Code Section

34177.  

Successor agencies are required to do all of the following:

(a) Continue to make payments due for enforceable obligations.

(1) On and after February 1, 2012, and until a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule becomes operative, only payments required pursuant to an enforceable obligations payment schedule shall be made. The initial enforceable obligation payment schedule shall be the last schedule adopted by the redevelopment agency under Section 34169. However, payments associated with obligations excluded from the definition of enforceable obligations by paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 34171 shall be excluded from the enforceable obligations payment schedule and be removed from the last schedule adopted by the redevelopment agency under Section 34169 prior to the successor agency adopting it as its enforceable obligations payment schedule pursuant to this subdivision. The enforceable obligation payment schedule may be amended by the successor agency at any public meeting and shall be subject to the approval of the oversight board as soon as the board has sufficient members to form a quorum. In recognition of the fact that the timing of the California Supreme Court’s ruling in the case California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos (2011) 53 Cal.4th 231 delayed the preparation by successor agencies and the approval by oversight boards of the January 1, 2012, through June 30, 2012, Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule, a successor agency may amend the Enforceable Obligation Payment Schedule to authorize the continued payment of enforceable obligations until the time that the January 1, 2012, through June 30, 2012, Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule has been approved by the oversight board and by the department. The successor agency may utilize reasonable estimates and projections to support payment amounts for enforceable obligations if the successor agency submits appropriate supporting documentation of the basis for the estimate or projection to the Department of Finance and the auditor-controller.

(2) The department, the county auditor-controller, and the Controller shall each have the authority to require any documents associated with the enforceable obligations to be provided to them in a manner of their choosing. Any taxing entity, the department, and the Controller shall each have standing to file a judicial action to prevent a violation under this part and to obtain injunctive or other appropriate relief.

(3) Commencing on the date the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule is valid pursuant to subdivision (l), only those payments listed in the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule may be made by the successor agency from the funds specified in the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule. In addition, after it becomes valid, the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule shall supersede the Statement of Indebtedness, which shall no longer be prepared nor have any effect under the Community Redevelopment Law (Part 1 (commencing with Section 33000)).

(4) Nothing in the act adding this part is to be construed as preventing a successor agency, with the prior approval of the oversight board, as described in Section 34179, from making payments for enforceable obligations from sources other than those listed in the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule.

(5) From February 1, 2012, to July 1, 2012, a successor agency shall have no authority and is hereby prohibited from accelerating payment or making any lump-sum payments that are intended to prepay loans unless such accelerated repayments were required prior to the effective date of this part.

(b) Maintain reserves in the amount required by indentures, trust indentures, or similar documents governing the issuance of outstanding redevelopment agency bonds.

(c) Perform obligations required pursuant to any enforceable obligation.

(d) Remit unencumbered balances of redevelopment agency funds to the county auditor-controller for distribution to the taxing entities, including, but not limited to, the unencumbered balance of the Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund of a former redevelopment agency. In making the distribution, the county auditor-controller shall utilize the same methodology for allocation and distribution of property tax revenues provided in Section 34188.

(e) Dispose of assets and properties of the former redevelopment agency as directed by the oversight board; provided, however, that the oversight board may instead direct the successor agency to transfer ownership of certain assets pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 34181. The disposal is to be done expeditiously and in a manner aimed at maximizing value. Proceeds from asset sales and related funds that are no longer needed for approved development projects or to otherwise wind down the affairs of the agency, each as determined by the oversight board, shall be transferred to the county auditor-controller for distribution as property tax proceeds under Section 34188. The requirements of this subdivision shall not apply to a successor agency that has been issued a finding of completion by the department pursuant to Section 34179.7.

(f) Enforce all former redevelopment agency rights for the benefit of the taxing entities, including, but not limited to, continuing to collect loans, rents, and other revenues that were due to the redevelopment agency.

(g) Effectuate transfer of housing functions and assets to the appropriate entity designated pursuant to Section 34176.

(h) Expeditiously wind down the affairs of the redevelopment agency pursuant to the provisions of this part and in accordance with the direction of the oversight board.

(i) Continue to oversee development of properties until the contracted work has been completed or the contractual obligations of the former redevelopment agency can be transferred to other parties. Bond proceeds shall be used for the purposes for which bonds were sold unless the purposes can no longer be achieved, in which case, the proceeds may be used to defease the bonds.

(j) Prepare a proposed administrative budget and submit it to the oversight board for its approval. The proposed administrative budget shall include all of the following:

(1) Estimated amounts for successor agency administrative costs for the upcoming six-month fiscal period.

(2) Proposed sources of payment for the costs identified in paragraph (1).

(3) Proposals for arrangements for administrative and operations services provided by a city, county, city and county, or other entity.

