AB 2397

Existing law, the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982, authorizes a local agency, as defined, to initiate proceedings to establish a community facilities district as an alternative method of financing certain public capital facilities and services, especially in developing areas undergoing rehabilitation, only if it has first considered and adopted local goals and policies, as prescribed. Existing law authorizes a local agency to take any actions or make any determinations which it determines are necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of the act and which are not otherwise prohibited by law. This bill would require a completed application for financing through a bond issued pursuant to the act to be subject to a streamlined, ministerial review process. The bill would require a local agency to make its determination as to whether to approve or deny a completed application within 30 days of receiving the application, and would deem a completed application approved if the local agency does not approve or deny the application within the 30 days. The bill would require a local agency that denies an application to support the denial with documentation of actuarial evidence of the substantial, adverse impact that the approval would have had on the insolvency risk of the local agency. The bill would prohibit a local agency from selectively denying a completed application to finance any type of public infrastructure relating to a housing development that meets specified requirements if the local agency has already approved applications relating to other projects during the prior or same regional housing needs allocation cycle. The bill would authorize an applicant to submit an appeal to the Department of Housing and Community Development to reconsider an application, and require the department to consider the appeal and make its determination on the appeal within 30 days. The bill would prohibit a local agency from, among other things, charging a fee for an application in excess of the historical average of the fee amount for prior applications. The bill would require each city and county that is part of a community facilities district to publish all terms for a financing through a bond issued pursuant to the act, including any applicable fees, on their internet website for public comparison. The bill would authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development to enforce these provisions, as specified. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.