8790-8790.11
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 8790-8790.11
8790. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) It is to the advantage of the people of the State of California that the particle accelerator known as the Superconducting Super Collider, which the United States Department of Energy is planning to build, be built in California. (2) The construction of the Superconducting Super Collider in California is in the public interest and serves a public purpose and will promote the health, welfare, and safety of the citizens of California. (3) The Superconducting Super Collider will be a major intellectual and economic asset to California, will provide jobs throughout California, and will be a source of ideas and inventions that ultimately will aid California industry in expanding and being competitive in world markets. (4) The Superconducting Super Collider will assist in furthering research being conducted by universities located throughout California and will assure that universities in California continue to be at the forefront of research and attract the most able members of the world's engineers, computer scientists, and physicists. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to create a commission to represent the state before the Department of Energy and to take any reasonable and appropriate action needed to support a proposal to build the Superconducting Super Collider in the state. 8790.1. (a) There is created in the state government the California Collider Commission. (b) The commission shall consist of the following six members: the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Treasurer, the President of the University of California, who shall serve as chairperson of the commission, the Director of Finance, and the Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. A designee of a commission member may serve on behalf of the member he or she represents at commission meetings. The services of the President of the University of California as a member and chairperson of the commission shall be subject to approval by the Regents of the University of California. 8790.2. The California Collider Commission is created for the following purposes: (a) To act as an agent of the State of California in presenting a site proposal for the Superconducting Super Collider to the federal Department of Energy. (b) To represent the state in matters concerning the Superconducting Super Collider before the legislative and executive branches of the federal government, and the public. (c) To represent the state in negotiations with the United States Department of Energy regarding the Superconducting Super Collider. (d) To develop and implement both of the following: (1) Plans for financing state participation in the Superconducting Super Collider project. (2) Proposals for financing alternatives. (e) To ascertain the availability of other governmental and private sector financial support for the Superconducting Super Collider project. (f) To select a construction consultant to prepare construction schedules and cost estimates for the conventional facilities of the Superconducting Super Collider. 8790.3. The California Collider Commission is authorized to do all of the following: (a) Hold public meetings. (b) Contract through the University of California for research and services. (c) Accept funds or assistance from public agencies, private foundations, or individuals. (d) Form committees or working groups, as appropriate for the performance of its responsibilities. 8790.4. Subject to approval by the Regents of the University of California, the University of California, from the funds appropriated to it specifically for the purpose of supporting the effort to locate the Superconducting Super Collider in California, shall provide staffing and other services for the commission, as required. 8790.5. The Executive Steering Committee on the Superconducting Super Collider, established pursuant to ACR 89, shall serve as an advisory body to the California Collider Commission and shall advise the commission of both of the following: (a) All efforts necessary to attract the Superconducting Super Collider to California, including, but not limited to, research, preparation and submission of reports, and education of the public. (b) The site or sites in California which should be proposed to the United States Department of Energy for locating the Superconducting Super Collider in California. 8790.6. The Treasurer may sell revenue bonds issued on behalf of the state for the purpose of financing the construction of the Superconducting Super Collider in California. 8790.7. (a) Notwithstanding Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3, any action taken by the commission prior to the effective date of this section is not subject to an action under Section 11130.3. For purposes of Section 11130.3, any such action shall be deemed to have been taken in substantial compliance with Sections 11123 and 11125. (b) No member of the commission shall be found to have violated any provision of Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 for any action taken prior to the effective date of this section. 8790.9. (a) The siting of the Superconducting Super Collider shall not alter the existing land use zoning which protects prime agricultural land and preserves the agricultural economy of the area, except for the areas transferred to the federal government for the so-called "campus" areas of the Superconducting Super Collider site. Local governments shall not change the zoning of the agricultural lands, unless they make a special finding that doing so will not adversely affect agriculture and the change is not the result of locating the Superconducting Super Collider in the area. (b) Property owners whose land is purchased by the state under this chapter shall be exempt from the penalties of the Williamson Act for that land. (c) Property owners whose lands are purchased under this chapter shall be allowed to reinvest the proceeds of the sale in comparable agricultural land within two years without being subject to state income taxes. (d) During the construction of the Superconducting Super Collider, state assistance shall be provided to local governments affected by the project as follows: (1) To property-based special districts to offset revenue loss determined by the Board of Equalization to be the result of removal of property from the tax rolls by the acquisition of the property by the federal government for the Superconducting Super Collider project. Following completion of the Superconducting Super Collider construction, continuing state assistance shall be contingent upon a finding by the Board of Equalization that the revenue loss is not exceeded by increased property tax revenue resulting from the siting of the Superconducting Super Collider. (2) To local governments as determined by the Department of General Services for additional safety services identified in the Environmental Impact Report due to the siting of the Superconducting Super Collider. Following completion of the construction of the Superconducting Super Collider, that assistance shall be provided to the extent that additional costs are not offset by increased revenue from fees or taxes resulting from the siting of the Superconducting Super Collider. (3) To local governments to the extent identified by the Environmental Impact Report and determined by the Department of General Services, for mitigation of the impact on the environment, local roads, and public facilities which are damaged due to the construction of the Superconducting Super Collider, and for enhancement of highways, roads and public facilities to accommodate increased capacity required by siting of the Superconducting Super Collider. (e) The amounts determined in subdivision (d) shall be included in the annual Governor's Budget as submitted on or before January 10 of each year. (f) Notwithstanding Sections 188 and 188.8 of the Streets and Highways Code, a project shall not count against these constraints if the project needed is primarily a result of the siting of the Superconducting Super Collider, as determined by the California Transportation Commission. (g) It is the intent of the Legislature that any land acquired for the Superconducting Super Collider the use of which is not immediately required shall be made available for agricultural use and the current farmers shall have the first opportunity to lease the land. 8790.10. The Employment Development Department, the Employment Training Panel, and the local Job Training Partnership Act service delivery area, and the local community colleges shall, to the extent funds are available, cooperate to develop and provide appropriate training programs for local workers for the construction and operation of the Superconducting Super Collider project. Preference shall be given to the hiring of qualified local workers. Workers who are displaced due to the project shall, if eligible, be targeted for training through the Employment Training Panel or the Job Training Partnership Act. These programs shall be funded in the annual Budget Act. 8790.11. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that preference shall be provided in the distribution of emergency school facilities, as necessary, to school districts which have been impacted by increases in enrollment due to the construction and operation of the Superconducting Super Collider. (b) The community colleges, local school districts, the California State University, and the University of California are encouraged to develop educational programs which utilize resources made available by the staff of the Superconducting Super Collider to enrich the students in the districts adjacent to the Superconducting Super Collider.