Seaport infrastructure financing districts.

Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city or county to establish an enhanced infrastructure financing district, adopt an infrastructure financing plan, and issue bonds, for which only the district is liable, upon approval by 55% of the voters and to finance public capital facilities or other specified projects of communitywide significance, including, but not limited to, among other things, environmental mitigation, military base reuse, low-income housing, and specified housing and transit projects. Existing law authorizes an enhanced infrastructure financing district to fund infrastructure projects through tax increment financing, pursuant to the infrastructure financing plan and the agreement of affected taxing entities. This bill would additionally include port or harbor infrastructure, as defined, among the projects that may be financed by an enhanced infrastructure financing district. The bill would require a harbor agency to prepare an infrastructure financing plan for a seaport infrastructure financing district, defined as an enhanced infrastructure financing district that finances port or harbor infrastructure. The bill would increase the vote threshold for a seaport infrastructure financing district to issue bonds to 23 of the voters, and would provide that for purposes of these voters, a "landowner" includes an entity paying possessory interest tax on state-owned land. The bill would prescribe additional procedures and requirements for the establishment of a seaport infrastructure financing district, including approval by the harbor agency and the State Lands Commission before the proposal is submitted to the voters for approval. The bill would require the harbor agency to reimburse the commission, for its administrative costs of considering the proposal, from bond proceeds, if any. The bill would specify that the commission shall retain absolute discretion over the determination of whether or not investment of local resources in port or harbor infrastructure, the actions of a harbor agency, or any other action taken by a seaport infrastructure financing district is consistent with the state's interest in tidelands and submerged lands. The bill would exclude from its provisions the Stockton Port District and river port districts. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Sections 53398.52, 53398.62, and 53398.69 of the Government Code proposed by AB 313 that would become operative only if AB 313 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, and this bill is chaptered last.