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9 A 15 Legislative. Bill Action sommmm .......................... ............................... taxpaying public, not for the benefit and enrich- ment of bidder. AB 453 is similar to AB 750 (Brewer), which was vetoed in 1998 by the Gover- nor. The League opposed AS 750 because, like AS 453, the bill could weaken the competitive bidding process and could result in more expense and litigation for public agencies and taxpayers. Staff: Natasha Fooman, Status: AsBusBProf; Hrg -4/29, Position: Oppose. SCA 7 (Murray). Loans of Transportation Revenues and Funds. The Calffomia Constitu- tion restricts the expenditure of certain motor vehicle fuel and vehicle- related revenues to specified transportation purposes, but authorizes these revenues to be loaned to the General Fund under certain conditions. It further provides that the trust funds in the Public Transportation Ac- count in the State Transportation Fund may be loaned to the General Fund under certain condi- tions. SCA 7 would require any loan of these motor vehicle fuel and vehicle - related revenues or trust funds that is not repaid within the same fiscal year in which the loan was made, or by a date not more than 30 days after the enactment date of the budget bill for the subsequent fiscal year, to be repaid with interest at a specified rate. SCA 7 would provide that a loan of these funds may also be.made to other state funds or accounts under the conditions applicable to loans to the General Fund. SCA 7 passed out of Senate Constitutional Amendments Committee on 4/23. Staff: Natasha Fooman, Status: SenConAm, Position: Support. Infrastructure: Voter Threshold Reduction ACA 11, ACA 14, and SCA 11 Recent studies have highlighted the severe infrastructure deficits many local governments are facing. Several legislative proposals have been introduced to reduce the voter thresholds local governments must meet in order to issue bonds or impose special taxes to support infrastructure projects. ACA 11 (Levine) would authorize the issuance of local general obligation bonds for a broad range of infrastructure projects after receiving approval from 55% of voters. ACA 11 should not be con- fused with last year's measure approved by the Legislature for the March, 1994, state ballot that would designate up to 3 percent of state funds for state and local infrastructure projects. Status: Assembly Local Government Committee; Hearing 4/30. ACA 14 (Steinberg) would authorize local governments that develop and approve an infra- structure plan in collaboration with a citizen's advisory committee to impose a special tax that has been approved by 55% of voters. Only 25% of the revenue generated via this mechanism could be devoted to general infrastructure. The remaining balance would need to be divided so that land conservation, affordable housing and neighborhood improvements each receive at least 25% of the special tax revenue generated. Sta- tus: Assembly Local Government Committee; Hearing 4/30. SCA 11 (Alarcon) authorizes a local govem- ment to issue an infrastructure bond or impose a special tax with a majority vote if the revenues generated from the bond or tax are allocated as follows: 25 percent towards affordable housing, 25 percent addresses transportation, 25 percent secures open space. The balance may be used for general infrastructure needs. Status: Senate Local Government Committee; Hearing 5/7. Existing League policy supports efforts to allow a simple majority vote to authorize local governments to raise taxes and issue bonds. However, each voter threshold reduction proposed this session is slightly different. For instance, meeting the 25% allocation requirements for a single bond outlined in SCA 11 may present significant challenges to local governments seeking voter approval. The League will continue to work with the bill authors to ensure that new funding tools are as flexible as possible, and will also collaborate with the City Attorneys to ensure that any remaining constitutional or technical issues with legislation that moves forward are adequately addressed. Staff: Dan Carrigg, Position: Support, but continue to seek additional flexibility. Visit the League's Official Web Site -- www.cacities.org PRIORITY FOCUS/PAGE 15