SB 697: Land use: development fees.

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The Mitigation Fee Act requires a local agency, in establishing, increasing, or imposing a fee as a condition of approval of a development project, to identify the purpose of the fee and the use to which it is to be put. If the use is financing a public improvement, the improvement is required to be publicly identified, as well as the amount of the expenditures on each improvement, within 180 days after the last day of each fiscal year.

This bill, if a local agency fails to comply with the requirements described above for a 2nd consecutive year, would prohibit a local agency from collecting established fees, and from imposing new fees, until compliance with the requirements described above have been met. The bill would prohibit a local agency from threatening or implementing a moratorium on construction because of these fee prohibitions and would require the local agency to continue to approve development projects without the collection or imposition of fees.

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The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1.Section 66006 of the Government Code is amended to read:66006.

(a)If a local agency requires the payment of a fee specified in subdivision (c) in connection with the approval of a development project, the local agency receiving the fee shall deposit it with the other fees for the improvement in a separate capital facilities account or fund in a manner to avoid any commingling of the fees with other revenues and funds of the local agency, except for temporary investments, and expend those fees solely for the purpose for which the fee was collected. Any interest income earned by moneys in the capital facilities account or fund shall also be deposited in that account or fund and shall be expended only for the purpose for which the fee was originally collected.

(b)(1)For each separate account or fund established pursuant to subdivision (a), the local agency shall, within 180 days after the last day of each fiscal year, make available to the public the following information for the fiscal year:

(A)A brief description of the type of fee in the account or fund.

(B)The amount of the fee.

(C)The beginning and ending balance of the account or fund.

(D)The amount of the fees collected and the interest earned.

(E)An identification of each public improvement on which fees were expended and the amount of the expenditures on each improvement, including the total percentage of the cost of the public improvement that was funded with fees.

(F)An identification of an approximate date by which the construction of the public improvement will commence if the local agency determines that sufficient funds have been collected to complete financing on an incomplete public improvement, as identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 66001, and the public improvement remains incomplete.

(G)A description of each interfund transfer or loan made from the account or fund, including the public improvement on which the transferred or loaned fees will be expended, and, in the case of an interfund loan, the date on which the loan will be repaid, and the rate of interest that the account or fund will receive on the loan.

(H)The amount of refunds made pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 66001 and any allocations pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 66001.

(2)The local agency shall review the information made available to the public pursuant to paragraph (1) at the next regularly scheduled public meeting not less than 15 days after this information is made available to the public, as required by this subdivision. Notice of the time and place of the meeting, including the address where this information may be reviewed, shall be mailed, at least 15 days prior to the meeting, to any interested party who files a written request with the local agency for mailed notice of the meeting. Any written request for mailed notices shall be valid for one year from the date on which it is filed unless a renewal request is filed. Renewal requests for mailed notices shall be filed on or before April 1 of each year. The legislative body may establish a reasonable annual charge for sending notices based on the estimated cost of providing the service.

(3)A local agency that fails to make available to the public the information required pursuant to this subdivision for a second consecutive year shall stop collecting established fees, and shall not impose new fees, until compliance with the requirements of this subdivision have been met, at which time the local agency may again collect established fees and impose new fees. A local agency shall not threaten or implement a moratorium on construction because of the fee prohibition of this paragraph, and while that prohibition is in effect shall continue to approve development projects without the collection or imposition of fees.

(c)For purposes of this section, fee means any fee imposed to provide for an improvement to be constructed to serve a development project, or which is a fee for public improvements within the meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 66000, and that is imposed by the local agency as a condition of approving the development project.

(d)Any person may request an audit of any local agency fee or charge that is subject to Section 66023, including fees or charges of school districts, in accordance with that section.

(e)The Legislature finds and declares that untimely or improper allocation of development fees hinders economic growth and is, therefore, a matter of statewide interest and concern. It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature that this section shall supersede all conflicting local laws and shall apply in charter cities.

(f)At the time the local agency imposes a fee for public improvements on a specific development project, it shall identify the public improvement that the fee will be used to finance.

Date	Status
Feb 1, 2018	Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
May 1, 2017	May 3 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author.
Apr 19, 2017	Set for hearing May 3.
Apr 13, 2017	April 19 hearing postponed by committee.
Mar 21, 2017	Set for hearing April 19.
Mar 9, 2017	Referred to Com. on GOV. & F.
Feb 21, 2017	From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23.
Feb 17, 2017	Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

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Introduced (2/17/2017)