(k) Provide administrative cost estimates, from its approved administrative budget that are to be paid from property tax revenues deposited in the Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund, to the county auditor-controller for each six-month fiscal period.

(l) (1) Before each fiscal period set forth in subdivision (m) or (o), as applicable, prepare a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule in accordance with the requirements of this paragraph. For each recognized obligation, the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule shall identify one or more of the following sources of payment:

(A) Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund.

(B) Bond proceeds.

(C) Reserve balances.

(D) Administrative cost allowance.

(E) The Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund, but only to the extent no other funding source is available or when payment from property tax revenues is required by an enforceable obligation or by the provisions of this part.

(F) Other revenue sources, including rents, concessions, asset sale proceeds, interest earnings, and any other revenues derived from the former redevelopment agency, as approved by the oversight board in accordance with this part.

(2) A Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule shall not be deemed valid unless all of the following conditions have been met:

(A) A Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule is prepared by the successor agency for the enforceable obligations of the former redevelopment agency. The initial schedule shall project the dates and amounts of scheduled payments for each enforceable obligation for the remainder of the time period during which the redevelopment agency would have been authorized to obligate property tax increment had the redevelopment agency not been dissolved.

(B) The Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule is submitted to and duly approved by the oversight board. The successor agency shall submit a copy of the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule to the county administrative officer, the county auditor-controller, and the department at the same time that the successor agency submits the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule to the oversight board for approval.

(C) A copy of the approved Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule is submitted to the county auditor-controller, the Controller’s office, and the Department of Finance, and is posted on the successor agency’s Internet Web site.

(3) The Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule shall be forward looking to the next six months or one year pursuant to subdivision (m) or (o), as applicable. The first Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule shall be submitted to the Controller’s office and the department by April 15, 2012, for the period of January 1, 2012, to June 30, 2012, inclusive. This Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule shall include all payments made by the former redevelopment agency between January 1, 2012, through January 31, 2012, and shall include all payments proposed to be made by the successor agency from February 1, 2012, through June 30, 2012. Former redevelopment agency enforceable obligation payments due, and reasonable or necessary administrative costs due or incurred, prior to January 1, 2012, shall be made from property tax revenues received in the spring of 2011 property tax distribution, and from other revenues and balances transferred to the successor agency.

(m) (1) The Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule for the period of January 1, 2013, to June 30, 2013, shall be submitted by the successor agency, after approval by the oversight board, no later than September 1, 2012. Commencing with the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule covering the period July 1, 2013, through December 31, 2013, successor agencies shall submit an oversight board-approved Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule to the department and to the county auditor-controller no fewer than 90 days before the date of property tax distribution. The department shall make its determination of the enforceable obligations and the amounts and funding sources of the enforceable obligations no later than 45 days after the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule is submitted. Within five business days of the department’s determination, a successor agency may request additional review by the department and an opportunity to meet and confer on disputed items, except for those items which are the subject of litigation disputing the department’s previous or related determination. The meet and confer period may vary; an untimely submittal of a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule may result in a meet and confer period of less than 30 days. The department shall notify the successor agency and the county auditor-controllers as to the outcome of its review at least 15 days before the date of property tax distribution.

(A) The successor agency shall submit a copy of the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule to the department electronically, and the successor agency shall complete the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule in the manner provided for by the department. A successor agency shall be in noncompliance with this paragraph if it only submits to the department an electronic message or a letter stating that the oversight board has approved a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule.

(B) If a successor agency does not submit a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule by the deadlines provided in this subdivision, the city, county, or city and county that created the redevelopment agency, if it is acting as the successor agency, shall be subject to a civil penalty equal to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per day for every day the schedule is not submitted to the department. The civil penalty shall be paid to the county auditor-controller for allocation to the taxing entities under Section 34183. If a successor agency fails to submit a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule by the deadline, any creditor of the successor agency or the Department of Finance or any affected taxing entity shall have standing to and may request a writ of mandate to require the successor agency to immediately perform this duty. Those actions may be filed only in the County of Sacramento and shall have priority over other civil matters. Additionally, if an agency does not submit a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule within 10 days of the deadline, the maximum administrative cost allowance for that period shall be reduced by 25 percent.

(C) If a successor agency fails to submit to the department an oversight board-approved Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule that complies with all requirements of this subdivision within five business days of the date upon which the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule is to be used to determine the amount of property tax allocations, the department may determine if any amount should be withheld by the county auditor-controller for payments for enforceable obligations from distribution to taxing entities, pending approval of a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule. The county auditor-controller shall distribute the portion of any of the sums withheld pursuant to this paragraph to the affected taxing entities in accordance with paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 34183 upon notice by the department that a portion of the withheld balances are in excess of the amount of enforceable obligations. The county auditor-controller shall distribute withheld funds to the successor agency only in accordance with a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule approved by the department. County auditor-controllers shall lack the authority to withhold any other amounts from the allocations provided for under Section 34183 or 34188 unless required by a court order.

