BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
2575 (Chesbro)
Hearing Date: 08/02/2010 Amended: 07/15/2010
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: NR&W 6-3
AB 2575 (Chesbro), Page 2
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: AB 2575 requires the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection to meet specified criteria when implementing
pilot projects to protect riparian zones during timber
harvesting. The bill requires the Board of Forestry or an
advisory committee to develop recommendations for providing
electronic public access to documents related to timber
harvesting.
_________________________________________________________________
____
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Overseeing pilot projects Absorbable within existing
resources General
Performing pilot projects in Potential costs in the tens of
thousands Special * /
state forests General
Publicizing informationPotential costs in the tens of
thousandsGeneral
* Forest Resources Improvement Fund.
_________________________________________________________________
____
STAFF COMMENTS:
The Board of Forestry and the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection (CalFire) are responsible for enforcing the state's
laws and regulations governing the forestry industry, including
commercial timber harvesting. As part of a regulatory rulemaking
process in 2009, the Board and CalFire are required to ensure
additional protections are in place for riparian areas in
watersheds with listed species (such as Coho salmon). As part of
the new regulations, CalFire is required to undertake two pilot
projects to study new techniques to protect riparian zones
during timber harvesting. One of the purposes of the pilot
projects is to gather additional information about the
long-term, cumulative impacts of timber operations.
AB 2575 requires CalFire to take specified steps and meet
specified criteria when implementing the required pilot
AB 2575 (Chesbro), Page 2
projects. The bill requires CalFire to provide for public
participation in the design and monitoring of the projects. The
pilot projects must be used to develop guidelines for conducting
future cumulative impact analyses of proposed timber harvesting
plans. The bill requires the pilot projects to have one or more
specific goals, such as restoration of fisheries or wildlife
habitat or the long-term sequestration of carbon dioxide.
The bill directs CalFire to conduct the pilot projects within
existing resources and/or to seek funding from outside sources.
The bill requires all documents relevant to the pilot projects
to be made available on CalFire's website.
The bill also requires the Board or a technical advisory board
to develop recommendations for ways to provide electronic public
access to all documents used by CalFire in enforcing the state's
timber harvest regulations.
CalFire indicates that the costs to oversee the pilot projects
and develop guidelines incorporating the results of those pilot
projects can be accommodated within existing resources. However,
if no private landowner is willing to conduct the pilot projects
as part of a timber harvest on his or her lands, CalFire
indicates that the pilot projects will be performed in one of
the State's demonstration forests as part of a timber harvest on
those lands. If this occurs, the costs to CalFire to develop a
timber harvest plan for such a harvest would likely be greater
than normal. The extent of this increased cost is unknown, but
could be in the tens of thousands.
Depending on the recommendations for ways to provide increased
public access to documents relating to timber harvesting,
CalFire may face increased administrative costs to post
documents on its website. The costs of providing this
information could be in the tens of thousands per year.
Staff recommends the bill be amended to specify that the pilot
projects will only be carried out in state forests if private
landowners are unwilling to do them on private lands. Staff also
recommends a technical amendment to reorganize the bill for
clarity.