Local Government Omnibus Act of 2010.

(1) Existing law requires a challenge to the validity of any proceedings for the incorporation of a municipal corporation, the annexation of territory to a municipal corporation, or for the consolidation of municipal corporations, to be brought within 3 months after the completion of those proceedings. This bill would repeal this requirement. (2) Existing law authorizes the use of mediation in any action brought in the superior court relating to the approval or denial by a public agency of any development project, any act or decision of a public agency made pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, the failure of a public agency to meet the time limits specified by the Permit Streamlining Act or the Subdivision Map Act, fees levied against development projects by school districts or for construction or reconstruction of school facilities, fees for development projects, the adequacy of a general plan or specific plan, the validity of any sphere of influence, urban service area, change of organization or reorganization, or any other decision made pursuant to the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, the adoption or amendment of a redevelopment plan pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law, the validity of any specified zoning decision, or the validity of any decision made pursuant by an Airport Land Use Commission, as specified. This bill would include a cross-reference to this authorization in each of the affected provisions. (3) Existing law requires the Commission on State Mandates to report to the Legislature, at least twice each calendar year, the number of mandates it has found and to identify in that report the statewide costs estimated for each mandate and the reasons for recommending the reimbursement. This bill would also require the commission's report to include the status of pending parameters and guidelines that include proposed reasonable reimbursement methodologies, the status of joint proposals between the Department of Finance and a local agency or school district to develop reasonable reimbursement methodologies and statewide estimates of costs in lieu of parameters or to develop legislatively determined mandate reimbursements, and any delay in the process of developing those reimbursement methodologies. (4) Existing law sets forth the boundaries of Merced and Fresno Counties, as specified. This bill would revise those boundary descriptions to reflect the current boundaries of those counties. (5) Existing law, where the act authorizing an action by a public agency authorizes a validating proceeding, authorizes a public agency to bring an action in superior court to determine the validity of that action, within 60 days of the act. Existing law also authorizes any interested person, where a public agency has not commenced proceedings to determine the validity of an action, to bring an action against the public agency, within 60 days of the act, to determine the validity of the act. This bill would authorize a county, or an interested person, as specified, to bring an action to determine the validity of any minor change to the boundaries of a county, a change, alteration, or reformation to the boundaries of a county, the formation of a county, or the consolidation of counties to within 60 days of any of those actions. (6) Existing law authorizes a special district, until December 31, 2014, to issue securitized limited obligation note or notes to borrow money, upon a vote of 45 of all the members of a governing body adopting a resolution specifying, among other things, the purpose of acquiring the indebtedness, the amount of indebtedness, and the manner of execution of the securitized limited obligation notes. This bill would specify that a county service area, a community services district, a mosquito abatement district, a public cemetery district, a fire protection district, a recreation and park district, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District may issue a securitized limited obligation note or notes, and would declare that this authorization is declaratory of existing law. (7) Existing law prohibits public officials from simultaneously holding two public offices that are incompatible subject to certain exceptions, including where the holding of a particular office is expressly authorized by law. Existing law specifies that service as an elected director of a recreation and park district is not considered an incompatible office with service on a municipal advisory council. Existing law also specifies that service as a municipal advisory counsel is not incompatible with service on a community services district board. This bill would clarify that service on a community service district is not considered an incompatible office with service as a member of a municipal advisory council. (8) Existing law specifies that any statutory reference to "councilman" or "councilmen" also means and includes "councilwoman" or "councilwomen." Under existing law, the terms "councilman" or "councilmen" are used in various provisions, including, among others, the election of councilmen by or from districts, appointments made by councilmen, and service by councilmen on regional district boards. Existing law refers to the mayor as "he" or "him" with regard to attendance at meetings of a city selection committee. This bill would revise those provisions to instead refer to "council member" and would refer to the mayor, only as "the mayor." (9) Existing law, the Local Health Care District Law, until January 1, 2011, authorizes each local district to, among other things, transfer, at fair market value, or lease any part of its assets to one or more corporations to operate and maintain the assets and requires the district to receive voter approval by the voters of the district if the transfer or lease includes 50% or more of the district's assets, as specified. This bill would eliminate that repeal date. Existing law, beginning January 1, 2011, authorizes each local district to, among other things, transfer, at fair market value, or lease any part of its assets to one or more nonprofit corporations to operate and maintain the assets, and requires to district to receive voter approval by the voters of the district if the transfer or lease to one or more nonprofit corporations includes 50% or more of the district's assets, as specified. This bill would repeal this provision. (10) Existing law requires a redevelopment agency to present an annual report to its legislative body within 6 months of the end of the agency's fiscal year, and inform the legislative body of any major violations based on the independent financial audit report and that failure to correct a major violation may result in the filing of an action by the Attorney General. This bill would revise these provisions to instead refer to any major audit violations. (11) The Community Redevelopment Law authorizes a redevelopment agency, with the consent of the legislative body, to pay all or a part of the value of the land for, and the cost of the installation and construction of, any improvement that is publicly owned and is located outside, and not contiguous to, the project area, if that improvement is located within the community, and if the legislative body makes specified findings. Existing law provides that this authorization is inapplicable, if the financing, construction, or installation of the land or improvement is an obligation of the agency under specified contracts. This bill would modify that provision to instead provide that, if the financing, construction, or