MEETING DATE:
October 12, 2021
SUBJECT:
Title
LEGISLATIVE REPORT
Body
Recommendation
Recommendation
NOTE AND FILE updates to legislation with an official City position.
Body
Board or Commission Action
Not applicable
Relevant Council Strategic Theme
Planning for the Future
Good Governance
Relevant Department Goal
Not applicable
Executive Summary
The City Council adopted the 2021 Legislative Platform to guide the consideration of state and federal bills that affect City operations. In keeping with that direction, this report provides updates on California state legislative activity.
Discussion
Since the beginning of the legislative session on January 1, 2021, City staff has tracked legislative bills in the California State Legislature in accordance with the City’s Legislative Platform. Of these, as of October 7, 2021, 14 have been passed by both houses of the State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor, four have been passed by both houses of the State Legislature and enrolled and presented to the Governor for his signature, 38 have failed to pass out of either one or both of the houses of the State Legislature and are eligible to be reconsidered in 2022, and two bills were vetoed by the Governor.
The seven bills that have been enrolled and presented to the Governor required his signature by October 10, 2021. Given the timing of this staff report’s submission to the agenda, several bills could have been signed between the time of writing (October 7, 2021) and the deadline for the Governor to sign bills.
During the course of the first year of this legislative session staff recommended, and the City Council approved, five position letters of legislative items. The bills and the positions were as follows:
Senate Bill 9 (Oppose) - Passed & Signed by Governor
SB 9 was enrolled and presented to the Governor on September 3, 2021. The Governor signed the bill into law on September 16, 2021. The impact of this bill on local zoning is difficult to understate. This bill requires ministerial approval of a housing development of no more than two units in a single-family zone (duplex), the subdivision of a parcel zoned for residential use into two parcels (lot split), or both.
This bill was amended in the Assembly in August. Assembly Amendments provided that a local agency may deny a housing project otherwise authorized by this bill if the building official makes a written finding based upon the preponderance of the evidence that the housing development project would have a specific, adverse impact upon health and safety or the physical environment and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific adverse impact. The amendments also provided that a local agency shall require an applicant for an urban lot split to sign an affidavit stating that they intend to occupy one of the housing units as their principle residence for a minimum of three years, unless the applicant is a community land trust or a qualified nonprofit corporation.
Senate Bill 556 (Oppose) - Passed & Vetoed by Governor
SB 556 was vetoed by the Governor on October 4, 2021. The bill is now headed back to the Senate for a consideration of the veto action. This bill would establish permitting requirements for the placement of small wireless facilities on street light and traffic signal poles owned by local governments, including specified timelines for approving and attaching infrastructure, limitations on fees for attachments, and restrictions on local governments’ ability to prohibit small wireless facility attachments.
The bill was amended in the State Assembly in June. Assembly Amendments required wireless telephone providers to annually report to the Legislature, until the end of the 2025 calendar year, specified information about their efforts to improve broadband access on a census tract basis. The amendments also authorized mobile telephony service providers to aggregate and submit that information through a third party.
Senate Bill 617 (Oppose) - Failed
SB 617 was held in committee under submission, and will not be moving forward in 2021. It is eligible for reconsideration in 2022. SB 617 would (1) require specified local agencies to implement an online, automated permitting platform that verifies code compliance and issues permits in real time to a licensed contractor for a solar energy system, and (2) authorize the California Energy Commission (CEC) to provide technical assistance and grant funding to cities and counties to comply with the requirements for the online platform.
Senate Bill 619 (Support) - Passed & Signed by Governor
SB 619 was signed by the Governor and chaptered on October 5, 2021. This bill authorizes a local jurisdiction facing continuous violations of the regulations adopted pursuant to SB 1383 (Lara, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016) to submit a notice of intent to comply (NOI) to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). If approved by CalRecycle, the jurisdiction is eligible for administrative civil penalty relief for the 2022 calendar year and a corrective action plan.
This bill provides more time, flexibility and resources to implement required organic waste and greenhouse gas reduction programs related to SB 1383 (Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016) by allowing more time to comply with the regulations.
Senate Bill 640 (Support) - Passed & Signed by Governor
SB 640 was signed by the Governor and chaptered on July 16, 2021. SB 640 allows cities to maximize their SB 1 dollars on regional projects and creates added flexibility in the spending of that funding.
This bill authorizes two or more eligible cities, or one or more cities and a county, to propose a project be jointly funded with their respective local streets and roads (LSR) apportionments, which are continuously appropriated each year from the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA). The bill requires any party to such a jointly funded project endorse the project and funding through a memorandum of understanding (MOU), and requires the MOU to identify the project’s lead agency and describe each party’s contribution to the project.
Environmental Review
There is no environmental impact associated with this Report.
Fiscal Impact
The fiscal impacts associated with budget proposals from the Senate and Assembly are unknown at this juncture.
Attachment(s)
Attachment A: Status and analysis of pending and recently legislation.
Prepared by: Sean Harris, Management Analyst
Approved by: Jack Griffin, City Manager