(a) The commission may establish a schedule of fees and a schedule of service charges pursuant to this division, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Filing and processing applications filed with the commission.

(2) Proceedings undertaken by the commission and any reorganization committee.

(3) Amending or updating a sphere of influence.

(4) Reconsidering a resolution making determinations.

(b) The fees shall not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged and shall be imposed pursuant to Section 66016. The service charges shall not exceed the cost of providing the service for which the service charge is charged and shall be imposed pursuant to Section 66016.

(c) The commission may require that an applicant deposit some or all of the required amount that will be owed with the executive officer before any further action is taken. The deposit shall be made within the time period specified by the commission. No application shall be deemed filed until the applicant deposits the required amount with the executive officer. The executive officer shall provide the applicant with an accounting of all costs charged against the deposited amount. If the costs are less than the deposited amount, the executive officer shall refund the balance to the applicant after the executive officer verifies the completion of all proceedings. If the costs exceed the deposited amount, the applicant shall pay the difference prior to the completion of all proceedings.

(d) The commission may reduce or waive a fee, service charge, or deposit if it finds that payment would be detrimental to the public interest. The reduction or waiver of any fee, service charge, or deposit is limited to the costs incurred by the commission in the proceedings of an application.

(e) Any mandatory time limits for commission action may be deferred until the applicant pays the required fee, service charge, or deposit.

(f) The signatures on a petition submitted to the commission by registered voters shall be verified by the elections official of the county and the costs of verification shall be provided for in the same manner and by the same agencies which bear the costs of verifying signatures for an initiative petition in the same county.

(g) For incorporation proceedings that have been initiated by the filing of a sufficient number of voter signatures on petitions that have been verified by the county registrar of voters, the commission may, upon the receipt of a certification by the proponents that they are unable to raise sufficient funds to reimburse fees, service charges, or deposits for the proceedings, take no action on the proposal and request a loan from the General Fund of an amount sufficient to cover those expenses subject to availability of an appropriation for those purposes and in accordance with any provisions of the appropriation. Repayment of the loan shall be made a condition of approval of the incorporation, if successful, and shall become an obligation of the newly formed city. Repayment shall be made within two years of the effective date of incorporation. If the proposal is denied by the commission or defeated at an election, the loan shall be forgiven.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 353, Sec. 3. (AB 1725) Effective January 1, 2018.)