Chapter 6. Transactions And Use Taxes of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 15. >> Chapter 6.

(a) A retail transactions and use tax ordinance, applicable in the incorporated and unincorporated territory of the county may be imposed by the authority in accordance with Section 142262 of this code and Part 1.6 (commencing with Section 7251) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, if two-thirds of the electors voting on the measure vote to approve the imposition of the tax at an election which shall be called for that purpose by resolution of the board of supervisors.
  (b) The election shall be held in the November 2002 or a subsequent general election.
  (c) The tax ordinance shall become operative as set forth in Section 142253. The tax ordinance shall specify the period, not to exceed 30 years, during which the tax is to be imposed. The tax may be terminated earlier if the conditions of Sections 142255, 142256, 142257, and 142260 have been met.

The authority, in the retail transactions and use tax ordinance, shall state the nature of the tax to be imposed, shall provide the tax rate or rates or the maximum tax rate or rates, shall specify the purposes for which the revenue derived from the tax will be used, and may set a term, not to exceed 30 years, during which the tax may be imposed.

(a) The county shall conduct an election called by the board of supervisors to implement this chapter pursuant to Section 142250, and the authority shall reimburse the county for the county's costs in conducting the election.
  (b) The election shall be called and conducted in the same manner as provided by law for the conduct of elections by a county.

Any retail transactions and use tax ordinance adopted pursuant to this chapter shall be operative on the first day of the first calendar quarter commencing more than 120 days after adoption of the ordinance.

The revenues from the retail transactions and use taxes imposed pursuant to this chapter may be allocated by the authority for the administration of this division and for transportation improvement purposes, including administration of this division, legal actions related thereto, planning, environmental reviews, design, construction, and repair.

A county transportation expenditure plan shall be prepared by the transportation planning agency for the expenditure of the revenues expected to be derived from the tax imposed pursuant to this chapter, together with other federal, state, and local funds expected to be available for transportation improvements, for the period during which the tax is to be imposed.

(a) A county transportation expenditure plan shall not be adopted by the authority until it has received the approval of the board of supervisors and of the city councils representing both a majority of the cities in the county and a majority of the population residing in the incorporated areas of the county.
  (b) The plan shall be adopted prior to the call of the election provided for in Section 142250.

(a) The expenditure plan shall specify the amount and the formula by which the retail transactions and use tax shall be allocated to each city and the county for local transportation purposes determined to be priority projects by local governments to which funds are allocated. For purposes of this subdivision, the population of the county is the population of the unincorporated area of the county.
  (b) Prior to the authority allocating funds, each local government shall certify to the authority that the funds will not be substituted for property tax funds which are currently utilized to fund existing local transportation programs. If the local government is unable to segregate property tax revenues from other general fund revenues which cannot be so distinguished, substitution of funds from the authority for general funds is also prohibited.
  (c) The authority shall require that local governments to which funds are allocated to separately account for those funds and maintain records of expenditures in accordance with administrative code requirements adopted by the authority.

(a) Except as otherwise provided by Section 142260, the transportation planning agency may amend the expenditure plan. The transportation planning agency, at a minimum, shall review biennially and assess the needs for transportation improvements contained in the expenditure plan as specified in Section 142255. As part of this review and assessment, the transportation planning agency may solicit proposals for transportation improvements from the Department of Transportation and the cities and the county. The transportation planning agency shall adopt a procedure for evaluating these proposals in consultation with the Department of Transportation and the cities and the county.
  (b) Based on the evaluation, the transportation planning agency shall prepare an updated plan for the expenditure of the revenues expected to be derived from the retail transactions and use tax imposed pursuant to this chapter, together with other federal, state, and local improvements, for the period during which the tax is imposed. The first five years of the plan shall be incorporated into the transportation planning agency's annual submission to the California Transportation Commission for the state transportation improvement program pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 65080) of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code.
  (c) The expenditure plan shall also include projections of revenues likely to be available from other federal, state, and local funds expected to be available for expenditure plan transportation improvements for the period during which the tax is imposed.
  (d) Before adoption of an expenditure plan, the transportation planning agency shall conduct public hearings on the plan.

Amendments to the expenditure plan adopted pursuant to Section 142255 are to provide for the use of additional federal, state, and local funds, to account for unexpected revenues, or to take into consideration unforeseen circumstances. The transportation planning agency shall take all appropriate actions to give highest priority to the projects in the initial expenditure plan, and any amendments shall not delay or delete any project in the initial plan without the transportation planning agency holding a public hearing and documenting within the plan the reason why the amendments are being recommended to the authority and are necessary relative to conditions beyond control of the authority.

