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SCA-12 Public safety services: local government.(2009-2010)



Current Version: 02/25/09 - Introduced

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SCA12:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2009–2010 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Constitutional Amendment
No. 12

Introduced  by  Senator Kehoe

February 25, 2009

A resolution to propose to the people of the State of California an amendment to the Constitution of the State, by amending Sections 1 and 4 of Article XIII A thereof, by amending Section 2 of Article XIII C thereof, and by amending Section 18 of Article XVI thereof, relating to public safety services funding.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SCA 12, as introduced, Kehoe. Public safety services: local government.
(1) The California Constitution prohibits any ad valorem tax on real property from exceeding 1% of the full cash value of the property, subject to certain exceptions.
This measure would create an additional exception to the 1% limit on ad valorem tax on real property, for an ad valorem rate imposed by a city, county, city and county, or special district to pay for bonded indebtedness incurred to fund facilities, buildings, or equipment used directly and exclusively to provide emergency services to the public, or to fund the related acquisition or lease of real property, if approved by 55% of the voters of the city, county, city and county, or special district, as applicable.
(2) The California Constitution prohibits a city or county from incurring any indebtedness exceeding in one year the income and revenue provided in that year, without the assent of 2/3 of the voters.
This measure would lower to 55% the voter approval threshold for a city, county, or city and county to incur bonded indebtedness, exceeding in one year the income and revenue provided in that year, that is in the form of general obligation bonds to fund facilities, buildings, or equipment used directly and exclusively to provide emergency services to the public, or to fund the related acquisition or lease of real property.
(3) Under the California Constitution, a local government may not impose, extend, or increase any special tax unless that tax is submitted to the electorate and approved by a 2/3 vote of the voters voting on the measure.
This measure would, as an exception to this voter approval threshold, allow a local government to impose, extend, or increase a special tax for the purpose of funding for fire protection services, and certain sheriff and police equipment and services, if that tax is approved by a 55% vote of the voters voting on the measure. This measure would prohibit the revenues derived from such a tax from being expended to supplant any other funding source for these purposes.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  
Resolved by the Senate, the Assembly concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California at its 2009–10 Regular Session commencing on the first day of December 2008, two-thirds of the membership of each house concurring, hereby proposes to the people of the State of California, that the Constitution of the State be amended as follows:

First—

 That Section 1 of Article XIII A thereof is amended to read:

SECTION 1.
 (a) The maximum amount of any ad valorem tax on real property shall not exceed One 1 percent (1%) of the full cash value of such that property. The one 1 percent (1%) tax to shall be collected by the counties and apportioned according to law to the districts within the counties.
(b) The limitation provided for in subdivision (a) shall not apply to ad valorem taxes or special assessments to pay the interest and redemption charges on any of the following:
(1) Indebtedness approved by the voters prior to July 1, 1978.
(2) Bonded indebtedness for the acquisition or improvement of real property approved on or after July 1, 1978, by two-thirds of the votes cast by the voters voting on the proposition.
(3) Bonded indebtedness incurred by a school district, community college district, or county office of education for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of school facilities, including the furnishing and equipping of school facilities, or the acquisition or lease of real property for school facilities, approved by 55 percent of the voters of the district or county, as appropriate, voting on the proposition on or after the effective date of the measure adding this paragraph. This paragraph shall apply only if the proposition approved by the voters and resulting in the bonded indebtedness includes all of the following accountability requirements:
(A) A requirement that the proceeds from the sale of the bonds be used only for the purposes specified in Article XIII A, Section 1(b)(3), and not for any other purpose, including teacher and administrator salaries and other school operating expenses.
(B) A list of the specific school facilities projects to be funded and certification that the school district board, community college board, or county office of education has evaluated safety, class size reduction, and information technology needs in developing that list.
(C) A requirement that the school district board, community college board, or county office of education conduct an annual, independent performance audit to ensure that the funds have been expended only on the specific projects listed.
(D) A requirement that the school district board, community college board, or county office of education conduct an annual, independent financial audit of the proceeds from the sale of the bonds until all of those proceeds have been expended for the school facilities projects.
(4) Bonded indebtedness incurred by a city, county, city and county, or special district to fund the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of facilities, buildings, or equipment used directly and exclusively to provide emergency services to the public, or to fund the acquisition or lease of real property for those facilities or buildings, approved by 55 percent of the voters of the city, county, city and county, or special district, as applicable, voting on the proposition on or after the effective date of the measure adding this paragraph.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law or of this Constitution, a school districts district, community college districts district, and county offices office of education, city, county, city and county, or special district may levy a 55 percent vote ad valorem tax pursuant to the applicable provisions of subdivision (b).

Second—

 That Section 4 of Article XIII A thereof is amended to read:

Section 4.
 Cities, Counties and special districts, Except as otherwise provided by paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 2 of Article XIII C, a city, county, city and county, or special district, by a two-thirds vote of the qualified electors of such district its voters voting on the proposition, may impose special taxes on such district a special tax within that city, county, city and county, or special district, except an ad valorem taxes tax on real property or a transaction transactions tax or sales tax on the sale of real property within such City, County that city, county, or special district.

