BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1034| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 1034 Author: Ducheny (D) Amended: 8/2/10 Vote: 27 SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 6-3, 3/23/10 AYES: Pavley, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Padilla, Simitian, Wolk NOES: Cogdill, Hollingsworth, Huff SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/20/10 AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg, Wright SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 SENATE FLOOR : 31-0, 5/10/10 AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Calderon, Cedillo, Cogdill, Correa, Cox, DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Romero, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Corbett, Denham, Dutton, Harman, Liu, Oropeza, Wiggins, Vacancy, Vacancy ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/12/10 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Archaeological resources: restitution SOURCE : Society for California Archaeology CONTINUED SB 1034 Page 2 DIGEST : This bill increases the misdemeanor penalty for knowingly and willfully excavating, removing, destroying, or defacing any historic or prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, archaeological or paleontological site situated on public lands from a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to six months in county jail, to a fine of up to $10,000 and/or up to one year in county jail. Assembly Amendments strengthen penalties and add an appropriation to restore and repair archaeological resources. ANALYSIS : Existing law prohibits a person from knowingly and willfully excavating upon, or removing, destroying, injuring, or defacing, any historic or prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, archaeological or vertebrate paleontological site, including fossilized footprints, inscriptions made by human agency, rock art, or any other archaeological, paleontological, or historical feature, situated on public lands, as defined. A violation of this prohibition is a misdemeanor. This bill: 1. Increases the misdemeanor penalty for knowingly and willfully excavating, removing, destroying, or defacing any historic or prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, archaeological or paleontological site situated on public lands from a fine of up to $1,000 and/or up to six months in county jail, to a fine of up to $10,000 and/or up to one year in county jail. 2. Adds an appropriation for the restoration and repair of archaeological resources. 3. Requires the court to order restitution, unless the court finds compelling reasons not to do so, to the state agency with primary jurisdiction over the public lands where the violation occurred. The restitution amount shall be based on the commercial and archaeological value of the property and the cost of restoration and repair of archaeological resources SB 1034 Page 3 damaged as a result of the violation. 4. Specifies the following property is subject to forfeiture after conviction for damaging an archaeological site: A. The archaeological resource that was the subject of the violation, if in the possession of the person. B. The vehicle used in connection with the violation if it was specifically designed to assist in the commission of the crime. The vehicle will be released if the legal owner of the vehicle is not the person convicted, or if another has a community property interest in the vehicle and there is no other vehicle available to that other party. C. Equipment used in the violation. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 5/3/10) Society for California Archaeology (source) Barona Band of Mission Indians California Communities United Institute California State Park Rangers Association California State Parks Foundation Maritime Museum of San Diego Save Our Heritage Organisation The Trust for Public Land ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states that "Current state law does not adequately protect our archaeological resources and provide for adequate restitution when those resources are damaged. The federal Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) is far more stringent and does a better job of protecting irreplaceable artifacts. Currently, state law contains penalties that are far lower and impart minimal financial burden upon criminals caught damaging archaeological resources on state lands. In SB 1034 Page 4 addition, state law does not contain provisions for the determination of archaeological value and the cost of restoration. By adopting stricter penalties and aligning state and federal laws, the state will improve its ability to deter illegal excavations, enforce stricter penalties for these illegal activities and ensure that California counties to be a responsible steward of these precious resources." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Norby, Vacancy CTW:mw 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****