(a) If a board of directors desires to divest itself of a power that is authorized pursuant to this chapter and if the termination of that power would require another public agency to provide a new or higher level of services or facilities, the district shall first receive the approval of the local agency formation commission. To the extent feasible, the local agency formation commission shall proceed pursuant to Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 56824.10) of Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 3. After receiving the approval of the local agency formation commission, the board of directors may, by ordinance, divest itself of that power.

(b)  Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 56824.14, the local agency formation commission shall not, after a public hearing called and held for that purpose pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 56824.14, approve a district’s proposal to exercise a latent power if the local agency formation commission determines that another local agency already provides substantially similar services or facilities to the territory where the district proposes to exercise that latent power.

(c) If a board of directors desires to divest itself of a power that is authorized pursuant to this chapter and if the termination of that power would not require another public agency to provide a new or higher level of services or facilities, the board of directors may, by ordinance, divest itself of that power.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 643, Sec. 16. Effective January 1, 2007.)