "or personal" and
insert:
property
c) On page 2 strike lines 29 thru 32.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
County of San Diego [SPONSOR]
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958