Opinion No. (1999)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE RICHARD K. RAINEY, MEMBER OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: If a local agency formation commission conditions approval of a change of organization or reorganization upon a requirement that the subject agency levy or fix and collect a previously established and collected tax, benefit assessment, or property-related fee or charge on parcels being annexed to the agency, do the voter and landowner approval requirements set forth in the Constitution relating to taxes, assessments, fees, and charges apply? CONCLUSION If a local agency formation commission conditions approval of a change of organization or reorganization upon a requirement that the subject agency levy or fix and collect a previously established and collected tax, benefit assessment, or property-related fee or charge on parcels being annexed to the agency, the voter and landowner approval requirements of the Constitution relating to taxes, assessments, fees, and charges do not apply. ANALYSIS The Cortese-Knox Local Government Reorganization Act of 1985 (Gov. Code, §§ 56000 -…