BILL NUMBER: AB 13 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Salas
DECEMBER 1, 2008
An act to add Division 29 (commencing with Section 80500) to the
Water Code, relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 13, as introduced, Salas. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy.
Existing law authorizes various conservancies to acquire, manage,
direct the management of, and conserve public lands in the state.
This bill would establish the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy to provide policy oversight, foster implementation of,
and manage funds to implement those components of, a comprehensive
delta sustainability program intended to restore and manage habitat
in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 29 (commencing with Section 80500) is added to
the Water Code, to read:
DIVISION 29. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS
80500. This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Act.
80501. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a unique and valued area,
warranting recognition and special legal status from the State of
California. The delta is a place of natural beauty, with historic
towns, productive farming, and close-knit communities. The delta is
an integral part of the largest estuary on the west coast of the
Americas, connecting rivers originating in the Sierra Nevada to the
Pacific Ocean. The delta is also an indispensable part of the Pacific
Flyway. These values should be preserved and protected.
(b) Numerous federal, state, and local agencies have overlapping
and conflicting legal responsibility and authority to protect the
delta, but no single agency has the authority for restoration of the
delta ecosystem. In recent years, the Department of Fish and Game has
reported substantial declines in the delta's ecosystem health.
Several agencies, including the Department of Water Resources, have
participated in interagency efforts to address the delta ecosystem
crisis, but recent years have seen interagency conflict over the
manner in which best to protect the delta ecosystem.
(c) In 2007, the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force, created
pursuant to Executive Order S-17-06, adopted a comprehensive,
long-term vision for the delta, which includes, as its first
principle, that the delta ecosystem and a reliable water supply "are
the primary, co-equal goals for sustainable management of the Delta."
The Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force also recommends improvements
to governance of the delta, including delta boundaries that
incorporate the entire delta ecosystem. There is a need for an agency
that can implement comprehensive delta ecosystem improvements
consistent with the vision proposed by the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon
Task Force.
80502. For the purposes of this division, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(a) "Bay-Delta Conservation Plan" means the plan prepared pursuant
to the Planning Agreement regarding the Bay Delta Conservation Plan,
dated October 6, 2006.
(b) "Blue Ribbon Task Force" means the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon
Task Force created by Executive Order S-17-06.
(c) "Board" means the governing board of the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta Conservancy.
(d) "Comprehensive delta sustainability program" or "program"
means a comprehensive delta sustainability program intended to
restore and manage habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and
Suisun Marsh.
(e) "Conservancy" means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy.
(f) "Delta" means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as defined in
Section 12220.
(g) "Habitat conservation plan" means a plan prepared under
Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish
and Game Code, or a plan prepared under Section 10 of the federal
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.).
(h) "Local public agency" means a city, county, district, or joint
powers authority.
(i) "Nonprofit organization" means a private, nonprofit
organization that qualifies for exempt status under Section 501(c)(3)
of Title 26 of the United States Code, and that has among its
principal charitable purposes preservation of land for scientific,
recreational, scenic, or open-space opportunities; protection of the
natural environment, or preservation or enhancement of wildlife;
preservation of cultural and historical resources; or, efforts to
provide for the enjoyment of public lands.
CHAPTER 2. SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA CONSERVANCY
80505. (a) There is in the Resources Agency the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta Conservancy, which is created as a state agency for the
purposes of, and to carry out the authority given to it under, this
division.
(b) The conservancy shall provide policy oversight, foster
implementation of, and manage funds to implement, those components of
a comprehensive delta sustainability program intended to restore and
manage habitat in the delta and Suisun Marsh.
80506. (a) The board shall consist of seven voting members as
follows:
(1) The Secretary of the Resources Agency, or his or her designee.
(2) Two public members appointed by the Governor.
(3) Two public members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(4) Two public members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of
the Senate.
(b) Each public member shall be appointed for a four-year term,
except that one of the public members initially appointed by the
Governor shall serve a one-year term, one of the public members
initially appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly shall serve a
two-year term, and one of the public members initially appointed by
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate shall serve a three-year
term. Public members may be reappointed at the end of their term and
any vacancy during a term of office may be filed by the appointing
entity.
(c) The public members shall reflect the diversity of interests in
the delta, including local governments whose jurisdictions include
parts of the delta. Public members shall be compensated for
attendance at regular meetings of the board at the rate of one
hundred dollars ($100) per day and shall be reimbursed for actual
reasonable and necessary expenses for attending meetings and carrying
out the duties of their office.
(d) The members shall elect annually from among them a chair and
vice chair and other officers as necessary.
