California Code
CHAPTER 3 - Powers of the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority
Section 64521.

64521. (a) Subject to the initial approval of the executive board, if the authority proposes a measure pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 64600) that will generate revenues and that requires voter approval pursuant to the California Constitution, the board of supervisors of the county or counties in which the authority has determined to place the measure on the ballot shall call a special election on the measure. The special election shall be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled statewide election and the measure shall be submitted to the voters in the appropriate counties, consistent with the requirements of Articles XIII A, XIII C, and XIII, or Article XVI of the California Constitution, as applicable.

(b) (1) For the purpose of placement of a measure on the ballot, the authority is a district, as defined in Section 317 of the Elections Code. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a measure proposed by the authority that requires voter approval shall be submitted to the voters of the counties, as determined by the authority, in accordance with the provisions of the Elections Code applicable to districts, including the provisions of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 9300) of Division 9 of the Elections Code.

(2) Because the authority has no revenues as of the operative date of this section, the appropriations limit for the authority shall be originally established based on receipts from the initial measure that would generate revenues for the authority pursuant to subdivision (a), and that establishment of an appropriations limit shall not be deemed a change in an appropriations limit for purposes of Section 4 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

(c) The authority shall file with the board of supervisors of each county in which the measure shall appear on the ballot a resolution of the authority board requesting consolidation and setting forth the exact form of the ballot question, in accordance with Section 10403 of the Elections Code.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 9313 of the Elections Code, the legal counsel for the authority shall prepare an impartial analysis of the measure. The impartial analysis prepared by the legal counsel for the authority shall be subject to review and revision by the county counsel of the county that contains the largest population, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, among those counties in which the measure will be submitted to the voters.

(e) (1) Each county included in the measure shall use the exact ballot question, impartial analysis, and summary of the expenditure plan provided by the authority. The summary of the expenditure plan shall be prepared by the authority and include all of the following:

(A) A description of the purpose and goals of the measure.

(B) A description of the categories of eligible expenditures to be funded.

(C) An estimate of the number of affordable housing units to be built or preserved by household income category served, and a description of any specific projects planned to be funded.

(D) An estimate of minimum funding levels to be provided to different expenditure categories by county.

(E) An overview of decisionmaking and oversight provisions applicable to the funds.

(2) If two or more counties included in the measure are required to prepare a translation of ballot materials into the same language other than English, the county that contains the largest population, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, among those counties that are required to prepare a translation of ballot materials into the same language other than English shall prepare the translation, or authorize the authority to prepare the translation, and that translation shall be used by the other county or counties, as applicable.

(f) Notwithstanding Section 13116 of the Elections Code, the elections officials of the counties where the measure proposed by the authority is placed on the ballot shall mutually agree to use the same letter designation for the measure.

(g) The county clerk of each county shall report the results of the special election to the authority. If two-thirds of all voters voting on the question at the special election vote affirmatively, or a different approval threshold required by the California Constitution at the time the election is achieved, the measure shall take effect in the counties in which the measure appeared on the ballot within the timeframe specified in the measure.

(h) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10520 of the Elections Code, for any election at which the authority proposes a measure pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 64520 that would generate revenues, the authority shall reimburse each county in which that measure appears on the ballot only for the incremental costs incurred by the county elections official related to submitting the measure to the voters with proceeds from the measure, or if the measure fails, with any eligible funds transferred to the authority from the Association of Bay Area Governments or the Metropolitan Transportation Commission or other public or private entity.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “incremental costs” include all of the following:

(A) The cost to prepare, review, and revise the impartial analysis of the measure that is required by subdivision (d).

(B) The cost to prepare a translation of ballot materials into a language other than English by any county, as described in subdivision (e).

(C) The additional costs that exceed the costs incurred for other election races or ballot measures, if any, appearing on the same ballot in each county in which the measure appears on the ballot, including both of the following:

(i) The printing and mailing of ballot materials.

(ii) The canvass of the vote regarding the measure pursuant to Division 15 (commencing with Section 15000) of the Elections Code.

(Added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 598, Sec. 1. (AB 1487) Effective January 1, 2020.)