(a) The authority may, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members, approve the updated expenditure plan adopted pursuant to Section 142258.
  (b) The authority may amend the expenditure plan adopted pursuant to Section 142258, if required, subject to all of the following conditions:
  (1) The authority shall take all appropriate actions to give highest priority to the projects in the initial expenditure plan, and if any amendments delay or delete any project in the initial plan, the authority shall hold a public hearing and adopt a resolution initiating the amendments that specifically detail the reason why the amendments are necessary relative to conditions beyond the control of the authority.
  (2) The authority shall notify the transportation planning agency, the board of supervisors, and the city council of each city in the county and provide them with a copy of the proposed amendments.
  (3) The amendment is approved by the board of supervisors.
  (4) The amendment is approved by a majority of the cities constituting a majority of the population residing in the incorporated areas of the county.
  (c) The proposed amendments shall become effective immediately upon completion of the approval process in subdivision (b).

If a retail transactions and use tax is adopted pursuant to this chapter, the authority shall prepare and submit a report to the Department of Transportation, to the board of supervisors, to the city council of each city in the county, and to the transportation planning agency, on or before each January 1 after taxes are imposed pursuant to this chapter. The report shall evaluate and report the progress made in implementing the expenditure plan during the preceding fiscal year.

The authority, subject to the approval of the voters, may impose the retail transactions and use tax at a maximum rate of one-half of 1 percent under this chapter and Part 1.6 (commencing with Section 7251) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and may state the maximum tax rate in terms of not to exceed one-half of 1 percent.

(a) The board of supervisors, or its designee, as part of the ballot proposition to approve the imposition of a retail transactions and use tax, shall seek authorization from the electors to issue bonds payable solely from the proceeds of the tax.
  (b) The maximum bonded indebtedness which may be authorized shall be an amount equal to the sum of the principal and interest on the bonds, not to exceed the estimated proceeds of the tax, for a period of not more than 30 years. The actual wording of the proposition on any short form of ballot card, label, or other device, regardless of the system of voting used, shall include all of the following:
  (1) The nature of the tax to be imposed.
  (2) The tax rate or the maximum tax rate.
  (3) The period during which the tax will be imposed.
  (4) The purposes for which the revenue derived from the tax will be used.
  (c) The sample ballot to be mailed to the voters, pursuant to Section 13303 of the Elections Code, shall include the full proposition, and the voter information handbook shall include the entire expenditure plan adopted by the authority.

(a) The bonds authorized by the voters concurrently with the approval of the retail transactions and use tax may be issued by the authority at any time, and from time to time, payable solely from the proceeds of the tax. The bonds shall be referred to as "limited tax bonds."
  (b) The pledge of the tax to the limited tax bonds authorized under this chapter has priority over the use of any of the tax for pay-as-you-go financing, except to the extent that that priority is expressly restricted in the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds.

Limited tax bonds shall be issued pursuant to a resolution adopted at any time by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the authority. Each resolution shall provide for the issuance of bonds in the amounts as may be necessary, until the full amount of the bonds authorized have been issued. The full amount of bonds may be divided into two or more series and different dates of payment fixed for the bonds of each series. A bond need not mature on its anniversary date.

(a) A resolution authorizing the issuance of limited tax bonds shall state all of the following:
  (1) The purpose for which the proposed debt is to be incurred, which may include all costs and estimated costs incidental to or connected with the accomplishment of those purposes, including, without limitation, engineering, inspection, legal, fiscal agents, financial consultant and other fees, bond and other reserve funds, working capital, bond interest estimated to accrue during the construction period and for a period not to exceed three years thereafter, and expenses of all proceedings for the authorization, issuance, and sale of the bonds.
  (2) The estimated cost of accomplishing those purposes.
  (3) The amount of the principal of the indebtedness.
  (4) The maximum term that the bonds proposed to be issued shall run before maturity, which shall not be beyond the date of termination of the imposition of the retail transactions and use tax.
  (5) The maximum rate of interest to be paid, which shall not exceed the maximum allowable by law.
  (6) The denomination or denominations of the bonds, which shall not be less than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
  (7) The form of the bonds, including, without limitation, registered bonds and coupon bonds, to the extent permitted by federal law, and the form of any coupons to be attached thereto, the registration, conversion, and exchange privileges, if any, pertaining thereto, and the time when all of, or any part of, the principal becomes due and payable.
  (b) The resolution may also contain any other matters authorized by this chapter or any other provision of law.

The bonds shall bear interest at a rate or rates not exceeding the maximum allowable by law, payable semiannually, except that the first interest payable on the bonds, or any series thereof, may be for any period not exceeding one year, as determined by the authority.

In the resolution authorizing the issuance of the bonds, the authority may also provide for call and redemption of the bonds prior to maturity at the times and prices and upon other terms as specified. However, no bond is subject to call or redemption prior to maturity unless it contains a recital to that effect or unless a statement to that effect is printed thereon.

The principal of, and interest on, the bonds shall be payable in lawful money of the United States at the office of the auditor-controller-treasurer of the county and other places as may be designated by the authority.

