BILL NUMBER: AB 1112 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 23, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 27, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huffman
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Dickinson, Gatto, Gordon, Monning, and Williams)
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Sections 8670.39, 8670.40, and 8670.41
of, to amend and repeal Section 8670.41, and
8670.42 of, and to add Section 8670.32 to, the Government Code, and
to add and repeal Section 6226 of the Public Resources Code, relating
to oil spills.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1112, as amended, Huffman. Oil spill prevention and
administration fee: State Lands Commission.
(1) The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response
Act generally requires the administrator for oil spill response,
acting at the direction of the Governor, to implement activities
relating to oil spill response, including drills and preparedness,
and oil spill containment and cleanup, and to represent the state in
any coordinated response efforts with the federal government. The act
requires the administrator to periodically carry out announced and
unannounced drills to test response and cleanup operations,
equipment, contingency plans, and procedures.
This bill would require the administrator to develop and
implement a screening mechanism and conduct a risk
assessment of vessels engaged in bunkering and lightering operations
and determine the highest risk transfers a
comprehensive risk-based monitoring program for inspecting the
bunkering and lightering operations of vessels at anchor and
alongside a dock . The bill also would specify
requirements regarding monitoring and inspections of oil transfer
operations require that the administrator identify
bunkering and lightering operations that pose the highest risk of a
pollution incident and coordinate with the United States Coast Guard
to routinely monitor and inspect those operations. The bill would
require the admi nistrator to establish regulations to
provide for the best achievable protection during bunkering and
lightering operations in the marine environment .
(2) Existing law imposes an oil spill prevention and
administration fee in an amount determined by the administrator to
implement oil spill prevention activities, but not to exceed $0.05
per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products, on persons owning
crude oil or petroleum products at a marine terminal. The fee is
deposited into the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund in
the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in
the fund are available for specified purposes.
This bill would revise that fee to an amount not to exceed
$0.08 $0.07 per barrel of crude oil or
petroleum products. The bill would also authorize the administrator
to adjust the maximum fee annually for inflation, as measured by the
California Consumer Price Index. The bill also would require the
State Auditor to conduct an audit of the fund by January 1, 2013.
(3) Existing law requires the administrator to charge a nontank
vessel owner or operator a reasonable fee, to be collected with each
application to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility, in
an amount that is based upon the administrator's costs in
implementing certain provisions relating to nontank vessels. Revenue
from the fee is deposited into the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund for appropriation by the Legislature for
specified purposes.
This bill would establish that provide
that, before January 1, 2012, this fee at
shall not exceed $3,000 per nontank vessel for
the administrator's costs in implementing those provisions relating
to nontank vessels .
(4) Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Game to
contract with the Department of Finance to prepare and submit to the
Governor and the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2005, a
detailed report on the financial basis and programmatic effectiveness
of the state's oil spill prevention, response, and preparedness
program.
This bill would require the Department of Fish and Game and the
State Lands Commission, independently, to contract with the
Department of Finance to prepare and submit that report to the
Governor and the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2013, and no
less than once every 4 years thereafter. This provision
would be repealed on January 1, 2017.
(5) Under existing law, the State Lands Commission has
jurisdiction over state lands and ungranted tidelands and submerged
lands owned by the state.
This bill would require the State Lands Commission, on or before
March 1, 2012, in consultation with the Department of
Conservation, to report to the Legislature on regulatory
action, pending or already taken, and statutory recommendations for
the Legislature to ensure maximum safety and prevention of harm
during offshore oil drilling. This provision would be repealed on
January 1, 2016.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8670.32 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
8670.32. (a) The administrator shall develop a screening
mechanism and conduct a risk assessment of vessels engaged in
bunkering and lightering operations and determine the highest risk
transfers.
(b) The administrator shall increase by 2 percent annually the
monitoring and inspection of vessel oil transfer operations, until a
minimum of 10 percent of all oil transfer operations are being
routinely monitored and inspected. The monitoring and inspections
shall be conducted to ensure that a vessel has the appropriate
equipment in the event of an oil spill.
(c) A minimum of 50 percent of oil transfer operations subject to
monitoring and inspections shall be conducted at fuel transfer
operations occurring at anchorage.