(e) A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of the business of the board, and a majority vote of the
members present at a meeting where a quorum exists shall be binding
with respect to all matters acted on by the board.
(f) The board shall appoint an executive officer of the
conservancy and employ other staff as necessary to execute the powers
and functions provided for under this division.
(g) The board may rent or own real property and equipment pursuant
to applicable statutes and regulations.
(h) The board may enter into contracts with private entities and
public agencies to procure consulting and other services to achieve
the purposes of this division.
CHAPTER 3. POWERS, DUTIES, AND LIMITATIONS
80510. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the
jurisdiction and activities of the conservancy are limited to the
delta and Suisun Marsh.
(b) The conservancy may take or fund an action outside of the
delta and Suisun Marsh if requested by an entity responsible for
implementation of a habitat conservation plan, including the
Bay-Delta Conservation Plan, or if it is an action recommended by the
Blue Ribbon Task Force, where the action would further the goals of
the habitat conservation plan or the Blue Ribbon Task Force and any
necessary permission or permits from local public agencies and the
owner of any real property involved have been obtained.
(c) This division does not limit, expand, or otherwise affect the
authorities and responsibilities of any local public agency, state
department or agency, or agency of the United States, except that the
conservancy has the authority to review and approve ecosystem
projects located within the boundaries of the delta proposed for
implementation by any other state agency, to determine consistency
with the comprehensive delta sustainability program.
(d) In carrying out its activities under this division, the
conservancy shall cooperate, coordinate, and consult as necessary or
appropriate with any other agency or department of the state, local
public agency, or agency of the United States having regulatory or
other responsibility that may be affected by an action of the
conservancy.
(e) The conservancy has no power to regulate land use or any
activities on land, except as the owner of an interest in the land,
or pursuant to an agreement with, or a license or grant of management
authority from, the owner of an interest in the land, or as
specified in an agreement with a person or entity to which the
conservancy has transferred an interest in land, or which has
accepted a grant to manage an interest in land for the purposes of
this division.
80511. (a) The conservancy shall implement ecosystem aspects of
the comprehensive delta sustainability program. The conservancy is
responsible for overseeing and managing funds available for
implementation of those components of the program intended to restore
and manage habitat in the delta and Suisun Marsh.
(b) The conservancy may make grants or loans to local public
agencies, nonprofit organizations, state agencies, and federal
agencies for the purpose of implementing those measures identified in
the program intended to restore and manage habitat in the delta and
Suisun Marsh, including grants or loans for the acquisition of real
property or interests therein from willing sellers or transferors.
(c) The conservancy may use funds to directly undertake, or
contract with public agencies, nonprofit organizations, state
agencies, and federal agencies to undertake under its direction,
actions identified in the program intended to restore and manage
habitat in the delta and Suisun Marsh.
(d) The conservancy may enter into agreements and
intergovernmental agreements with local public agencies, nonprofit
organizations, state agencies, and federal agencies for the
implementation, including construction, of the measures identified in
the program intended to restore and manage habitat in the delta and
Suisun Marsh.
80512. (a) The conservancy may accept, acquire, and hold real
property and interests therein from willing sellers or transferors in
the name of, and on behalf of, the state for the purposes of
implementing the comprehensive delta sustainability program.
(b) The conservancy shall take whatever actions are reasonably
necessary and incidental to the management of lands under its
ownership or control.
(c) The conservancy shall improve, restore, or enhance lands under
its ownership or control consistent with the purpose for which the
land was acquired.
(d) The conservancy may enter into an agreement with a local
public agency, private entity, state agency, or federal agency to
carry out the management and restoration of lands under its ownership
or control.
(e) The conservancy may acquire and hold any permits or other
authorizations necessary to carrying out its responsibilities.
80513. The board shall report to the Legislature and Governor
annually on the progress towards implementation of the measures
identified in the comprehensive delta sustainability program intended
to restore and manage habitat in the delta and Suisun Marsh.
80514. (a) The conservancy's expenses may be paid from the
conservancy's operating budget, if one is provided for, and other
funding sources available to the conservancy. Up to 5 percent of any
funds appropriated by the Legislature may be expended to pay the
administrative costs of the conservancy's expenses. Any funds
appropriated by the Legislature to the conservancy may be used for
grants or direct expenditure. The conservancy shall comply with all
applicable provisions of law related to the appropriated funds in
administering any funds appropriated by the Legislature.
(b) The conservancy also may accept both of the following:
(1) Funds provided by participants in the Bay-Delta Conservation
Plan or other habitat conservation plans for implementation of those
plans, to be managed consistent with those plans.
(2) Gifts, donations, bequests, devises, subventions, grants,
rents, royalties, and other funds from public and private funds.