BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                AB 1656
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        CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
        AB 1656 (Fong)
        As Amended  July 3, 2012
        Majority vote
         
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        |ASSEMBLY:  |51-25|(May 29, 2012)  |SENATE: |23-13|(August 27,    |
        |           |     |                |        |     |2012)          |
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         Original Committee Reference:   NAT. RES.  

         SUMMARY  :  Expands the jurisdiction of the East Bay representative on 
        the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority (Authority).  This bill 
        also expands project eligibility under the San Francisco Bay 
        Restoration Authority Act (Act) to include the San Francisco Bay 
        Area (Bay Area). 

         The Senate amendments  exclude the Delta primary zone from 
        eligibility for restoration projects under the Act and remove a 
        provision that extended the sunset on the Authority from 2029 to 
        2036.  

         EXISTING LAW  :

        1)Under the Act: 

           a)   Defines "San Francisco Bay" as "all areas that are subject 
             to tidal action from the south end of the bay to the Golden 
             Gate (Point Bonita-Point Lobos) and to the Sacramento River 
             line (a line between Stake Point and Simmons Point, extended 
             northeasterly to the mouth of Marshall Cut), including all 
             sloughs, and specifically, the marshlands lying between mean 
             high tide and five feet above mean sea level; tidelands (land 
             lying below mean low tide);"  

           b)   Defines "San Francisco Bay Area" as "the area within the 
             State Coastal Conservancy's San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy 
             Program," as specified, and "includes the Counties of Alameda, 
             Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa 
             Clara, Solano, and Sonoma;"  

           c)   Establishes the Authority to raise and allocate resources 
             for the restoration, enhancement, protection, and enjoyment of 
             wetlands and wildlife habitats in the San Francisco Bay and 








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             along its shoreline; specifies that its jurisdiction extends 
             throughout the Bay Area;

           d)   Establishes a governing board for the Authority composed of 
             seven members, to be appointed by the Association of Bay Area 
             Governments: 

             i)     One member, who serves as chair, must be a resident of 
               the Bay Area with expertise in the implementation of the San 
               Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program;

             ii)    One member who is an elected official of a bayside city 
               or county in the North Bay, as defined; 

             iii)   One member who is an elected official of a bayside city 
               or county in the East Bay, as defined; 

             iv)    One member who is an elected official of a bayside city 
               or county in the South Bay, as defined; 

             v)     One member who is an elected official of a bayside city 
               or county in the West Bay, as defined; and,

             vi)    Two members who are elected officials of a bayside city 
               or county or regional park district, regional open-space 
               district, or regional park and open-space district, as 
               specified. 

           e)   Authorizes the Authority to raise funding through a broad 
             array of measures, including levying a special tax, benefit 
             assessment, or property-related fee; pursuing grant funding; 
             issuing revenue bonds; and incurring bond indebtedness.  
             Specifies that the principal and interest of any bond 
             indebtedness must be repaid before January 1, 2029;

           f)   Specifies that an eligible project shall do at least one of 
             the following: 

             i)     Restore, protect, or enhance tidal wetlands, managed 
               ponds, or natural habitats on the San Francisco Bay 
               shoreline; 

             ii)    Build or enhance shoreline levees or other flood 
               management features that are part of a project to restore, 
               enhance, or protect the lands in a); or, 








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             iii)   Provide or improve public access or recreational 
               amenities that are part of a project to restore, enhance, or 
               protect the lands in a).

           g)   Requires regular auditing of the Authority's accounts and 
             records.  Requires the board to provide annual financial 
             reports; and, 

           h)   Sunsets the Authority on January 1, 2029.  

        2)Defines "Delta primary zone" to mean the delta land and water area 
          of primary state concern and statewide significance that is 
          situated within the boundaries of the delta, but that is not 
          within either the urban limit line or sphere of influence line of 
          any local government's general plan or currently existing studies, 
          as of January 1, 1992.  The precise boundary lines of the primary 
          zone includes the land and water areas as shown on the map titled 
          "Delta Protection Zones" on file with the State Lands Commission. 

         AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill:

        1)Expanded the jurisdiction of the board member from the East Bay to 
          include all of Contra Costa County (currently limited to the area 
          west of the City of Pittsburg). 

        2)Expanded project eligibility to include projects within all of the 
          Bay Area, rather than only the San Francisco Bay shoreline, as 
          defined. 

        3)Extended the sunset for the Authority to January 1, 2036.  

         FISCAL EFFECT  :  None

         COMMENTS  :  The San Francisco Bay is the second largest in the nation 
        and perhaps the most biologically significant estuary on the Pacific 
        Coast.  Approximately 500 species of fish and wildlife call it home, 
        128 of them threatened or endangered, like the California clapper 
        rail and salt marsh harvest mouse.  The Bay has also suffered what 
        is likely the most extensive degradation of any estuary in the U.S.  
        Many years of filling, pollution, and alien species invasions have 
        taken a great toll on the ecosystem.  Today, only 20% of the Bay's 
        original tidal marshes and wetlands remain.  Despite these losses, 
        however--or perhaps because of them--the Bay is now a major center 
        for a vibrant habitat restoration movement.








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        The Authority was established by AB 2954 (Lieber), Chapter 690, 
        Statutes of 2008, to restore shoreline wetland habitat around the 
        San Francisco Bay.  In 2007, Save the Bay released a report 
        proposing a broad framework to achieve a goal of 100,000 cumulative 
        acres of wetlands in the Bay. The report estimated costs of about 
        $1.43 billion over 50 years to restore, monitor, and maintain 
        approximately 36,000 acres of wetlands that have already been 
        acquired, not including the costs of acquiring and restoring an 
        additional 22,912 acres.  AB 2954 implemented this recommendation. 

        Previously, the Legislature created the San Francisco Bay Area 
        Conservancy Program (Program) in 1997 within the State Coastal 
        Conservancy.  Since then, it has helped develop and fund over 425 
        restoration and other projects, urban and rural, large and small, in 
        Bay and Delta waters, in streams and on land.  The Program has led 
        or facilitated the restoration planning for four of the largest 
        restoration projects in the Bay totaling over 26,000 acres and at a 
        cost of over $1.2 billion.  

        According to the sponsor, current statute specifies that the 
        Authority's jurisdiction includes the entire San Francisco Bay Area, 
        including Contra Costa County.  However, the East Bay seat on the 
        governing board excludes the eastern portion of the county.  This 
        bill expands the jurisdiction of the East Bay board member to 
        include all of Contra Costa County.  

        This bill also expands the eastern boundary for eligible projects to 
        include all of the Bay-related shoreline in Solano and Contra Costa 
        counties.  The author states that important Bay restoration 
        opportunities have been identified on the eastern Solano and Contra 
        Costa county shorelines.  
         

        Analysis Prepared by  :    Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 
        319-2092 


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