San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority.

Existing law establishes the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority to raise and allocate resources for the restoration, enhancement, protection, and enjoyment of wetlands and wildlife habitat in the San Francisco Bay and along its shoreline. Existing law authorizes the authority to levy a benefit assessment, special tax, or property-related fee consistent with the California Constitution, as specified. Existing law requires the board of supervisors of each affected county, when the authority proposes a measure to levy a special tax for submission to the voters, to call a special election on the measure and place the measure on the ballot of the next regularly scheduled statewide election. This bill would specify that a measure proposed by the authority must be submitted to the voters of the authority in accordance with the provisions of the Elections Code applicable to districts, as specified. This bill would require the authority to file with the board of supervisors of each affected county a resolution requesting consolidation. This bill would require the legal counsel for the authority to prepare, subject to review and revision by a specified county counsel, an impartial analysis of the measure. This bill would require the elections officials of those affected counties to mutually agree to use the same letter designation for the measure. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to address the unique procedural and financial barriers faced by the authority in proposing a special tax measure for a large, multicounty jurisdiction in a special election. The bill would, in the first election at which the authority proposes a special tax, provide that the authority is required to reimburse each county in which the special tax measure appears on the ballot only for the incremental costs, as defined, that are incurred by the county elections official related to submitting the measure to the voters, and would repeal this provision on January 1, 2017. By imposing new duties or higher levels of service on local elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.