GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 54715-54719
54715.  (a) The legislative body of a local agency may by ordinanceor resolution, adopted after notice and public hearing, determine andpropose for adoption an annual assessment on each parcel of realproperty within the jurisdiction of the local agency, except that thegoverning body shall not impose an assessment upon a federal orstate governmental agency or another local agency. (b) The legislative body may establish zones or areas of benefitwithin the local agency and may restrict the imposition of theassessment to areas lying within one or more of the zones or areas ofbenefit established within the local agency. (c) The benefit assessment shall be levied on a parcel, class ofimprovement to property, or use of property basis, or a combinationthereof, within the boundaries of the local agency, zone, or area ofbenefit. Except as provided in subdivision (d) or (e), in the case ofa benefit assessment for flood control services, the benefitassessment may be levied on the basis of proportionate storm waterrunoff from each parcel. In the case of an assessment levied pursuantto Section 54710.3, the assessment may be levied at a uniform rateper parcel. The assessment may be levied against any parcel, improvement, oruse of property to which such services may be made available, whetheror not such service is actually used. (d) Whenever a railroad, gas, water, telephone, cable television,electric utility right-of-way, electric line right-of-way, or otherutility right-of-way is included within an area proposed to beassessed, the railroad, gas, water, telephone, cable television,electric utility right-of-way, electric line right-of-way, or otherutility right-of-way shall be subject to the assessment only if, andto the extent that, it is found that it will benefit from theservice, and the railroad, gas, water, telephone, cable television,electric utility right-of-way, electric line right-of-way, or otherutility right-of-way shall be subject to the same penalties, and thesame procedure and sale, in the event of delinquencies, as otherparcels in the assessment area. In determining whether or not therailroad, gas, water, telephone, cable television, electric utilityright-of-way, electric line right-of-way, or other utilityright-of-way benefits from the services provided, its use as aright-of-way for a railroad, gas, water, telephone, cable television,electric, or other utility shall be presumed to be permanent. (e) Proportionate storm water runoff may be used as a measure ofbenefit on an undeveloped parcel of land pursuant to this sectiononly if, and to the extent that, it is found that it will benefitfrom the service. For the purposes of this section, an undeveloped parcel of landmeans a parcel of rural land in its undeveloped natural state,although the land may be grazed, if otherwise undisturbed, in amanner consistent with the normally accepted grazing land managementpractices for that geographic area. An undeveloped parcel of landalso includes wetlands and marshlands if undisturbed and subject toperiodic inundation. For purposes of this section, rural land is landwhich is outside of an urbanized area, as designated by the mostrecent federal decennial census of the United States Bureau of theCensus.54716.  (a) For the first fiscal year in which a benefit assessmentis proposed to be imposed pursuant to this chapter, the legislativebody shall cause a written report to be prepared and filed with theclerk of the local agency which shall contain all of the followinginformation: (1) A description of the service proposed to be financed throughthe revenue derived from the assessment. (2) A description of each lot or parcel of property proposed to besubject to the benefit assessment. The assessor's parcel numbershall be a sufficient description of the parcel. The area proposed tobe subject to the benefit assessment may be less than the entirearea of the local agency. (3) The amount of the proposed assessment for each parcel. In thecase of an assessment to be collected in installments pursuant toparagraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 54711, the report shallset forth the number of annual installments and the fiscal yearsduring which they are to be collected, and fix the maximum amount ofeach annual installment. (4) The basis and schedule of the assessment. (5) In the case of an assessment levied pursuant to Section54710.3, an identification of the assessment districts for which thelocal agency has assumed responsibility for redemption funddeficiencies and for which it proposes to rely on assessments leviedpursuant to this chapter, and a statement of the conditions underwhich the assessment will actually be levied and collected in anyyear. (b) The clerk shall cause notice of the filing of the report andof a time, date, and place of hearing thereon to be publishedpursuant to Section 6066 and posted in at least three public placeswithin the jurisdiction of the local agency. (c) With respect to any new or increased assessment proposed to belevied pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 54710 or Section54710.3, the legislative body of the local agency shall comply withthe notice, hearing, and protest procedures in Section 53753. (d) At the hearing, the legislative body shall hear and considerall protests. At the conclusion of the hearing, the legislative bodymay adopt, revise, change, reduce, or modify the proposed assessment.The legislative body shall make a determination upon the assessmentas described in the report or as determined at the hearing, andshall, by ordinance or resolution, determine the proposed assessment.54718.  (a) The legislative body may provide for the collection ofthe assessment or any installment of an assessment, in the samemanner, and subject to the same penalties and priority of lien as,other charges and taxes fixed and collected by, or on behalf of thelocal agency, except that if, for the first year the assessment islevied the real property on which the assessment is levied has beentransferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value, or if alien of a bona fide encumbrancer for value has been created andattaches thereon, prior to the date on which the first installment ofcounty taxes would become delinquent, the confirmed assessment shallnot result in a lien against the real property but shall betransferred to the unsecured roll. (b) If the assessments are collected by the county, the county maydeduct its reasonable costs incurred for the service before remittalof the balance to the local agency's treasury. (c) In the case of an assessment levied pursuant to Section54710.3, the legislative body shall provide for the collection of theassessment in any year only if the legislative body determines thatthe levy is necessary because of a redemption fund deficiency.54719.  If assessments to be collected through annual installmentpayments have been authorized pursuant to this chapter, thelegislative body may do one or more of the following: (a) Provide for the accumulation of the money collected from theannual installments in a fund until there is sufficient money to payall or part of the cost of the maintenance work for which theinstallment assessments were authorized. (b) Provide for a temporary advance to the improvement fund fromany available and unencumbered funds of the local agency to pay allor part of the cost of the maintenance work for which the installmentassessments were authorized and direct that the advance be repaidfrom the annual installments levied and collected during the fiscalyears designated. (c) Borrow an amount necessary to finance the estimated cost ofthe maintenance work for which the installment assessments wereauthorized. The amount borrowed and associated financing costs shallnot exceed the amount of revenue estimated to be raised from theannual assessments levied over the designated five fiscal years.