BILL NUMBER: SB 694 CHAPTERED 08/16/04 CHAPTER 224 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 16, 2004 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 16, 2004 PASSED THE SENATE JANUARY 28, 2004 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JANUARY 22, 2004 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 2, 2003 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2003 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 4, 2003 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 8, 2003 INTRODUCED BY Committee on Natural Resources and Wildlife (Senators Kuehl (Chair), Alpert, Bowen, Denham, Hollingsworth, Oller, Ortiz, Sher, and Torlakson) FEBRUARY 21, 2003 An act to amend Sections 4750.7 and 31164 of, to add Section 31012 to, and to repeal Sections 532, 2804.6, and 2813 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to public resources, and making an appropriation therefor. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 694, Committee on Natural Resources and Wildlife. Public resources. (1) Existing law requires the Governor to appoint 9 members to the State Park Commission or the Recreation Commission with terms expiring at various dates, all prior to January 15, 1971. This bill would delete that provision. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Conservation, in consultation with the Seismic Safety Commission, to prepare and submit to the Legislature by July 1, 1988, a feasibility study, with specified contents, evaluating the effectiveness of an early warning system to detect seismic activity along the San Andreas Fault north of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. This bill would delete that provision. (3) Existing law provides that the Southern California Earthquake Preparedness Project and the Bay Area Regional Earthquake Preparedness Project continue until June 30, 1995, for a specified purpose. This bill would delete that provision. (4) The existing Sudden Oak Death Management Act of 2002 requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to implement a program to detect, remove, and treat, if possible, trees infected with Phytophthora ramorum and requires that the program encourage tree management and replanting, as specified. Subject to the appropriation of funds in the Budget Act of 2002, the act requires the department to expend those appropriated funds on various specified sudden oak death management activities, including not less than $700,000 on specified sudden oak death management activities pursuant to contracts with counties. This bill additionally would, subject to the appropriation of funds in subsequent Budget Acts, require the department to expend those appropriated funds on various specified sudden oak death management activities, including not less than 35% on specified sudden oak death management activities pursuant to contracts with counties. The bill would require the department to endeavor to contract directly with the affected county, but would authorize the department, if the county declines to enter into a contract, to contract instead with one or more other appropriate entities at the local level. (5) Existing law gives the State Coastal Conservancy responsibility for implementing a program of agricultural protection, area restoration, and resource enhancement in the coastal zone, as defined. Existing law generally requires the conservancy to deposit funds received for these purposes in the State Coastal Conservancy Fund. Existing law requires the conservancy to administer the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program, and to deposit funds for that program in the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account in the State Coastal Conservancy Fund, as specified. This bill would establish the Coastal Trust Fund to receive and disburse funds paid to the conservancy in trust, subject to the right of recovery to fulfill the purposes of the trust. The bill would establish in that fund the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account for deposit of all funds received by the conservancy for the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program, except for funds from the state or federal government. The bill would also establish in the Coastal Trust Fund the Coastal Program Account, for deposit of all funds paid to the conservancy in trust for agricultural protection, area restoration, and resource enhancement in the coastal zone, except those funds for the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program. The bill would require the Department of Finance to approve the deposits. The bill would require funds in the Coastal Trust Fund to be separately accounted for, according to their trust purposes. The bill would continuously appropriate funds in the Coastal Trust Fund to the conservancy to fulfill the purposes for which the payment of funds were made, thereby making an appropriation, and would require the conservancy to provide an annual accounting to the Department of Finance of the conservancy's expenditures from, and other activities related to, the Coastal Trust Fund. The bill would require that the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account in the State Coastal Conservancy Fund receive and disburse funds appropriated by the Legislature for the administration and implementation of the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program, as specified. The bill would require the conservancy to account for all deposits and reimbursements of funds in this account. The bill would transfer existing, specified funds to the accounts that the bill would create. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 532 of the Public Resources Code is repealed. SEC. 2. Section 2804.6 of the Public Resources Code is repealed. SEC. 3. Section 2813 of the Public Resources Code is repealed. SEC. 4. Section 4750.7 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 4750.7. (a) (1) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shall expend funds, subject to appropriation in the Budget Act, on sudden oak death management activities pursuant to this section. The department shall take into account the recommendations of the task force for the expenditure of the funds. (2) The department shall expend the funds appropriated pursuant to this subdivision to take various actions to control the spread of Phytophthora ramorum, to find effective treatments to prevent or eliminate sudden oak death, and to assist state and local agencies and private property owners to perform, identify, remove, and appropriately dispose of trees and plants that have become infected or expired due to sudden oak death. (3) (A) Of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall expend the amount of funds it deems necessary on sudden oak death monitoring including, but not limited to, open-space surveys, roadside surveys, aerial surveys, monitoring technique workshops, development of baseline information on the distribution, condition, and mortality rates of oaks in California, and maintaining an up-to-date geographic information system database. (B) (i) Except as provided in clause (ii), of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall expend not less than 35 percent on sudden oak death management activities pursuant to contracts with counties, which may include, but need not be limited to, hazard tree assessment, contracts with counties for hazard tree removal pursuant to the process established by clause (iii), biomass utilization, assessment and management of restoration and mitigation options, establishment and operation of demonstration projects, including green waste treatment facilities, and grants to counties for oak tree restoration pursuant to the process established by clause (iv). The department shall first endeavor to contract directly with the affected county. If the county declines to enter into a contract, or if the county has not commenced the process established by clause (iii) within 60 days of notification by the department of the need for a contract with the affected county, the department may enter into one or more contracts with one or more other appropriate entities at the local level. (ii) Of the amount of funds appropriated in the Budget Act of 2002 that is expended under this subdivision, the department shall expend not less than seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000) pursuant to clause (i). (iii) The department shall utilize a portion of the funds to be expended pursuant to this subparagraph to contract with affected counties for the removal of trees that have died or are dying as a result of sudden oak death. An affected county may apply to the department for a contract, and shall provide the department with an action plan for the removal and disposition of affected trees within its jurisdiction. The department shall approve or deny an affected county's action plan in a timely manner. If the department approves the action plan of an affected county, the department may enter into a contract with that county. The department shall consider the recommendation of the task force prior to approving or denying a county action plan and prior to entering into a contract under this clause. An action plan approved by the board prior to January 1, 2003, is deemed sufficient to comply with this section. (iv) The department shall utilize a portion of the funds to be expended pursuant to this subparagraph to contract with affected counties for activities designed to restore oak trees in areas that have been affected by sudden oak death. An affected county may apply to the department for these funds, and provide the department with an action plan for the restoration of affected trees within its jurisdiction. The department shall approve or deny an affected county's action plan in a timely manner. If the department approves the action plan of an affected county, the department may enter into a contract with that county. The department shall consider the recommendations of the task force prior to approving or denying a county action plan and prior to entering into a contract under this clause. The department may reallocate to other sudden oak death management activities authorized under this section any amount allocated under this subdivision and not expended within one year after the date it was originally allocated. (C) Of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department may expend the amount of funds it deems necessary on research activities, including, but not limited to, research on forest pathology and Phytophthora ecology, forest insects associated with oak decline, urban forestry and arboriculture, forest ecology, fire management and silviculture, genetic resistance, ecosystem impacts, and landscape ecology, epidemiology, and monitoring techniques. (D) Of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department may expend the amount of funds it deems necessary on education activities, including, but not limited to, support for two regional education project coordinators, one public information officer, Internet Web site design and maintenance training, and development and distribution of educational materials on sudden oak death for homeowners, arborists, urban foresters, park managers, public works personnel, utility crews, recreationists, nursery workers, landscapers, naturalists, and firefighting personnel. (E) Of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department may expend the amount of funds it deems necessary on fire protection and prevention activities, including, but not limited to, assessing fire risk in heavily impacted areas, inspecting property to encourage increased clearing of vegetation in heavily infested areas and to mitigate the fire risk, producing and distributing safety information for firefighters working in areas affected by sudden oak death, and treating vegetation to prevent fire. (F) Of the amount to be expended pursuant to this subdivision, the department may expend the amount of funds it deems necessary to fund administrative activities necessary to oversee the activities listed in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, including, but not limited to, an overall statewide task force coordinator, miscellaneous expenses associated with the operation of