installation of the land or improvement is an obligation of the agency under specified contracts, the agency is authorized to pay all or a part of the value of the land and the cost of the installation and construction of the improvement, but only in accordance with the requirements of another specified provision of law. (12) Existing law directs the air pollution control officer of an air pollution control district, subject to the direction of the board, to appoint district personnel. This bill would direct the air pollution control officer, subject to the direction of the board, to appoint district personnel, including any deputies necessary for the prompt and faithful discharge of the air pollution control officer's duties. (13) Existing law, until January 1, 2011, requires any state or local agency responding to an outbreak of West Nile virus or other mosquito-borne disease with an abatement and surveillance program to contract with a local mosquito and vector control agency that is party to a cooperative agreement with the State Department of Public Health or directly with that department, to ensure that outbreak response is supervised appropriately and conducted by licensed personnel using sound integrated mosquito management techniques. This bill would extend that requirement to January 1, 2012. (14) Existing law authorizes a public agency that owns and operates a reservoir used for domestic or drinking water to post a copy of its rules and regulations in the area opened to public fishing and other recreational uses, and at least once in a newspaper of general circulation, as specified. This bill would authorize an agency that amends its rules and regulations to similarly publish a summary of its amended rules and regulations, along with an Internet address and the physical location where the complete text of the amended rules and regulations may be viewed. (15) Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors of a county to authorize the county engineer, or other county officer, to order changes or additions in the work being performed under construction contracts. For contracts whose original cost exceeds $250,000, the extra cost for any change or addition to the work ordered may not exceed $25,000 plus 5% of the amount of the original contract cost in excess of $250,000, and in no event may a change or alteration cost exceed $150,000. This bill would raise the maximum amount of the cost of the change for a contract with an original cost in excess of $250,000 from $150,000 to $210,000. (16) Existing law authorizes a board of supervisors to contract for the construction, maintenance, and repair of a county bridge or subway by awarding the contract to the lowest responsible bidder, as specified. This bill would authorize a board of supervisors in specified counties to authorize the road commissioner or a registered civil engineer under the direction of the county director of transportation, to execute changes or additions to the work for any contract. The bill would limit a change in contracts of less than $50,000 to a change amount not to exceed $5,000, in contracts of more than $50,000 but less than $250,000 not to exceed 10% of the amount of the original contract, and for contracts of more than $250,000 not to exceed $25,000 plus 5% of the cost of the original contract, and not more than $210,000. (17) Existing law requires county waterworks districts to award all contracts in excess of $3,500 to the lowest responsible bidder, except that contracts under $7,500 may be awarded pursuant to informal bidding procedures established by the board, as specified. This bill would authorize the board of supervisors of a county and the board of directors of the district, to authorize the general manager or other district officer to order changes or additions in work being performed under contracts entered into by the district. The bill would limit a change in contracts of less than $50,000 not to exceed $5,000, in contracts of more than $50,000 but less than $250,000 not to exceed 10% of the amount of the original contract, and for contracts of more than $250,000 not to exceed $25,000 plus 5% of the cost of the original contract, and in no event more than $210,000. (18) Existing law, until January 1, 2016, authorizes a redevelopment agency, with the approval of its duly constituted board in a public hearing, to enter into design-build contracts for projects, as defined, in excess of $1,000,000, in accordance with specified provisions. This bill would correct an incorrect cross-reference in these provisions. (19) Existing law requires the Los Angeles County Flood Control District to let to the lowest bidder all contracts for more than $25,000, as specified, and does not authorize change orders to those contracts. This bill would authorize the Los Angeles County Flood Control District to authorize the chief engineer or other district officer to order changes or additions in work being performed under contracts entered into by the district. The bill would limit a change in contracts of less than $50,000 to a change amount not to exceed $5,000, in contracts of more than $50,000 but less than $250,000 not to exceed 10% of the amount of the original contract, and for contracts of more than $250,000 not to exceed $25,000 plus 5% of the cost of the original contract, and not more than $210,000. (20) Existing law, commencing with the 1985–86 fiscal year, authorizes any local agency, by the adoption of a resolution of its governing body or board, to exchange any portion of its property tax revenues that is allocable to one or more tax rate areas within the local agency with one or more other local agencies that have the same tax rate areas, as specified, subject to specified restrictions. This bill would instead authorize a local agency to transfer any portion of its property tax revenues that is allocable to one or more tax rate areas within the local agency to one or more other local agencies that have the same tax rate areas, as specified, subject to specified restrictions. (21) Existing law specifies that if a water district had published equitable rules and regulations for the distribution of water once a week for 2 weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in each affected county, any violation of those rules and regulations is a misdemeanor subject to a specified fine. This bill would authorize a water district to publish a summary of amendments to the rules and regulations with an Internet address and a physical location where the complete text of the amended rules and regulations may be viewed. (22) Existing law specifies the deadline for a public agency to determine whether an application for a development project received before January 1, 1978, or pending on January 1, 1978, is complete. This bill would repeal that provision. (23) Existing law requires the board of a reclamation district to adopt a seal of the district, as specified, and requires all documents that require approval by the board to bear that seal. This bill would instead authorize the board to adopt and alter a seal, and would require all documents requiring approval by the board to bear the signature of either a trustee or the secretary. (24) Existing law requires the board of the North Delta Water Agency to consist of 5 members, one from each of the 5 divisions in the agency, and each of whom must be an owner or legal representative of real property within the division he or she represents. This bill would require board members to be elected by division, and only by the voters of that division, and would prohibit elections at large.