(a) Whenever a program or project to be undertaken by a public entity will result in the displacement of any person, the displaced person is entitled to payment for actual moving and related expenses as the public entity determines to be reasonable and necessary, including expenses for all of the following:

(1) Actual and reasonable expenses in moving himself or herself, his or her family, business, or farm operation, or his or her, or his or her family’s, personal property.

(2) Actual direct losses of tangible personal property as a result of moving or discontinuing a business or farm operation, but not to exceed an amount equal to the reasonable expenses that would have been required to relocate the property, as determined by the public entity.

(3) Actual and reasonable expenses in searching for a replacement business or farm, not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).

(4) Actual and reasonable expenses necessary to reestablish a displaced farm, nonprofit organization, or small business at its new site, but not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(b) Any displaced person eligible for payments under subdivision (a) who is displaced from a dwelling and who elects to accept the payments authorized by this subdivision in lieu of the payments authorized by subdivision (a) shall receive a moving expense and dislocation allowance which shall be determined according to a schedule established by the head of the lead agency. The schedule shall be consistent with the Residential Moving Expense and Dislocation Allowance Payment Schedule established by Part 24 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(c) Any displaced person who moves or discontinues his or her business or farm operation and elects to accept the payment authorized by this subdivision in lieu of the payment authorized by subdivision (a), shall receive a fixed relocation payment in an amount equal to the average annual net earnings of the business or farm operation, except that the payment shall not be less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000). In the case of a business, no payment shall be made under this subdivision, unless the public entity is satisfied that the business cannot be relocated without substantial loss of patronage and is not part of a commercial enterprise having at least one other establishment not being acquired, engaged in the same or similar business. For purposes of this subdivision, the term “average annual net earnings” means one-half of any net earnings of the business or farm operation before federal, state, and local income taxes during the two taxable years immediately preceding the taxable year in which the business or farm operation moves from the real property being acquired, or during any other period as the public entity determines to be more equitable for establishing earnings, and includes any compensation paid by the business or farm operation to the owner, his or her spouse, or his or her dependents during the two-year or other period. To be eligible for the payment authorized by this subdivision, the business or farm operation shall make available its state income tax records, financial statements, and accounting records, for confidential use pursuant to an audit to determine the payment pursuant to this subdivision. In regard to an outdoor advertising display, payment pursuant to this subdivision shall be limited to the amount necessary to physically move, or replace that display. Any displaced person eligible for payments under subdivision (a) who is displaced from the person’s place of business or farm operation and who is eligible under criteria established by the public entity, may elect to accept a fixed payment in lieu of the payment authorized by subdivision (a). The fixed payment shall not be less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000). A person whose sole business at the displacement dwelling is the rental of the property to others shall not qualify for a payment under this subdivision.

(d) Whenever the acquisition of real property used for a business or farm operation causes the person conducting the business or farm operation to move from other real property, or to move his or her personal property from other real property, the person shall receive payments for moving and related expenses under subdivision (a) or (b) and relocation advisory assistance under Section 7261 for moving from the other property.

(e) Whenever a public entity must pay the cost of moving a displaced person under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), or subdivision (d):

(1) The costs of the move shall be exempt from regulation by the Public Utilities Commission.

(2) The public entity may solicit competitive bids from qualified bidders for performance of the work. Bids submitted in response to the solicitations shall be exempt from regulation by the Public Utilities Commission.

(f) No provision of this chapter shall be construed to require a public entity to provide any relocation assistance to a lessee if the property acquired for a program or project is subject to a lease for purposes of conducting farm operations and the public entity agrees to assume all of the terms of that lease.

(Amended by Stats. 1993, Ch. 533, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1994.)