Administration of Justice 03/25/2011
Local Fees
AB 1053 (Gordon) – Sponsor/Support
As Introduced on February 18, 2011
AB 1053, by Assembly Member Rich Gordon, would authorize counties
to increase fees for several specified services including
laboratory analysis for specified alcohol and drug related
offenses, juvenile public defender registration, and birth and
death record requests.
CSAC received formal approval of the CSAC Board of Directors – by
a unanimous vote – on March 24 to sponsor AB 1053, which is seen
as a supplement to SB 676 (Wolk, 2009). The latter measure
successfully increased statutorily set fees for more than 11
services. We encourage counties to review and consider supporting
AB 1053.
AB 1053 was double referred to the Assembly Public Safety
Committee and the Assembly Local Government Committee; however,
no hearing dates have been set.
Brown Act
AB 23 (Smyth) – Request for Comment
As Proposed to be Amended
AB 23, by Assembly Member Cameron Smyth, would, as introduced,
prohibit a local legislative body from holding serial meetings of
other legislative bodies that consist of a quorum of the
initially convened body. It is our understanding that the author
is seeking to address a practice that came to light in the City
of Bell whereby a sitting body reconstituted itself into other
legislative bodies for serial meetings and collected payment for
each.
The author’s office has worked closely with interested local
government entities and is offering a suggested alternative
approach that would instead require – in instances where a
legislative body is convened simultaneously or serially as
another body constituted by at least a quorum of the original
sitting body – that an announcement be made at the second meeting
and any meeting thereafter regarding the level of stipend or
compensation provided. Community Development Commissions would be
exempted from this requirement.
Counties are asked to please consider this alternative and report
back to CSAC as soon as is possible regarding the workability of
this proposed amendment.
AB 23 is set to be heard on April 27 in the Assembly Local
Government Committee.
AB 392 (Alejo) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 14, 2011
AB 392, by Assembly Member Luis Alejo, would amend Government
Code Sections 54954.2 and 54957.5 of the Brown Act. Specifically,
the measure seeks to require that a local entity that develops or
receives any written material regarding an agenda item in the
time period following the posting of the 72-hour notice to post
that information. Further, it would prohibit the local
legislative body from acting on any matter for which written
material was received by the local legislative body after the
72-hour notice, unless that material is disclosed as specified in
the measure.
Among the issues with the measure is that it eliminates a
compromise counties negotiated in 2007, codified in SB 343 by
Senator Negrete McLeod (Chapter 298, Statutes of 2007), related
to items for which late materials and/or input is received. CSAC
and the Regional Council of Rural Counties have expressed a range
of operational and practical concerns with the author’s staff and
will be preparing a letter of opposition that outlines these
issues. CSAC staff request that counties examine AB 392 and send
your feedback as soon as possible to staff.
AB 392 is scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly Local
Government Committee on April 6, 2011. AB 392 is sponsored by
California Association of Realtors.
Public Officers: Contracts
AB 785 (Mendoza) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 17, 2011
AB 785, by Assembly Member Tony Mendoza, would add Section 1091.7
to the Government Code specifying that if a state or local
government public officer’s spouse, child, parent, sibling, or
spouse of the aforementioned has a financial interest in any
contract made by the public officer in his or her official
capacity, the officer shall be deemed to also have a financial
interest in the contract.
CSAC is interested in receiving feedback from counties regarding
this measure as to whether this provision is a reasonable
expansion of the existing definition of a public officer’s
financial interest. Please send your feedback to Rosemary McCool
at rmccool@counties.org.
AB 785 is set for hearing on March 29, 2011 in the Assembly
Elections and Redistricting Committee.