8670.32. (a) To reduce the risk of an oil spill as a
result of fuel and lube oil transfers, the administrator shall
develop and implement a screening mechanism and a comprehensive
risk-based monitoring program for inspecting the bunkering and
lightering operations of vessels at anchor and alongside a dock. This
program shall identify those bunkering and lightering operations
that pose the highest risk of a pollution incident.
(b) The administrator shall ensure that all bunkering and
lightering operations that, pursuant to subdivision (a), pose the
highest risk of a pollution incident are routinely monitored and
inspected. The administrator shall coordinate the monitoring and
inspection program with the United States Coast Guard.
(c) The administrator shall establish regulations to provide for
the best achievable protection during bunkering and lightering
operations in the marine environment.
SEC. 2. Section 8670.39 of the Government Code is amended to read:
8670.39. (a) The administrator shall administer the fund in
accordance with this article.
(b) The administrator may develop and adopt any rules,
regulations, and guidelines determined to be necessary to carry out
and enforce this article.
(c) By January 1, 2013, the State Auditor shall conduct an audit
of the fund.
SEC. 3. Section 8670.40 of the Government Code is amended to read:
8670.40. (a) The State Board of Equalization shall collect a fee
in an amount determined by the administrator to be sufficient to
carry out the purposes set forth in subdivision (e), and a reasonable
reserve for contingencies. The annual assessment shall not exceed
eight cents ($0.08) seven cents ($0.07)
per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products. The administrator may
adjust the maximum fee annually for inflation, as measured by the
California Consumer Price Index.
(b) (1) The oil spill prevention and administration fee shall be
imposed upon a person owning crude oil at the time that the crude oil
is received at a marine terminal from within or outside the state,
and upon a person owning petroleum products at the time that those
petroleum products are received at a marine terminal from outside
this state. The fee shall be collected by the marine terminal
operator from the owner of the crude oil or petroleum products based
on each barrel of crude oil or petroleum products so received by
means of a vessel operating in, through, or across the marine waters
of the state. In addition, an operator of a pipeline shall pay the
oil spill prevention and administration fee for each barrel of crude
oil originating from a production facility in marine waters and
transported in the state by means of a pipeline operating across,
under, or through the marine waters of the state. The fees shall be
remitted to the board by the terminal or pipeline operator on the
25th day of the month based upon the number of barrels of crude oil
or petroleum products received at a marine terminal or transported by
pipeline during the preceding month. A fee shall not be imposed
pursuant to this section with respect to crude oil or petroleum
products if the person who would be liable for that fee, or
responsible for its collection, establishes that the fee has been
collected by a terminal operator registered under this chapter or
paid to the board with respect to the crude oil or petroleum
products.
(2) An owner of crude oil or petroleum products is liable for the
fee until it has been paid to the board, except that payment to a
marine terminal operator registered under this chapter is sufficient
to relieve the owner from further liability for the fee.
(3) On or before January 20, the administrator shall annually
prepare a plan that projects revenues and expenses over three fiscal
years, including the current year. Based on the plan, the
administrator shall set the fee so that projected revenues, including
interest, are equivalent to expenses as reflected in the current
Budget Act and in the proposed budget submitted by the Governor. In
setting the fee, the administrator may allow for a surplus if the
administrator finds that revenues will be exhausted during the period
covered by the plan or that the surplus is necessary to cover
possible contingencies. The administrator shall notify the board of
the adjusted fee rate, which shall be rounded to no more than four
decimal places, to be effective the first day of the month beginning
not less than 30 days from the date of the notification.
(c) The moneys collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
deposited into the fund.
(d) The board shall collect the fee and adopt regulations for
implementing the fee collection program.
(e) The fee described in this section shall be collected solely
for all of the following purposes:
(1) To implement oil spill prevention programs through rules,
regulations, leasing policies, guidelines, and inspections and to
implement research into prevention and control technology.
(2) To carry out studies that may lead to improved oil spill
prevention and response.
(3) To finance environmental and economic studies relating to the
effects of oil spills.
(4) To reimburse the member agencies of the State Interagency Oil
Spill Committee for costs arising from implementation of this
chapter, Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 8574.1) of Chapter 7 of
this code, and Division 7.8 (commencing with Section 8750) of the
Public Resources Code.
(5) To implement, install, and maintain emergency programs,
equipment, and facilities to respond to, contain, and clean up oil
spills and to ensure that those operations will be carried out as
intended.