(a) The bonds, or each series thereof, shall be dated and numbered consecutively and shall be signed by the chairperson or vice chairperson of the authority and the auditor-controller-treasurer of the county, and the official seal of the authority shall be attached.
  (b) The interest coupons of the bonds, if any, shall be signed by the auditor-controller-treasurer of the county.
  (c) All signatures and the seal may be printed, lithographed, or mechanically reproduced, except that one of the signatures on the bonds shall be manually affixed.
  (d) If any officer whose signature appears on the bonds or coupons ceases to be that officer before the delivery of the bonds, the officer's signature is as effective as if the officer had remained in office.

The bonds may be sold as the authority determines by resolution. The authority may sell the bonds at a price below par, whether by negotiated or public sale.

Delivery of any bonds may be made at any place either inside or outside the state, and the purchase price may be received in cash or bank credits.

All accrued interest and premiums received on the sale of the bonds shall be placed in the fund to be used for the payment of principal of, and interest on, the bonds, and the remainder of the proceeds of the bonds shall be placed in the treasury of the authority and applied to secure the bonds or for the purposes for which the debt was incurred. However, when the purposes have been accomplished, any money remaining shall be either (a) transferred to the fund to be used for the payment of principal of, and interest on, the bonds or (b) placed in a fund to be used for the purchase of outstanding bonds of the authority from time to time in the open market at prices and in the manner, either at public or private sale or otherwise, as determined by the authority. Bonds so purchased shall be canceled immediately.

(a) The authority may provide for the issuance, sale, or exchange or refunding bonds to redeem or retire any bonds issued by the authority upon the terms, at the times, and in the manner which it determines.
  (b) Refunding bonds may be issued in a principal amount sufficient to pay all, or any part of, the principal of the outstanding bonds, the premiums, if any, due upon call and redemption thereof prior to maturity, all expenses of the refunding, and either of the following:
  (1) The interest upon the refunding bonds from the date of sale thereof to the date of payment of the bonds to be refunded out of the proceeds of the sale of the refunding bonds or to the date upon which the bonds to be refunded will be paid pursuant to call or agreement with the holders of the bonds.
  (2) The interest upon the bonds to be refunded from the date of sale of the refunding bonds to the date of payment of the bonds to be refunded or to the date upon which the bonds to be refunded will be paid pursuant to call or agreement with the holders of the bonds.
  (c) The provisions of this chapter for the issuance and sale of bonds apply to the issuance and sale of refunding bonds.

(a) The authority may borrow money in anticipation of the sale of bonds which have been authorized pursuant to this chapter, but which have not been sold and delivered, and may issue negotiable bond anticipation notes therefor and may renew the bond anticipation notes from time to time. However, the maximum maturity of any bond anticipation notes, including the renewals thereof, shall not exceed five years from the date of delivery of the original bond anticipation notes.
  (b) The bond anticipation notes, and the interest thereon, may be paid from any money of the authority available therefor, including the revenues from the retail transactions and use taxes imposed pursuant to this chapter. If not previously otherwise paid, the bond anticipation notes, or any portion thereof, or the interest thereon, shall be paid from the proceeds of the next sale of the bonds of the authority in anticipation of which the notes were issued.
  (c) The bond anticipation notes shall not be issued in any amount in excess of the aggregate amount of bonds which the authority has been authorized to issue less the amount of any bonds of the authorized issue previously sold, and also less the amount of other bond anticipation notes therefor issued and then outstanding. The bond anticipation notes shall be issued and sold in the same manner as the bonds.
  (d) The bond anticipation notes and the resolutions authorizing them may contain any provisions, conditions, or limitations which a resolution of the authority authorizing the issuance of bonds may contain.

Any bonds issued under this chapter are legal investments for all trust funds; for the funds of insurance companies, commercial and savings banks, and trust companies; and for state school funds; and whenever any money or funds may, by any law now or hereafter enacted, be invested in bonds of cities, counties, school districts, or other districts within the state, that money or funds may be invested in the bonds issued under this chapter; and whenever bonds of cities, counties, school district, or other districts within the state may, by any law now or thereafter enacted, be used as security for the performance of any act or the deposit of any public money, the bonds issued under this chapter may be so used. The provisions of this chapter are in addition to all other laws relating to legal investments and shall be controlling as the latest expression of the Legislature with respect thereto.

Any action or proceeding wherein the validity of the adoption of the retail transactions and use tax ordinance provided for in this chapter, or the issuance of any bonds thereunder, or any of the proceedings in relation thereto, is contested, questioned, or denied, shall be commenced within six months from the date of the election at which the ordinance is approved; otherwise, the bonds and all proceedings in relation thereto, including the adoption and approval of the ordinance, shall be held to be valid and in every respect legal and incontestable.