BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1488| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ CONSENT Bill No: SB 1488 Author: Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee Amended: As introduced Vote: 27 SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/13/10 AYES: Pavley, Cogdill, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Padilla, Simitian, Wolk SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 SUBJECT : State lands: tidelands and submerged lands SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill modifies the Public Resources Code to require a survey of the trust lands granted to the City of Pittsburg in 2006 be completed by January 1, 2013, and exclude Browns Island from the same grant, and allows the Land Bank Fund to be used to create access to public trust lands. ANALYSIS : The State Lands Commission (SLC) exercises the state's ongoing oversight authority over all of the state's public trust lands. These include filled and unfilled tide and other submerged lands as well as the beds of navigable rivers, lakes and streams. These lands cannot be bought or sold but the state's administrative authority to manage them may be granted by the Legislature to local agencies, subject to the public trust, for specific uses of statewide CONTINUED SB 1488 Page 2 benefit. The public trust is a set of guiding principles that direct the state to hold its title to public trust lands in a manner to protect the public's interest in activities that are typically water dependent or related. While continually evolving to meet changing public needs, these activities include, for example, navigation, commerce, fishing, recreation and environmental protection. The Legislature has been making grants of these lands since the state's inception. In 2006, the City of Pittsburg sponsored AB 2324 (Canciamilla), Chapter 275, Statutes of 2006, which replaced several existing legislative grants of tide and other submerged lands to the city with a single grant subject to the public trust and certain other provisions. Pittsburg sought the legislation in order to simplify the development plans of its port, speed clean-up of contaminated industrial areas, boost its economic growth and create jobs. The SLC is also the trustee of the Land Bank Fund (LBF) created pursuant to the Kapiloff Land Bank Act of 1982. There are certain restrictions on the LBF's operation. The LBF may receive funds from: 1. Title settlements which may be used to purchase specific LBF parcels and the conveyance of those interests to the state. 2. Project applicants for the purposes of mitigation. 3. Any party for projects to provide for the management and improvement of real property held by the SLC to provide open space, habitat and public access. This bill modifies the Public Resources Code to require a survey of the trust lands granted to the City of Pittsburg in 2006 be completed by January 1, 2013, and exclude Brown's Island from the same grant, and allows the LBF to be used to create access to public trust lands. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SB 1488 Page 3 SUPPORT : (Verified 4/26/10) City of Pittsburg State Lands Commission ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The proposed bill addresses two items of concern to the SLC which, if passed, will improve its ability to meet its public land management and resource protection goals. CTW:mw 4/27/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****