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9,A -13 Legislative Bill Action ................................ ............................... priority eligibility in the award of competitive state grants for planning, infrastructure, commercial or industrial development. The League is concerned with SB 744 because it transfers significant local land use authority to the state, by empowering a committee at HCD to order local governments to approve projects or remove conditions. For instance, X44 would make it possible for developers to challenge conditions imposed on a project at the local level which they believe are "infeasible." The HAC would be able to override these conditions if they felt they were unreasonable and inconsistent with meeting local housing needs. No state conditions which affect housing cost, however, such as recently imposed prevailing wage requirements, are on the table. Importantly, developers who believe that their projects have been unjustly treated by a local government currently have recourse to the courts under Anti -NIMBY Law [Section 65589.5 of the Government Code]. This law requires a judge — a neutral party — to decide if the local government has complied with the law. In contrast, SB 744 would give developers the ability to direct appeals to a committee, instead of a neutral judge. AB 1636 (Kehoe). Open Meetings. Closed Sessions. Assessments. AB 1636 would provide that a legislative body of a local agency may hold closed sessions to conduct an assessment of its performance in governance, practices and proce- dures, and ethics, provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves busi- ness of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body of the local agency. AB 1636 would also provide that a closed session held for this purpose may include a person who will conduct an assessment or provide training related to an assessment. Currently, the Ralph M. Brown Act generally requires that the meetings of the legislative body of a local agency be conducted openly and publicly, resulting in increased public confidence in local government. The Brown Act also provides that the legislative body of a local agency may hold closed sessions for specified purposes. As stated in AB 1636 the definitions of "governance assessment, practices, procedures and ethics" can be broadly interpreted. Broad interpretations have the potential to lead to misuse as intended, resulting in public scrutiny and mis- trust of local officials. Staff: Amy Brown, Status: AsLG; Hrg: 4/23, Position: Oppose. A hearing date for SB 744 in the Senate Hous- ing Committee has been set for April 21. Staff: Dan Carrigg, Status: SenHou &ComDev. Position: Oppose. ADMINISTRATIVE AB 11 (Simitian). Elections. AB 1544 would allow local, special and consolidated elec- tions to be conducted wholly by mail if the election is one in which there are no more than 10,000 registered, eligible voters, and the other require- ments of existing law are satisfied. AB 1544 reduces the otherwise costly procedures for conducting municipal elections, and allows citizens to vote without the burden of having to travel to a voting poll, which can be burdensome for those who do not have easy access to transportation. Staff: Amy Brown, Status: AsElecRedist &ConAm; Hrg- 4/22, Position: Support. ENVIRONMENTAL A 306 (Kehoe). Water Meters. Existing law requires the installation of water meters on new residential and nonagricultural commercial develop- ment built after January 1, 1992, but does not require that customers be charged for water based upon the quantity used. As amended on April 3, /1@ 3306 would require water customers that already have water meters installed to be charged based upon volume or quantity of water used. It would require all remaining customers within a city to retrofitted by January 1, 2008 and charged based upon volume or quantity of water used. AB 306 would also require water purveyors that apply for financial assistance from the state for wastewater treatment or water efficiency projects to demon- strate that they meet the water meter requirements specified in this bill by January 1, 2009. The amended version of AB 306 contains Visit the League's Official Web Site- "www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS/PAGE 13