BILL ANALYSIS SB 1488 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 21, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES Wesley Chesbro, Chair SB 1488 (Committee on Natural Resources & Water) - As Introduced: March 9, 2010 SENATE VOTE : 33-0 SUBJECT : State lands: tidelands and submerged lands SUMMARY : Specifically excludes Brown's Island from the public trust lands granted to the City of Pittsburg (City) and requires the California State Lands Commission (SLC) to conduct a survey of the City's public trust lands by January 1, 2013 and establishes that the Land Bank Fund may be used to create access to public trust lands in addition to the land's management and improvement. EXISTING LAW : 1)Establishes legislative grants of tidelands and submerged public trust lands, subject to specified conditions, to the City for purposes of commerce, navigation, fisheries, preservation of lands in their natural state for scientific study, open space, wildlife habitat, and recreational and visitor-oriented uses. 2)Establishes the Kapiloff Land Bank Act of 1982 which facilitates settlements of title to real property with cash payments. The State holds and administers the acquired lands as sovereign tidelands, submerged lands, and navigable waterways. 3)Establishes the SLC as the trustee of the Land Bank Fund (LBF), created pursuant to the Kapiloff Land Bank Act, which may receive funds from settlements used to purchase specific LBF parcels as well as from applicants wishing to complete projects that provide for the management and improvement of real property held by the SLC to provide open space, habitat and public access. 4)Establishes that the LBF may be used by SLC to purchase tidal and submerged lands, lands which have been or may be converted to wetlands or adjoining or nearby lands where the public use SB 1488 Page 2 and ownership of the land is necessary or extremely beneficial for the promotion of public trust purposes. 5)Requires the City to establish its water boundaries and to file a survey of the revenue and spending from the administration of the lands with the SLC on a yearly basis. THIS BILL : 6)Provides that Brown's Island is not included within the lands granted in trust to the City. 7)Requires the SLC to conduct a survey of lands granted in trust in 2006 to the City to be completed and recorded by January 1, 2013, and that the survey be the financial responsibility of the City. 8)Authorizes the expenditure of revenues for projects that provide access to the City's public trust lands in addition to its management and improvement. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : AB 2324 (Canciamilla), Chapter 275, Statutes of 2006, granted lands to the City to be held in public trust. These lands were to include tidal and submerged land on the condition, among others, that the City be responsible for drawing its water boundaries. The City has not completed this task. This bill requires the SLC to complete a survey to determine the physical boundaries of the public land grant. The survey will be paid for by the City. Since Brown's Island is already within the jurisdiction of the Port of Stockton and East Bay Regional Parks District, this bill will provide that it will be excluded from the lands held in public trust by the City. The LBF funds are currently managed by the SLC. These funds are donated and can only be used for specific purposes for the management and the improvement of public trust lands. This bill would expand the scope of these funds to include the creation of public access to the lands. Possible examples of public access include wheelchair ramps, paths, roads, and stairs. Currently, LBF spending is strictly limited to public trust lands, which the SLC feels is ambiguous in terms of access to public lands. SB 1488 Page 3 Including this bill's public access clause will clarify this ambiguity by allowing construction projects that join non-public trust areas to public trust areas. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California State Lands Commission City of Pittsburg Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Jessica Westbrook / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092