BILL NUMBER: AB 2032 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hancock
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Beall, Coto, DeSaulnier, Huffman,
Leno, Lieber, Mullin, Ruskin, Swanson, Torrico, and Wolk)
FEBRUARY 15, 2008
An act to amend Section 8670.3 of the Government Code, and to
amend Sections 46012 and 46028 of the Revenue and Taxation Code,
relating to oil spills, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2032, as introduced, Hancock. Oil spill prevention and
response.
(1) The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response
Act generally requires the administrator for oil spill response,
acting at the direction of the Governor, to implement activities
relating to oil spill response. The act defines "nontank vessel" as a
vessel of 300 gross tons or greater that carries oil, but does not
carry that oil as cargo. The act defines "tank ship" as any
self-propelled vessel that is constructed or adapted for the carriage
of oil in bulk or in commercial quantities as cargo.
This bill would, for purposes of the act, revise the definition of
"nontank vessel" to exclude a vessel that carries oil in a single
tank with a capacity greater than 50,000 gallons, and revise the
definition of "tank ship" to include a vessel that carries oil in a
single tank with a capacity greater than 50,000 gallons.
(2) The act imposes a uniform oil spill response fee during any
period that the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund contains less than a
designated amount. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated
for specified purposes. Under the act, a designated amount of
$109,750,000 is required to be maintained in the fund, with half of
that amount retained in cash and the other half accessible in the
form of financial security obtained by the Treasurer.
This bill would increase the designated amount to $200,000,000,
and would require that designated amount and the amounts retained for
cash or accessible in the form of financial security to be adjusted
annually for inflation, in accordance with an index that the
administrator may reasonably choose. By increasing the designated
amount in the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund, a continuously
appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
(3) The bill would make conforming changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8670.3 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
8670.3. Unless the context requires otherwise, the following
definitions shall govern the construction of this chapter:
(a) "Administrator" means the administrator for oil spill response
appointed by the Governor pursuant to Section 8670.4.
(b) (1) "Best achievable protection" means the highest level of
protection that can be achieved through both the use of the best
achievable technology and those manpower levels, training procedures,
and operational methods that provide the greatest degree of
protection achievable. The administrator's determination of which
measures provide the best achievable protection shall be guided by
the critical need to protect valuable coastal resources and marine
waters, while also considering all of the following:
(A) The protection provided by the measure.
(B) The technological achievability of the measure.
(C) The cost of the measure.
(2) The administrator shall not use a cost-benefit or
cost-effectiveness analysis or any particular method of analysis in
determining which measures provide the best achievable protection.
The administrator shall instead, when determining which measures
provide best achievable protection, give reasonable consideration to
the protection provided by the measures, the technological
achievability of the measures, and the cost of the measures when
establishing the requirements to provide the best achievable
protection for coastal and marine resources.
(c) (1) "Best achievable technology" means that technology that
provides the greatest degree of protection, taking into consideration
both of the following:
(A) Processes that are being developed, or could feasibly be
developed anywhere in the world, given overall reasonable
expenditures on research and development.
(B) Processes that are currently in use anywhere in the world.
(2) In determining what is the best achievable technology pursuant
to this chapter, the administrator shall consider the effectiveness
and engineering feasibility of the technology.
(d) "Dedicated response resources" means equipment and personnel
committed solely to oil spill response, containment, and cleanup that
are not used for any other activity that would adversely affect the
ability of that equipment and personnel to provide oil spill response
services in the timeframes for which the equipment and personnel are
rated.
(e) "Environmentally sensitive area" means an area defined
pursuant to the applicable area contingency plans, as created and
revised by the Coast Guard and the administrator.
(f) "Local government" means any chartered or general law city,
chartered or general law county, or any city and county.
(g) (1) "Marine facility" means any facility of any kind, other
than a tank ship or tank barge, that is or was used for the purposes
of exploring for, drilling for, producing, storing, handling,
transferring, processing, refining, or transporting oil and is
located in marine waters, or is located where a discharge could
impact marine waters unless the facility is either of the following:
(A) Subject to Chapter 6.67 (commencing with Section 25270) or
Chapter 6.75 (commencing with Section 25299.10) of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(B) Placed on a farm, nursery, logging site, or construction site
and does not exceed 20,000 gallons in a single storage tank.