(D) (i) The Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule payments required pursuant to this subdivision may be scheduled beyond the existing Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule cycle upon a showing that a lender requires cash on hand beyond the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule cycle.

(ii) When a payment is shown to be due during the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule period, but an invoice or other billing document has not yet been received, the successor agency may utilize reasonable estimates and projections to support payment amounts for enforceable obligations if the successor agency submits appropriate supporting documentation of the basis for the estimate or projection to the department and the auditor-controller.

(iii) A Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule may also include appropriation of moneys from bonds subject to passage during the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule cycle when an enforceable obligation requires the agency to issue the bonds and use the proceeds to pay for project expenditures.

(2) The requirements of this subdivision shall apply until December 31, 2015.

(n) Cause a postaudit of the financial transactions and records of the successor agency to be made at least annually by a certified public accountant.

(o) (1) Commencing with the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule covering the period from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017, inclusive, and for each period from July 1 to June 30, inclusive, thereafter, a successor agency shall submit an oversight board-approved Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule to the department and to the county auditor-controller no later than February 1, 2016, and each February 1 thereafter. The department shall make its determination of the enforceable obligations and the amounts and funding sources of the enforceable obligations no later than April 15, 2016, and each April 15 thereafter. Within five business days of the department’s determination, a successor agency may request additional review by the department and an opportunity to meet and confer on disputed items, except for those items which are the subject of litigation disputing the department’s previous or related determination. An untimely submittal of a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule may result in a meet and confer period of less than 30 days. The department shall notify the successor agency and the county auditor-controller as to the outcome of its review at least 15 days before the date of the first property tax distribution for that period.

(A) The successor agency shall submit a copy of the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule to the department in the manner provided for by the department.

(B) If a successor agency does not submit a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule by the deadlines provided in this subdivision, the city, county, or city and county that created the redevelopment agency, if acting as the successor agency, shall be subject to a civil penalty equal to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per day for every day the schedule is not submitted to the department. The civil penalty shall be paid to the county auditor-controller for allocation to the taxing entities under Section 34183. If a successor agency fails to submit a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule by the deadline, any creditor of the successor agency or the department or any affected taxing entity shall have standing to, and may request a writ of mandate to, require the successor agency to immediately perform this duty. Those actions may be filed only in the County of Sacramento and shall have priority over other civil matters. Additionally, if an agency does not submit a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule within 10 days of the deadline, the maximum administrative cost for that period shall be reduced by 25 percent.

(C) If a successor agency fails to submit to the department an oversight board-approved Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule that complies with all requirements of this subdivision within five business days of the date upon which the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule is to be used to determine the amount of property tax allocations, the department may determine if any amount should be withheld by the county auditor-controller for payments for enforceable obligations from distribution to taxing entities, pending approval of a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule. The county auditor-controller shall distribute the portion of any of the sums withheld pursuant to this paragraph to the affected taxing entities in accordance with paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 34183 upon notice by the department that a portion of the withheld balances are in excess of the amount of enforceable obligations. The county auditor-controller shall distribute withheld funds to the successor agency only in accordance with a Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule approved by the department. County auditor-controllers do not have the authority to withhold any other amounts from the allocations provided for under Section 34183 or 34188 except as required by a court order.

(D) (i) The Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule payments required pursuant to this subdivision may be scheduled beyond the existing Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule cycle upon a showing that a lender requires cash on hand beyond the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule cycle.

(ii) When a payment is shown to be due during the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule period, but an invoice or other billing document has not yet been received, the successor agency may utilize reasonable estimates and projections to support payment amounts for enforceable obligations if the successor agency submits appropriate supporting documentation of the basis for the estimate or projection to the department and the county auditor-controller.

(iii) A Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule may also include a request to use proceeds from bonds expected to be issued during the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule cycle when an enforceable obligation requires the agency to issue the bonds and use the proceeds to pay for project expenditures.

(E) Once per Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule period, and no later than October 1, a successor agency may submit one amendment to the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule approved by the department pursuant to this subdivision, if the oversight board makes a finding that a revision is necessary for the payment of approved enforceable obligations during the second one-half of the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule period, which shall be defined as January 1 to June 30, inclusive. A successor agency may only amend the amount requested for payment of approved enforceable obligations. The revised Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule shall be approved by the oversight board and submitted to the department by electronic means in a manner of the department’s choosing. The department shall notify the successor agency and the county auditor-controller as to the outcome of the department’s review at least 15 days before the date of the property tax distribution.

(2) The requirements of this subdivision shall apply on and after January 1, 2016.