(a) Any person may request an audit in order to determine whether any fee or charge levied by the executive board and the authority board exceeds the amount necessary to cover the reasonable cost of providing the housing necessitated by the commercial development project for which the commercial linkage fee is imposed, as determined in the regional nexus study pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 64621. If a person makes that request, the executive board and the authority may retain an independent auditor to conduct an audit to determine whether the commercial linkage fee is reasonable, but is not required to conduct the audit if an audit has been performed for the same fee within the previous 12 months.

(b) If an audit pursuant to this section determines that the amount of any commercial linkage fee or charge does not meet the requirements of this article, the executive board and the authority board shall adjust the fee accordingly.

(c) The authority shall retain an independent auditor to conduct an audit only if the person who requests the audit deposits with the authority the amount of the executive board’s and the authority’s reasonable estimate of the cost of the independent audit. At the conclusion of the audit, the authority shall reimburse unused sums, if any, or the requesting person shall pay the authority the excess of the actual cost of the audit over the sum which was deposited.

(d) Any audit conducted by an independent auditor pursuant to this section shall conform to generally accepted auditing standards.

(e) This section shall not be construed as granting any additional authority to any local agency to levy any fee or charge which is not otherwise authorized by another provision of law, nor shall its provisions be construed as granting authority to any local agency to levy a new fee or charge when other provisions of law specifically prohibit the levy of a fee or charge.

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