Local government: community facilities districts.

(1) The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 authorizes the legislative bodies of 2 or more local agencies, at any time prior to the adoption of the resolution of formation creating a community facilities district or a resolution of change to alter a district, or a resolution or resolutions authorizing issuance of bonds, to enter into a joint community facilities agreement or into a joint exercise of powers agreement, pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, to exercise any power authorized by the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 with respect to the community facilities district being created or changed if the legislative body of each entity adopts a resolution declaring that the joint agreement would be beneficial to the residents of that entity. This bill would specify that this authorization is not intended to limit the ability of a joint powers authority created pursuant to the Joint Exercise of Powers Act to exercise powers authorized by the Marks-Roos Local Bond Pooling Act of 1985. (2) Under the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982, after a community facilities district has been created and authorized to levy specified special taxes, the legislative body may, by ordinance, levy the special taxes at the rate and apportion them in the manner specified in the resolution forming the community facilities district. The act also authorizes the annexation of territory to the community facilities district by unanimous approval of the owner or owners following the formation of that district. This bill would authorize the legislative body, in the case of a community facilities district that includes property proposed to be annexed to the district at a future date by unanimous approval, to, by ordinance, provide for the imposition of special taxes on that property, as specified. (3) The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 authorizes the legislative body to, by resolution, designate a portion or portions of the district as one or more improvement areas for purposes of the financing of, or contributing to the financing of, specified public facilities, as specified, and following the designation, authorizes all proceedings for purposes of a bond election and for the purpose of levying special taxes for payment of the bonds, or for any other change, to apply only to the improvement area for those specified facilities. This bill would authorize the legislative body to designate a parcel or parcels of property included in a community facilities district by unanimous approval, as specified, as an improvement area without additional hearings or procedures, as specified. The bill would specify that following the designation, all proceedings for approval of the appropriations limit, the rate and method of apportionment and manner of collection of special taxes, and the authorization to incur bonded indebtedness for the parcel or parcels applies only within the improvement area. (4) The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 authorizes the legislative body to incur bonded indebtedness, as specified, and authorizes any refunding bonds issued to be exchanged for the bonds to be refunded on such basis as the legislative body determines is for the benefit of the district. The legislative body is also authorized to sell the refunding bonds at public or private sale, and to place the proceeds of any sale of refunding bonds for cash in the "refunding fund" in the treasury of the local agency. The funds in the "revolving account" are required to be secured and may be invested in accordance with any other laws applicable to the funds of the local agency. Existing law requires the proceeds and investments in the "refunding fund" at the time of issuance of the refunding bonds, as certified by a certified public accountant, to be in an amount sufficient to pay the principal, interest, and redemption premiums, if any, on the refunded bonds as they become due or at designated dates prior to maturity and the designated costs of issuance of the refunding bonds, or to pay the principal, interest, and redemption premiums, if any, on the refunding bonds prior to the maturity of the bonds to be refunded or prior to a designated date or dates before the maturity of the bonds to be refunded, the principal and any redemption premiums due on the refunded bonds at maturity or upon that designated date or dates, and the designated costs of issuance of the refunding bonds. This bill would, with regard to the proceeds and any other cash in the "refunding fund," require those funds to be held uninvested or invested in noncallable obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal and interest by, the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof, when those obligations are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States of America, and requires those proceeds to be in an amount sufficient to pay the principal, interest, and redemption premiums, if any, on the refunded bonds as they become due or at designated dates prior to maturity, in which case certification of a certified public accountant is not required. The bill would authorize a local agency to execute and record in the office of the county recorder of the county in which a community facilities district is located, a notice of the owner's agreement to disclose certain information and a notice of termination of that obligation, as specified. The bill would subject a subsequent transferee of the property to the disclosure obligation. (5) The Joint Exercise of Powers Act authorizes the legislative or other governing bodies of 2 or more public agencies to jointly exercise by agreement any power common to the contracting parties, as specified, and authorizes that joint powers authority to exercise various powers, including, among others, the power to take title to, and sell by installment sale or otherwise, lands, structures, real or personal property, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and other interests in lands that are located within the state that the authority determines are necessary or convenient for the financing of public capital improvements, or any portion thereof. This bill would additionally authorize the joint powers authority to lease lands, structures, real or personal property, rights, rights-of-way, franchises, easements, and other interests in lands that are located within the state that the authority determines are necessary or convenient for the financing of public capital improvements, or any portion thereof. (6) The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 authorizes a community facilities district to finance various services, including, but not limited to, police protection services and maintenance and lighting of parks, parkways, streets, roads, and open space. This bill would also authorize the financing of the maintenance and operation of any real property or other tangible property, with an estimated useful life of 5 years or more, that is owned by the local agency or by another local agency, as specified. (7) Existing law specifies the requirements for the establishment of a community facilities district, including, among other things, a petition, a hearing, the establishment of the boundaries of the community facilities district, and an election on the question of establishment. Existing law authorizes a separate procedure for establishing a community facilities district where, with the unanimous approval of parcel owners, the district initially consists solely of territory proposed for annexation to the community facilities district in the future, as specified, and, for a district so established, provides for an alternate procedure for establishing a district appropriations limit, applying special taxes, and incurring bonded indebtedness. This bill would also exclude a legislative body from being obligated to specify in the resolution of intention the conditions under which the obligation to pay the specified special tax may be prepaid and permanently satisfied, and would instead authorize a prepayment provision to be included in the unanimous approval, as specified. The bill would authorize, as an alternate and independent procedure for making changes to authorized facilities and services, the unanimous approval of the owner or owners of the parcel or parcels that will be affected by the change together with the written consent of the local agency, as specified.