the task force, and staff of the department to carry out contract preparation, administration, and fiscal audits of contract expenditures. (b) Of the amount to be expended under this section, the department may allocate funds to the Department of Food and Agriculture for regulatory activities, including, but not limited to, nursery surveys and other regulatory enforcement activities performed by agricultural commissioners, diagnostic services, and public agency coordination efforts. Of the amount allocated to be expended under this subdivision, the department may expend the amount of funds it deems necessary to fund administrative activities necessary to oversee the activities listed in this subdivision. SEC. 5. Section 31012 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read: 31012. (a) The Coastal Trust Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury, to receive and disburse funds paid to the conservancy in trust, subject to the right of recovery to fulfill the purposes of the trust, as provided in this section. (b) (1) There is in the Coastal Trust Fund the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account, which shall be expended solely for the purposes of Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 31160). (2) The conservancy shall deposit in the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account all funds received by the conservancy for the purposes of the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program established under Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 31160), from sources other than the state or federal government and not provided for in subdivision (a) of Section 31164. These funds include, but are not limited to, private donations, fees, penalties, and local government contributions. (c) (1) There is in the Coastal Trust Fund the Coastal Program Account. Funds in the Coastal Program Account shall be expended solely for their specified trust purposes. (2) Upon approval of the Department of Finance, the conservancy shall deposit in the Coastal Program Account all funds paid to the conservancy in trust for purposes of this division, except those funds identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b). The funds that shall be deposited in the Coastal Program Account, upon that approval, include, but are not limited to, funds that are paid to the conservancy in trust for purposes of mitigation, for settlement of litigation, instead of other conditions of coastal development permits or other regulatory entitlements, or for other trust purposes consistent with this division and specified by the terms of a gift or contract. Funds in the Coastal Program Account shall be separately accounted for according to their source and trust purpose. Funds may not be deposited in the Coastal Program Account without the Department of Finance's approval. (d) Interest that accrues on funds in the Coastal Trust Fund shall be retained in the Coastal Trust Fund and available for expenditure by the conservancy for the trust purposes. (e) The conservancy shall maintain separate accountings of funds within the Coastal Trust Fund, pursuant to its fiduciary duties, for the purpose of separating deposits and interest on those deposits, according to their trust purposes. (f) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all funds in the Coastal Trust Fund are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal year, to the conservancy to fulfill the trust purposes for which the payments of funds were made. (g) The conservancy shall provide an annual accounting to the Department of Finance of the conservancy's expenditures from, and other activities related to, the Coastal Trust Fund. SEC. 6. Section 31164 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 31164. (a) The San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account is hereby created in the State Coastal Conservancy Fund, for the purpose of depositing and disbursing funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the administration and implementation of the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program. All funds that are appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of this chapter, and all reimbursements, proceeds of sale, or other money received by the conservancy for the purposes of this chapter and derived from projects funded from this account shall be deposited in this account. Interest on funds in this account shall accrue to the General Fund. The conservancy shall account for all deposits and reimbursements of funds in this account. (b) Funds that are derived from other sources, exclusive of state or federal funds, for the purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, private donations, fees, penalties, and local government contributions, shall be deposited in the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account in the Coastal Trust Fund pursuant to Section 31012. SEC. 7. (a) On January 1, 2004, all funds deposited in the subaccount of the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account established pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 31164, as amended by Section 146 of Chapter 135 of the Statutes of 2000, shall be transferred to the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account in the State Coastal Conservancy Fund. (b) On January 1, 2004, all funds deposited in the subaccount of the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account established pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 31164, as amended by Section 146 of Chapter 135 of the Statutes of 2000, shall be transferred to the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program Account in the Coastal Trust Fund. (c) On January 1, 2004, all funds deposited in the conservancy's accounts in the Special Deposit Fund established by Section 16370 of the Government Code shall be transferred to the Coastal Program Account in the Coastal Trust Fund. (d) The funds transferred pursuant to this section are subject to all encumbrances on those funds made prior to January 1, 2004, and to all legal restrictions on their use other than by state statute.