(2) For the purposes of this chapter, "marine facility" includes a
drill ship, semisubmersible drilling platform, jack-up type drilling
rig, or any other floating or temporary drilling platform.
(3) For the purposes of this chapter, "marine facility" does not
include a small craft refueling dock.
(h) (1) "Marine terminal" means any marine facility used for
transferring oil to or from a tank ship or tank barge.
(2) "Marine terminal" includes, for purposes of this chapter, all
piping not integrally connected to a tank facility, as defined in
subdivision (1) of Section 25270.2 of the Health and Safety Code.
(i) "Marine waters" means those waters subject to tidal influence,
and includes the waterways used for waterborne commercial vessel
traffic to the Port of Sacramento and the Port of Stockton.
(j) "Mobile transfer unit" means a small marine fueling facility
that is a vehicle, truck, or trailer, including all connecting hoses
and piping, used for the transferring of oil at a location where a
discharge could impact marine waters.
(k) "Nondedicated response resources" means those response
resources identified by an Oil Spill Response Organization for oil
spill response activities that are not dedicated response resources.
() "Nonpersistent oil" means a petroleum-based oil, such as
gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel, that evaporates relatively quickly and
is an oil with hydrocarbon fractions, at least 50 percent of which,
by volume, distills at a temperature of 645* Fahrenheit, and at least
95 percent of which, by volume, distills at a temperature of 700*
Fahrenheit.
(m) "Nontank vessel" means a vessel of 300 gross tons or greater
that carries oil, but does not carry that oil as cargo or in a
single tank with a capacity greater than 50,000 gallons .
(n) "Oil" means any kind of petroleum, liquid hydrocarbons, or
petroleum products or any fraction or residues therefrom, including,
but not limited to, crude oil, bunker fuel, gasoline, diesel fuel,
aviation fuel, oil sludge, oil refuse, oil mixed with waste, and
liquid distillates from unprocessed natural gas.
(o) "Oil spill cleanup agent" means a chemical, or any other
substance, used for removing, dispersing, or otherwise cleaning up
oil or any residual products of petroleum in, or on, any of the
waters of the state.
(p) "Oil spill contingency plan" or "contingency plan" means the
oil spill contingency plan required pursuant to Article 5 (commencing
with Section 8670.28).
(q) (1) "Oil Spill Response Organization" or "OSRO" means an
individual, organization, association, cooperative, or other entity
that provides, or intends to provide, equipment, personnel, supplies,
or other services directly related to oil spill containment,
cleanup, or removal activities.
(2) A "rated OSRO" means an OSRO that has received a satisfactory
rating from the administrator for a particular rating level
established pursuant to Section 8670.30.
(3) "OSRO" does not include an owner or operator with an oil spill
contingency plan approved by the administrator or an entity that
only provides spill management services, or who provides services or
equipment that are only ancillary to containment, cleanup, or removal
activities.
(r) "Onshore facility" means any facility of any kind which is
located entirely on lands not covered by marine waters.
(s) (1) "Owner" or "operator" means any of the following:
(A) In the case of a vessel, any person who owns, has an ownership
interest in, operates, charters by demise, or leases, the vessel.
(B) In the case of a marine facility, any person who owns, has an
ownership interest in, or operates the marine facility.
(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), in the case of any
vessel or marine facility, title or control of which was conveyed due
to bankruptcy, foreclosure, tax delinquency, abandonment, or similar
means to an entity of state or local government, any person who
owned, held an ownership interest in, operated, or otherwise
controlled activities concerning the vessel or marine facility
immediately beforehand.
(D) An entity of the state or local government that acquired
ownership or control of a vessel or marine facility, when the entity
of the state or local government has caused or contributed to a spill
or discharge of oil into marine waters.
(2) "Owner" or "operator" does not include a person who, without
participating in the management of a vessel or marine facility, holds
indicia of ownership primarily to protect his or her security
interest in the vessel or marine facility.
(3) "Operator" does not include any person who owns the land
underlying a marine facility or the facility itself if the person is
not involved in the operations of the facility.
