BILL NUMBER: AB 343 CHAPTERED 10/14/01 CHAPTER 885 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 14,2001 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 14, 2001 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 14, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 13, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 12, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 14, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bates (Coauthors: Assembly Members Harman and Pavley) FEBRUARY 16, 2001 An act to amend Sections 31013 and 31400.1 of, and to add Section 31119 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to coastal resources, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. (Approved by Governor October 13, 2001. Filed with Secretary of State October 14, 2001.) I have signed Assembly Bill 343 with a deletion. I am deleting the appropriation in Section 4(b) of up to $250,000 for the educational grant program created in Section 2 of this bill. Section 2 would create the grant program by adding Section 31119 to the Public Resources Code. Section 4(b) would allocate funds originally appropriated in Schedule (3) of Item 3760-301-00001 of the 2000 Budget Act to fund the new program. This bill would allow the State Coastal Conservancy to use up to $250,000 of a General Fund capital outlay appropriation to undertake educational projects for all ages relating to the protection, preservation, enhancement or maintenance of coastal resources and to award grants to nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and public agencies for this purpose. The bill would also allow the reallocation of $3,750,000 General Fund originally appropriated for the purchase and restoration of the Bel Marin Keys property to purchase alternate properties in Marin County. I cannot support the $250,000 General Fund allocation at this time. To the extent that grant funding is awarded by the Conservancy to local educational agencies or to community colleges, such funds would raise the Proposition 98 funding guarantee by the same amount, thus reducing future budgetary flexibility. Although grants awarded from non-General Fund sources should not affect the Proposition 98 guarantee, I am concerned that there may be confusion on this point in the future. Consequently, I urge the legislature to pass corrective legislation clarifying that this program cannot be used to award grants to local educational agencies or community colleges when the source of funds for those grants is the General Fund. GRAY DAVIS, Governor LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 343, Bates. State coastal conservancy: education programs: grants. (1) Existing law requires the State Coastal Conservancy to implement various coastal protection programs and projects, and, for purposes of those provisions, defines a "nonprofit organization" as "any private, nonprofit organization, existing under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, which has among its principal charitable purposes the preservation of land for scientific, historic, educational, recreational, agricultural, scenic, or open-space opportunities." This bill would revise that definition of a "nonprofit organization" to mean any private, nonprofit organization, that qualifies under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, whose purposes are consistent with specified provisions governing the conservancy. The bill would authorize the conservancy to undertake projects to provide educational programs for children and adults relating to the preservation, protection, enhancement, and maintenance of coastal resources, and to award grants to nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and public agencies for this purpose, but would provide that the conservancy is not required to take any action pursuant to those provisions, unless and until any funds are made available by the Legislature specifically for this purpose. The bill would prohibit the conservancy from using more than 10% of the funds provided for the program for administrative costs. (2) Existing law authorizes the conservancy to award grants to any public agency or nonprofit organization that is a public land trust having a specified agreement with the conservancy, having authority to acquire, develop, and operate public coastal accessways for purposes of the acquisition of interests in, and for initial development of, lands that are suitable for and which will be used for public accessways to and along the coast. The bill would, instead, authorize the conservancy to award grants to any public agency or nonprofit organization to acquire land, or any interest therein, or to develop, operate, or manage lands for public access purposes to and along the coast. (3) The Budget Act of 2000 appropriated $13,480,000 to the State Coastal Conservancy for capital outlay for the Hamilton Airfield Wetlands Restoration project. Existing law prohibits any funds appropriated for capital outlay to be expended by a state agency until the Department of Finance and the State Public Works Board have approved preliminary plans for the project, among other things. This bill would declare that the expenditure of funds appropriated for the Hamilton Airfield Wetlands Restoration project is not subject to the above provision. (4) The Budget Act of 2000 appropriated $32,000,000 for wetlands restoration and acquisition. This bill would authorize an amount of the funds appropriated for wetlands restoration and acquisition, not to exceed $3,750,000, to be used by the State Coastal Conservancy for the purchase of other Marin County baylands and related uplands, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would authorize up to $250,000 of that appropriation to be used for the purposes of educational programs relating to coastal resources, thereby making an appropriation. (5) The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 31013 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 31013. "Nonprofit organization" means any private, nonprofit organization, that qualifies under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, and whose purposes are consistent with this division. SEC. 2. Section 31119 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read: 31119. (a) (1) The conservancy may undertake educational projects and programs for pupils in kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, relating to the preservation, protection, enhancement, and maintenance of coastal resources, and may award grants to nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and public agencies for those purposes. (2) An educational grant program established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include all of the following: (A) Funds provided for the educational program may be used for planning and implementation or development of marine science education programs. (B) An educational program shall meet State Board of Education adopted content standards. (C) The conservancy may consult with the Superintendent of Public Instruction prior to awarding grants pursuant to this section. (D) A grant recipient shall use a portion of any funding provided for an educational program to promote maximum participation of pupils and schools, by providing scholarships or grants for this purpose. (E) A nonprofit organization shall comply with all of the following as a condition of receiving a grant: (i) Document increased pupil participation in its educational programs. (ii) Provide outreach to low income, underserved, and noncoastal areas. (iii) Maintain any data necessary for evaluation, as determined by the conservancy. (b) The conservancy is not required to take any action under subdivision (a), unless and until new funds from sources not currently available to the conservancy are made available by the Legislature for the purposes described in subdivision (a). No more than 10 percent of the funds provided for the educational programs under subdivision (a) may be used for the costs of the conservancy in administering the projects. SEC. 3. Section 31400.1 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 31400.1. The conservancy may award grants to any public agency or nonprofit organization to acquire land, or any interest therein, or to develop, operate, or manage lands for public access purposes to and along the coast. No grants may be awarded to any local agency unless the conservancy has first determined that the subject accessway will serve more than local public needs. SEC. 4. (a) The expenditure of funds appropriated by Schedule (4) of Item 3760-301-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2000 (Ch. 52, Stats. 2000) is not subject to Section 13332.11 of the Government Code. (b) Of the funds appropriated in Schedule (3) of Item 3760-301-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2000 for the purchase or restoration of Bel Marin Keys wetlands, an amount not to exceed three million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($3,750,000) may be expended by the State Coastal Conservancy for the purchase of other Marin County baylands and related uplands, subject to the conditions set forth in the second and third sentences of Provision (5) of that item. Notwithstanding the requirements of Provision (5) of Item 3760-301-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2000, an additional amount of the funds appropriated in Schedule (3) of Item 3760-301-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2000, not to exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), may be used for the purposes of Section 31119 of the Public Resources Code, if Assembly Bill 343 of the 2001-02 Regular Session is enacted and adds that section to the Public Resources Code. SEC. 5. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to establish education programs relating to coastal resources as soon as possible, to award grants to a public agency or nonprofit organization for coastal access as soon as possible, to accomplish the Hamilton Wetland Restoration Project in a timely manner so that it is available to receive dredged material from the Port of Oakland and other San Francisco Bay dredging projects for beneficial reuse as soon as possible, and to complete other coastal projects as soon as possible, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.