Opinion No. (2006)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE JOHN J. SANSONE, COUNTY COUNSEL, COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, has requested an opinion on the following questions: 1. May a local agency formation commission condition its approval of the incorporation of a city upon voters within the proposed city approving a general tax? 2. If so, may the commission's resolution imposing the condition be adopted by majority vote? CONCLUSIONS 1. A local agency formation commission may condition its approval of the incorporation of a city upon voters within the proposed city approving a general tax. 2. A local agency formation commission's resolution imposing a condition that the voters of a proposed city approve a general tax may be adopted by majority vote. ANALYSIS The Legislature has enacted the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 (Gov. Code, §§ 56000-57550; "Act"), 1 previously known as the Cortese-Knox Local Government Reorganization Act of 1985, which provides for the establishment of a local agency formation commission ("LAFCO") in each county (§§ 56325-56337) "to encourage orderly growth and development and the…