BILL ANALYSIS
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CONFERENCE COMPLETED
Bill No: SB 458
Author: Steinberg (D)
Amended: Conference Report No. 1 9/9/09
Vote: 21
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE VOTE : 8-0, 9/9/09
AYES: Senators Steinberg, Florez, Padilla, and Pavley,
Assembly Members
Bass, Solorio, Caballero, and Huffman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Senators Aanestad, Cogdill, Huff;
Assembly
Members Fuller, Huff, Jefferies; and Nielsen
SUBJECT : Sacramento-San Joaquin Conservancy: Delta
Protection
Commission
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This Conference Committee Amendments delete the
prior version of the bill stating the intent of the
Legislature to enact legislation to establish a
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy and to modify the
Delta Protection Commission. The bill now revises and
recasts the Delta Protection Act of 1992 by expanding the
role of the Delta Protection Commission in Delta Management
Planning. It establishes within the Natural Resources
Agency the Sacramento - San Joaquin Delta Conservancy to
advance environmental protection and the economic well
being of the Delta residents. Establishes the Sacramento -
CONTINUED
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San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Fund where monies are to be
deposited upon appropriation to finance projects. Lastly
the bill becomes operative only if the other bills in the
comprehensive water package are enacted AB 39, AB 49, SB
12, and SB 229.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires various state agencies
to administer programs relating to water supply, water
quality, and flood management in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta. The Johnston-Baker-Andal-Boatwright Delta
Protection Act of 1992 (Delta Protection Act) creates the
Delta Protection Commission (Commission) and requires the
Commission to prepare and adopt a comprehensive long-term
resource management plan for specified lands within the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Existing law requires the
Secretary of the Resources Agency to convene a committee to
develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature, on
or before December 31, 2008, recommendations for
implementing a specified strategic plan relating to the
sustainable management of the Delta.
This bill revises and recasts the provisions of the Delta
Protection Act to, among other things, reduce the number of
Commission members to 15 members, as specified. The bill
requires the Commission to appoint at least one advisory
committee consisting of representatives from specified
entities to provide input regarding the diverse interests
within the Delta. The bill requires the Commission to
adopt, not alter than July 1, 2011, an economic
sustainability plan containing specified elements and
requires the Commission to review and, as determined to be
necessary, amend the plan every five years.
The bill requires the Commission to prepare and submit to
the Legislature, by July 1, 2010, recommendations on the
potential expansion of or change to the primary zone or the
Delta.
The bill establishes the Delta Investment Fund in the State
Treasury. Monies in the fund, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, is required to be expended by the Commission
to implement the regional economic sustainability plan.
The bill establishes the Natural Resources Agency the
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Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy (Conservancy).
The Conservancy is requires to act as the primary stat
agency to implement ecosystem restoration in the Delta and
to support efforts that advance environmental protection
and the economic well-being of Delta residents. The bill
specifies the composition of the Conservancy and grant
certain authority to the Conservancy. Including the
authority to acquire real property interests from willing
sellers or transferors. The Conservancy is required to use
conservation easements to accomplish ecosystem restoration
whenever feasible. The Conservancy is required to prepare
and adopt a strategic plan to achieve the goals of the
Conservancy. The strategic plan is required to be
consistent with the Delta Plan and certain other plans.
The bill establishes the Sacramento-san Joaquin Delta
Conservancy Fund in the State Treasury. Monies in the fund
is available, upon appropriation, to finance projects,
including ecosystem restoration and economic sustainability
projects.
These provisions become operative if AB 39, AB 49, SB 12,
and SB 229 of the 2009-10 Regular Session of the
Legislature, relating to water use and resource management,
are each enacted and become effective on or before January
1, 2010.
Background
Delta . For several years, the Delta has suffered a crisis
- ecosystem, water supply, levee stability, water quality,
policy, program, and litigation. In June 2004, a privately
owned levee failed and the State spent nearly $100 million
to fix it and save an island whose property value was far
less. In August 2005, the Department of Fish & Game (DFG)
reported a trend showing severe decline in the Delta
fishery. In 2006, the Legislature reorganized Delta
programs and funding under the Resources Agency Secretary.
In 2007, a federal judge, acting under the federal
Endangered Species Act, declared illegal certain federal
biological opinions about near-extinct fish and restricted
water exports from the Delta, to the San Francisco Bay
Area, the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. The
Governor shortly thereafter called the Legislature into an
extraordinary session on water.
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Delta Vision : Through this enduring Delta crisis, the
Legislature and the Governor initiated, in 2006, a process
to develop a new long-term vision for the Delta. SB 1574
(Kuehl) of 2006 required a cabinet committee to present
recommendations for a Delta vision. The Governor created a
Delta Vision Blue-Ribbon Task Force to advise the Cabinet
Committee. The Task Force produced an October 2008
Strategic Plan, which the Cabinet Committee largely adopted
and submitted the recommendations to the Legislature on
January 3, 2009.
Legal Framework for Delta : Since statehood, California has
asked much of the Delta. Conflicting demands have led to
crisis and conflict - between and among agencies,
stakeholders and natural resources. The Delta Vision
process spent more than 18 months, investigating the Delta,
engaging agencies and stakeholders, and thinking carefully
about the Deltas challenges and prospects for change. The
Task Forces first recommendation was to change the
fundamental legal framework for the State to make decisions
as to its activities in the Delta - encapsulated in two
"coequal goals" of "restoring the Delta ecosystem and
creating a more reliable water supply for California."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
DLW:do 10/8/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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