(6) To respond to an imminent threat of a spill in accordance with
the provisions of Section 8670.62 pertaining to threatened
discharges. The cumulative amount of an expenditure for this purpose
shall not exceed the amount of one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) in a fiscal year unless the administrator receives the
approval of the Director of Finance and notification is given to the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Commencing with the 1993-94
fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, it is the intent of the
Legislature that the annual Budget Act contain an appropriation of
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) from the fund for the purpose
of allowing the administrator to respond to threatened oil spills.
(7) To reimburse the board for costs incurred to implement this
chapter and to carry out Part 24 (commencing with Section 46001) of
Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(8) To reimburse the costs incurred by the State Lands Commission
in implementing the former Oil Transfer and Transportation Emission
and Risk Reduction Act of 2002 (Division 7.9 (commencing with Section
8780) of the Public Resources Code).
(9) To cover costs incurred by the Oiled Wildlife Care Network
established by Section 8670.37.5 for training and field collection,
and search and rescue activities, pursuant to subdivision (g) of
Section 8670.37.5.
(f) The moneys deposited in the fund shall not be used for
responding to an oil spill.
SEC. 4. Section 8670.41 of the Government Code is amended to read:
8670.41. (a) The (1)
On and after January 1, 2012, the administrator shall
charge a nontank vessel owner or operator a reasonable fee,
to be collected with each application to obtain a certificate of
financial responsibility, in the amount of three thousand
dollars ($3,000) per nontank vessel for an amount that
is based upon the administrator's costs in implementing this
chapter relating to nontank vessels.
(2) Before January 1, 2012, the fee charged pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall be an amount that does not exceed three
thousand dollars ($3,000) per vessel.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the administrator may charge
a reduced fee under this section for nontank vessels determined by
the administrator to pose a reduced risk of pollution, including, but
not limited to, vessels used for research or training and vessels
that are moored permanently or rarely move.
(c) The administrator shall deposit all revenue derived from the
fees imposed under this section in the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund established in the State Treasury under Section
8670.38.
(d) Revenue derived from the fees imposed under this section shall
be spent for the purposes listed in subdivision (e) of Section
8670.40, and shall not be used for responding to an oil spill.
SEC. 5. Section 8670.42 of the Government Code is amended to read:
8670.42. (a) The Department of Fish and Game and the State Lands
Commission, independently, shall contract with the Department of
Finance for the preparation of a detailed report that shall be
submitted on or before January 1, 2013, and no less than once every
four years thereafter, to the Governor and the Legislature on the
financial basis and programmatic effectiveness of the state's oil
spill prevention, response, and preparedness program. This report
shall include an analysis of all of the oil spill prevention,
response, and preparedness program's major expenditures, fees and
fines collected, staffing and equipment levels, spills responded to,
and other relevant issues. The report shall recommend measures to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the state's oil spill
prevention, response, and preparedness program, including, but not
limited to, measures to modify existing contingency plan
requirements, to improve protection of sensitive shoreline sites, and
to ensure adequate and equitable funding for the state's oil spill
prevention, response, and preparedness program.
(b) (1) A report to be
submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in
compliance with Section 9795.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5, this section is repealed on
January 1, 2017.
SEC. 6. Section 6226 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
6226. (a) On or before March 1, 2012, the commission , in
consultation with the Department of Conservation, shall report
to the Legislature on regulatory action, pending or already taken,
and statutory recommendations for the Legislature to ensure maximum
safety and prevention of harm during offshore oil drilling. The
report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) A comprehensive set of requirements for offshore oil drilling
rigs operating in state waters to have fully redundant and
functioning safety systems to prevent a failure of a blowout
preventer from causing a major oil spill.
(2) A complete description of a response plan to control a blowout
and manage the accompanying discharge of hydrocarbons, including
both of the following:
(A) The technology and timeline for regaining control of a well.
(B) The strategy, organization, and resources necessary to avoid
harm to the environment and human health from hydrocarbons.
(3) Requirements for the use of the best available and safest
technologies and practices, if the failure of equipment would have a
significant effect on safety, health, or the environment.
(b) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
prepared in consideration of, but not limited to, all relevant
and applicable information contained in reports and
investigations related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico.
(c) (1) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on January 1, 2016.