Third—

 That Section 2 of Article XIII C thereof is amended to read:

SEC. 2.
 Local Government Tax Limitation. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution:
(a) All taxes A tax imposed by any local government shall be deemed to be is either a general taxes tax or a special taxes tax. Special purpose districts A special purpose district or agencies agency, including a school districts district, shall have has no power to levy a general taxes tax.
(b) No A local government may shall not impose, extend, or increase any general tax unless and until that tax is submitted to the electorate and approved by a majority vote of its voters voting on the proposition. A general tax shall is not be deemed to have been increased if it is imposed at a rate not higher than the maximum rate so approved. The election required by this subdivision shall be consolidated with a regularly scheduled general election for members of the governing body of the local government, except in cases of emergency declared by a unanimous vote of the governing body.
(c) Any general tax imposed, extended, or increased, without voter approval, by any local government on or after January 1, 1995, and prior to the effective date of this article, shall continue to be imposed only if that general tax is approved by a majority vote of the voters voting in an election on the issue of the imposition, which election shall be is held within two years of the effective date of this article no later than November 6, 1998, and in compliance with subdivision (b).
(d) No (1) Except as otherwise provided by paragraph (2), a local government may shall not impose, extend, or increase any special tax unless and until that tax is submitted to the electorate and approved by a two-thirds vote of the voters voting on the proposition. A special tax shall not be deemed to have been increased if it is imposed at a rate not higher than the maximum rate so approved.
(2) A local government may, with the approval of 55 percent of its voters voting on the proposition, impose, extend, or increase a special tax to provide funding for any or all of the following purposes:
(A) Fire protection services, including, but not limited to, the purchase and maintenance of fire suppression equipment, or of interoperable communications equipment for use by fire personnel.
(B) The purchase and maintenance of interoperable communications equipment for use by police and sheriff personnel.
(C) Sheriff or police services provided within its jurisdiction in response to an emergency declared by the Governor or the President of the United States.
(3) The revenues derived from the imposition, extension, or increase of a special tax pursuant to paragraph (2) shall not be expended to supplant any other funding source for any of the purposes described by that paragraph.
(4) A special tax is not deemed to have been increased if it is imposed at a rate not higher than the maximum rate approved for that tax in the manner required by law.

Fourth—

 That Section 18 of Article XVI thereof is amended to read:

SEC. 18.
 (a) No county, city, town, township, board of education, or school district, shall incur any indebtedness or liability in any manner or for any purpose exceeding in any year the income and revenue provided for such year, without the assent of that year, unless both of the following conditions are met:
(1) The indebtedness or liability is approved by two-thirds of the voters of the public entity voting at an election to be held for that purpose, except that with respect to any such public entity which is authorized to incur indebtedness for public school purposes, any proposition for the incurrence of indebtedness in the form of general obligation bonds for the purpose of repairing, reconstructing or replacing public school buildings determined, in the manner prescribed by law, to be structurally unsafe for school use, shall be adopted upon the approval of a majority of the voters of the public entity voting on the proposition at such election; nor unless before as otherwise provided by subdivision (b).
(2) Before or at the time of incurring such the indebtedness, provision shall be is made for the collection of an annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on such the indebtedness as it falls due, and to provide for a sinking fund for the payment of the principal thereof, on or before maturity, which shall not exceed forty 40 years from the time of contracting the indebtedness.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), on Indebtedness may be incurred under each of the following circumstances:
(1) In the case of a public entity enumerated in subdivision (a) that is authorized to incur indebtedness for public school purposes, any proposition to incur indebtedness in the form of general obligation bonds for the purpose of repairing, reconstructing, or replacing public school buildings determined, in the manner prescribed by law, to be structurally unsafe for school use, shall be adopted upon the approval of a majority of the voters of the public entity voting on the proposition at an election.
(2) On or after the effective date of the measure adding this subdivision November 8, 2000, in the case of any school district, community college district, or county office of education, any proposition for the incurrence of indebtedness in the form of general obligation bonds for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of school facilities, including the furnishing and equipping of school facilities, or the acquisition or lease of real property for school facilities, shall be adopted upon the approval of 55 percent of the voters of the district or county, as appropriate, voting on the proposition at an election. This subdivision paragraph shall apply only to a proposition for the incurrence of indebtedness in the form of general obligation bonds for the purposes specified in this subdivision paragraph only if the proposition meets all of the accountability requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 1 of Article XIII A.

(c)

(3) On or after the effective date of the measure adding this paragraph, in the case of any city, county, or city and county, any proposition to incur indebtedness in the form of general obligation bonds to fund the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of facilities, buildings, or equipment used directly and exclusively to provide emergency services to the public, or to fund the acquisition or lease of real property for those facilities or buildings, shall be adopted upon the approval of 55 percent of the voters of the city, county, or city and county, as applicable, voting on the proposition at an election.

(d)

(c) When two or more propositions for incurring any indebtedness or liability are submitted at the same election, the votes cast for and against each proposition shall be counted separately, and when two-thirds or a majority or 55 percent of the voters, as the case may be, voting on any one of those propositions, vote in favor thereof, the proposition shall be deemed adopted.