(t) "Person" means any individual, trust, firm, joint stock
company, or corporation, including, but not limited to, a government
corporation, partnership, and association. "Person" also includes any
city, county, city and county, district, and the state or any
department or agency thereof, and the federal government, or any
department or agency thereof, to the extent permitted by law.
(u) "Pipeline" means any pipeline used at any time to transport
oil.
(v) "Reasonable worst case spill" means, for the purposes of
preparing contingency plans for a nontank vessel, the total volume of
the largest fuel tank on the nontank vessel.
(w) "Responsible party" or "party responsible" means any of the
following:
(1) The owner or transporter of oil or a person or entity
accepting responsibility for the oil.
(2) The owner, operator, or lessee of, or person who charters by
demise, any vessel or marine facility, or a person or entity
accepting responsibility for the vessel or marine facility.
(x) "Small craft" means any vessel, other than a tank ship or tank
barge, that is less than 20 meters in length.
(y) "Small craft refueling dock" means a waterside operation that
dispenses only nonpersistent oil in bulk and small amounts of
persistent lubrication oil in containers primarily to small craft and
meets both of the following criteria:
(1) Has tank storage capacity not exceeding 20,000 gallons in any
single storage tank or tank compartment.
(2) Has total usable tank storage capacity not exceeding 75,000
gallons.
(z) "Small marine fueling facility" means either of the following:
(1) A mobile transfer unit.
(2) A fixed facility that is not a marine terminal, that dispenses
primarily nonpersistent oil, that may dispense small amounts of
persistent oil, primarily to small craft, and that meets all of the
following criteria:
(A) Has tank storage capacity greater than 20,000 gallons but not
more than 40,000 gallons in any single storage tank or storage tank
compartment.
(B) Has total usable tank storage capacity not exceeding 75,000
gallons.
(C) Had an annual throughput volume of over-the-water transfers of
oil that did not exceed 3,000,000 gallons during the most recent
preceding 12-month period.
(aa) "Spill" or "discharge" means any release of at least one
barrel (42 gallons) of oil into marine waters that is not authorized
by any federal, state, or local government entity.
(ab) "State Interagency Oil Spill Committee" means the committee
established pursuant to Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 8574.1)
of Chapter 7.
(ac) "California oil spill contingency plan" means the California
oil spill contingency plan prepared pursuant to Article 3.5
(commencing with Section 8574.1) of Chapter 7.
(ad) "Tank barge" means any vessel that carries oil in commercial
quantities as cargo but is not equipped with a means of
self-propulsion.
(ae) "Tank ship" means any self-propelled vessel that is
constructed or adapted for the carriage of oil in bulk or in
commercial quantities as cargo , or that carries oil in a single
tank with a capacity greater than 50,000 gallons .
(af) "Tank vessel" means a tank ship or tank barge.
(ag) "Vessel" means any watercraft or ship of any kind, including
every structure adapted to be navigated from place to place for the
transportation of merchandise or persons.
(ah) "Vessel carrying oil as secondary cargo" means any vessel
that does not carry oil as a primary cargo, but does carry oil in
bulk as cargo or cargo residue.
SEC. 2. Section 46012 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended
to read:
46012. (a) "Designated amount" means an
amount equal to one hundred nine million seven hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($109,750,000) two hundred million
dollars ($200,000,000) , subject to the following:
(a)
(1) Fifty-four million eight hundred
seventy-five thousand dollars ($54,875,000) One
hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) shall be retained in the
Oil Spill Response Trust Fund as cash.
(b)
(2) Fifty-four million eight hundred
seventy-five thousand dollars ($54,875,000) One
hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) shall be
accessible in the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund in the form of
financial security obtained by the Treasurer.
(b) The amounts specified in this section shall be adjusted
annually for inflation, in accordance with an index that the
administrator may reasonably choose.
SEC. 3. Section 46028 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended
to read:
46028. "Tanker" means any self-propelled, waterborne vessel,
constructed or adapted for the carriage of crude oil or petroleum
products in bulk or in commercial quantities as cargo , or that
carries oil in a single tank with a capacity greater than 50,000
gallons .