SECTIONS 54250-54256 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 54250-54256

54250. The following definitions shall control the construction of
this article:
(a) "Local agency" means any city, county, city and county,
special district, or county service area.
(b) "Commission" means the Public Utilities Commission.
(c) "Privatization project" means any wastewater or sewerage
project that is owned and operated by a corporation, partnership, or
natural person pursuant to a franchise, license, or service agreement
with a local agency or any agency of that local agency pursuant to
which services are supplied for the benefit of the local agency, its
residents, or both, or any agency of the state. "Privatization
project," as used in this article, includes the Santa Ana Watershed
Project Authority's Arlington Basin Groundwater Desalter Project,
which will treat groundwater contaminated by wastewater.
(d) "Project" includes, but is not limited to, financing,
designing, constructing, repairing, replacing, maintaining, and
operating collector systems, pumping stations, treatment plants, and
lateral interceptors, and outfall sewers.
(e) "Privatizer" means any corporation, partnership, or natural
person, excluding municipal corporations, which owns and operates a
wastewater or sewerage project pursuant to a franchise, license, or
service agreement with a local agency.

54251. (a) A local agency may, pursuant to this article, authorize,
grant, or enter into one or more exclusive or nonexclusive
franchise, license, or service agreements with a privatizer for the
design, ownership, financing, construction, maintenance, or operation
of a privatization project.
(b) A local agency may enact any measures necessary and convenient
to carry out this article.
(c) Pursuant to Section 25215.6, within a county service area, a
county board of supervisors may charge a standby charge for sewer
service for a privatization project pursuant to this article. If the
procedures set forth in this section as it read at the time a standby
charge was established were followed, the county may, by resolution,
continue the charge pursuant to this section in successive years at
the same rate. If new, increased, or extended assessments are
proposed, the county shall comply with the notice, protest, and
hearing procedures in Section 53753.

54252. (a) In accordance with Section 10013 of the Public Utilities
Code, prior to signing a proposed franchise, license, or service
agreement with a local agency, a privatizer shall apply to the
commission for a determination that the proposed privatization
project is not a public utility within the meaning of Section 216 of
the Public Utilities Code and is therefore exempt from commission
regulation. The application shall include such information as the
commission requires to make this determination, as well as any
information needed to comply with subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section
10013 of the Public Utilities Code.
(b) A local agency may contract with the commission for any
technical assistance deemed necessary to comply with Section 10013 of
the Public Utilities Code and shall reimburse the commission for
estimated reasonable costs. The local agency may charge the
privatizer a fee to pay these costs.

54253. No proposed franchise, license, or service agreement for a
privatization project pursuant to this article shall be entered into
between a local agency and a privatizer unless and until all of the
following occur:
(a) The local agency has selected the privatizer through a
competitive procedure which is not based solely on the price offered
by the privatizer.
(b) The local agency has evaluated the project's design, capacity,
financial feasibility, and cost compared with other conventional
financing methods, as well as other alternatives to the project and
found that the project's costs will be equal to, or lower than,
conventional financing.
(c) The local agency has conducted a noticed public hearing on the
proposed franchise, license, or service agreement. The notice for
the public hearing shall be published pursuant to Section 6062 and
shall contain, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) A statement describing the proposed privatization project,
including its cost and service area.
(2) A statement of the time and place of the public hearing to be
held for the purpose of hearing public comments on the proposed
franchise, license, or service agreement for the privatization
project.
(3) A statement of where and when the proposed franchise, license,
or service agreement will be available for public inspection prior
to the hearing.
(d) The local agency has adopted the contingent franchise,
license, or service agreement for a privatization project by
ordinance which states that it is subject to the provisions for
referendum applicable to a local agency and to approval by the
commission pursuant to Section 10013 of the Public Utilities Code.
(e) The local agency retains ownership over any treated effluent
from the privatization project that is not consigned to an outfall
sewer but is made available for commercial or agricultural use.
(f) The agreement contains provisions stating it shall be subject
to the state's prevailing wage laws.
(g) The local agency has met and conferred with all affected
employee organizations under whose jurisdiction the work or service
proposed under the franchise, license, or service agreement would
normally be performed. The local agency shall make all reasonable
efforts to avoid reducing its existing work force or demoting its
existing employees as a result of entering into the franchise,
license, or service agreement. If any adverse impacts which are
raised by either party during the meet and confer process are
necessary, the local agency shall adopt by resolution detailed
findings explaining the necessity for the adverse impacts.
(h) The local agency finds that the privatizer has the expertise
to ensure the continued operation and maintenance of the
privatization project. This expertise shall include, but not be
limited to, an adequate number of personnel certified in wastewater
treatment plant operations pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 13625) of Division 7 of the Water Code.
(i) The agreement contains provisions to ensure that the
privatization project is operated to meet any applicable federal or
state water quality standards or other laws.

54254. A local agency's compliance with Section 54253 shall
constitute compliance with Division 3 (commencing with Section 6001)
of the Public Utilities Code.

54255. (a) Any ordinance subject to referendum under Section 54253
shall be published after adoption as required by law for ordinances
of the local agency generally, or, if there is no requirement
applicable to the ordinance, then once pursuant to Sections 6040 to
6044, inclusive, within 15 days after the adoption of the ordinance.
(b) If a local agency does not otherwise have statutory power to
enact an ordinance pursuant to Section 54253, the governing body of
the local agency may introduce and enact an ordinance at any regular
or adjourned regular meeting by a majority vote of all of its
members. If ordinances of a local agency are not otherwise subject to
referendum, then the local agency may proceed as follows:
(1) The governing body of the local agency may refer any ordinance
enacted pursuant to Section 54253 to the electors of the local
agency in the same manner as the board of supervisors of a county may
refer county questions pursuant to Section 9140 of the Elections
Code.
(2) The electors of the local agency shall have the right to
petition for referendum on the ordinance in the same manner and
subject to the same rules as are set forth in Sections 9141 to 9145,
inclusive, of the Elections Code, except that all computations
referred to in those sections and officers of the county mentioned in
those sections shall be construed to refer to comparable
computations and officers of the local agency.
(c) If the governing board of a local agency is an elected board,
the electors of the local agency for the purposes of this section
shall be the electors of the territory entitled to vote at elections
for members of the governing board or in the case of county service
area, the electors within the county service area. If a local agency
does not have an elected governing board, the electors residing
within the boundaries of the local agency who would be qualified to
vote for candidates for Governor at any gubernatorial election shall
be the electors of the local agency for the purposes of this section.

54256. In the event an ordinance enacted pursuant to Section 54253
authorizing a local agency to enter into a privatization project
agreement is subjected to a successful referendum election, no
ordinance authorizing the local agency to enter into a franchise,
license, or service agreement for the same or substantially the same
purpose shall be passed by that local agency for a period of one year
from the date of the referendum, repeal, or rescission.