(a) A community revitalization and investment authority is a public body, corporate and politic, with jurisdiction to carry out a community revitalization plan within a community revitalization and investment area. The authority shall be deemed to be the “agency” described in subdivision (b) of Section 16 of Article XVI of the California Constitution for purposes of receiving tax increment revenues. The authority shall have only those powers and duties specifically set forth in Section 62002.

(b) (1) An authority may be created in any one of the following ways:

(A) A city, county, or city and county may adopt a resolution creating an authority. The composition of the governing board shall be comprised as set forth in subdivision (c).

(B) A city, county, city and county, and special district, as special district is defined in subdivision (m) of Section 95 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, or any combination thereof, may create an authority by entering into a joint powers agreement pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1.

(2) (A) A school entity, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 95 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, may not participate in an authority created pursuant to this part.

(B) A successor agency, as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 34171 of the Health and Safety Code, may not participate in an authority created pursuant to this part, and an entity created pursuant to this part shall not receive any portion of the property tax revenues or other moneys distributed pursuant to Section 34188 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) An authority formed by a city or county that created a redevelopment agency that was dissolved pursuant to Part 1.85 (commencing with Section 34170) of Division 24 of the Health and Safety Code shall not become effective until the successor agency or designated local authority for the former redevelopment agency has adopted findings of fact stating all of the following:

(A) The agency has received a finding of completion from the Department of Finance pursuant to Section 34179.7 of the Health and Safety Code.

(B) Former redevelopment agency assets which are the subject of litigation against the state, where the city or county or its successor agency or designated local authority are a named plaintiff, have not been or will not be used to benefit any efforts of an authority formed under this part unless the litigation has been resolved by entry of a final judgment by any court of competent jurisdiction and any appeals have been exhausted.

(C) The agency has complied with all orders of the Controller pursuant to Section 34167.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(c) (1) The governing board of an authority created pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall be appointed by the legislative body of the city, county, or city and county that created the authority and shall include three members of the legislative body of the city, county, or city and county that created the authority and two public members. The appointment of the two public members shall be subject to Section 54974. The two public members shall live or work within the community revitalization and investment area.

(2) The governing body of the authority created pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall be comprised of a majority of members from the legislative bodies of the public agencies that created the authority and a minimum of two public members who live or work within the community revitalization and investment area. The majority of the board shall appoint the public members to the governing body. The appointment of the public members shall be subject to Section 54974.

(d) An authority may carry out a community revitalization plan within a community revitalization and investment area. Not less than 80 percent of the land calculated by census tracts, census block groups, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, or any combination of both within the area shall be characterized by both of the following conditions:

(1) An annual median household income that is less than, at the option of the authority, 80 percent of the statewide, countywide, or citywide annual median income.

(2) Three of the following four conditions:

(A) An unemployment rate that is at least 3 percentage points higher than the statewide average annual unemployment rate, as defined by the report on labor market information published by the Employment Development Department in March of the year in which the community revitalization plan is prepared. In determining the unemployment rate within the community revitalization and investment area, an authority may use unemployment data from the periodic American Community Survey published by the United States Census Bureau.

(B) Crime rates, as documented by records maintained by the law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction in the proposed plan area for violent or property crime offenses, that are at least 5 percent higher than the statewide average crime rate for violent or property crime offenses, as defined by the most recent annual report of the Criminal Justice Statistics Center within the Department of Justice, when data is available on the Attorney General’s Internet Web site. The crime rate shall be calculated by taking the local crime incidents for violent or property crimes, or any offense within those categories, for the most recent calendar year for which the Department of Justice maintains data, divided by the total population of the proposed plan area, multiplied by 100,000. If the local crime rate for the proposed plan area exceeds the statewide average rate for either violent or property crime, or any offense within these categories, by more than 5 percent, then the condition described in this subparagraph shall be met.

(C) Deteriorated or inadequate infrastructure, including streets, sidewalks, water supply, sewer treatment or processing, and parks.

(D) Deteriorated commercial or residential structures.

(e) As an alternative to subdivision (d), an authority may also carry out a community revitalization plan within a community revitalization and investment area if it meets either of the following conditions:

(1) The area is established within a former military base that is principally characterized by deteriorated or inadequate infrastructure and structures. Notwithstanding subdivision (c), the governing board of an authority established within a former military base shall include a member of the military base closure commission as a public member.

(2) The census tracts or census block groups, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, within the area are situated within a disadvantaged community as described in Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.

(f) An authority created pursuant to this part shall be a local public agency subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5), the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1), and the Political Reform Act of 1974 (Title 9 (commencing with Section 81000)).

(g) (1) At any time after the authority is authorized to transact business and exercise its powers, the legislative body or bodies of the local government or governments that created the authority may appropriate the amounts the legislative body or bodies deem necessary for the administrative expenses and overhead of the authority.

(2) The money appropriated may be paid to the authority as a grant to defray the expenses and overhead, or as a loan to be repaid upon the terms and conditions as the legislative body may provide. If appropriated as a loan, the property owners and residents within the plan area shall be made third-party beneficiaries of the repayment of the loan. In addition to the common understanding and usual interpretation of the term, “administrative expense” includes, but is not limited to, expenses of planning and dissemination of information.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 524, Sec. 1. (AB 2492) Effective January 1, 2017.)