BILL NUMBER: AB 856 CHAPTERED 09/06/05 CHAPTER 223 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 6, 2005 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 6, 2005 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 22, 2005 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2005 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2005 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2005 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 4, 2005 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bass (Coauthor: Senator Murray) FEBRUARY 18, 2005 An act to amend Sections 32556, 32557, and 32560 of, and to repeal Section 32562 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to land conservation. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 856, Bass Baldwin Hills Conservancy. Existing law establishes the Baldwin Hills Conservancy to acquire and manage public lands within the Baldwin Hills area, and to provide recreational, open space, wildlife habitat restoration and protection, and lands for educational uses within the area. Existing law requires that the governing board of the conservancy consist of 6 nonvoting members. This bill would increase from 6 to 7 the number of nonvoting members of the board and add the Director of the Department of Conservation, or his or her designee, as a nonvoting member. The bill would require that all meetings of the board be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act instead of the Ralph M. Brown Act. The bill would also eliminate the requirement that the conservancy obtain and maintain liability insurance for the acts or omissions of the conservancy's agents, employees, and volunteers. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 32556 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 32556. (a) The board shall consist of 13 voting members and seven nonvoting members. (b) The 13 voting members of the board shall consist of the following: (1) The Secretary of the Resources Agency, or his or her designee. (2) The Director of Parks and Recreation, or his or her designee. (3) The Director of Finance, or his or her designee. (4) The Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Parks, or his or her designee. (5) The member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors within whose district the majority of the Baldwin Hills area is located. (6) Six members of the public appointed by the Governor who are residents of Los Angeles County and who represent the diversity of the community surrounding the Baldwin Hills area. Of those six members, four members shall be selected as follows: (A) One member shall be a resident of Culver City selected from a list of three persons nominated by the city council. (B) Three members shall be residents of the adjacent communities of Blair Hills, Ladera Heights, Baldwin Hills, Windsor Hills, Inglewood, View Park, or Baldwin Vista. (7) A resident of Los Angeles County appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and a resident of Los Angeles County appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. (c) The seven nonvoting members shall consist of the following: (1) The Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, or his or her designee. (2) The Executive Officer of the State Coastal Conservancy, or his or her designee. (3) The Executive Officer of the State Lands Commission, or his or her designee. (4) An appointee of the Governor with experience in developing contaminated sites, commonly referred to as "brownfields." (5) The Executive Director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, or his or her designee. (6) The Director of the Culver City Human Services Department, or his or her designee. (7) The Director of the Department of Conservation, or his or her designee. (d) A quorum shall consist of seven voting members of the board, and any action of the board affecting any matter before the board shall be decided by a majority vote of the voting members present, a quorum being present. However, the affirmative vote of at least four of the voting members of the board shall be required for the transaction of any business of the board. (e) The board shall do all of the following: (1) Study the potential environmental and recreational uses of Ballona Creek and the adjacent property described in subdivision (a) of Section 32553. (2) Develop a proposed map for that area. (3) Provide a report to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2003, on the results of paragraphs (1) and (2). SEC. 2. Section 32557 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 32557. (a) The voting members of the board shall serve for two-year terms. Any vacancy on the board shall be filled within 60 days from its occurrence by the appointing authority. (b) A person shall not continue as a member of the board if that person ceases to hold the office that qualifies that person for board membership. Upon the occurrence of that event, that person's membership on the board shall automatically terminate. SEC. 3. Section 32560 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 32560. All meetings of the board shall be subject to the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). SEC. 4. Section 32562 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.