BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 152
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          Date of Hearing: June 27, 2011

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
                                Wesley Chesbro, Chair
                     SB 152 (Pavley) - As Amended:  May 25, 2011

           SENATE VOTE  :  24-15
           
          SUBJECT  :  Public lands:  general leasing law:  littoral 
          landowners 

           SUMMARY  :  Repeals a law that prohibits the State Lands 
          Commission (SLC) from charging rent for private recreational 
          piers constructed on state lands and requires SLC to charge fair 
          annual rent for such piers. 

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Provides that SLC has exclusive jurisdiction and leasing 
            authority over all public trust lands owned by the state.  
            Public trust lands generally consist of tide and submerged 
            lands and beds of navigable channels, streams, rivers, creeks, 
            lakes, bays, and inlets.

          2)Protects the public's right to use California's public trust 
            lands for commerce, navigation, fishing, boating, natural 
            habitat protection, and other water oriented activities.

          3)Establishes that SLC is not required to issue a private 
            recreational pier lease constructed on state lands for the use 
            of a littoral landowner, but if it does, it is prohibited from 
            charging rent for the lease.

          4)Defines "littoral landowner" as:

             a)   Any natural person or persons who own littoral land 
               improved with, and solely for, a single-family dwelling; or

             b)   Any association of, or any nonprofit corporation 
               consisting of, natural persons who own parcels of land, 
               each of which is zoned or used solely for a single-family 
               dwelling, and who are entitled to the use of a private 
               recreational pier on littoral land that is owned by the 
               association or nonprofit corporation and is not more than 
               one mile from any such parcel owned by a member thereof.








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          5)Defines "recreational pier" as any fixed facility for the 
            docking or mooring of boats that is constructed for the use of 
            the littoral landowner.

          6)Declares that private recreational piers on public trust lands 
            provide a public benefit by providing a safe harbor for 
            vessels that become disabled upon the waterways of the state, 
            a safe anchorage for vessels that become distressed in times 
            of severe weather conditions, the protection of the public 
            from navigational hazards often found adjacent to shorelines 
            along the waterways of this state, the elimination or 
            retardation of erosion along the shoreline of rivers and 
            streams, and the provision of navigational aide to members of 
            the public utilizing the waterways of the state.
          7)Declares that it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage 
            members of the public to construct private piers on the 
            navigable lakes, rivers, and streams of the state by providing 
            for rent-free private recreational piers.

          8)Prohibits the Legislature from making any gift or authorizing 
            the making of any gift, of any public money or thing of value 
            to any individual, municipal, or other corporation.

           THIS BILL  : 

          1)Repeals the rent-free recreational pier statute and the 
            associated legislative findings and declarations that support 
            the policy.

          2)Requires SLC to charge rent for a private recreational pier 
            constructed on state lands and that rent shall be based on 
            local conditions and local fair annual rental values. 

          3)Provides that the rent requirement does not apply to:

             a)   A lease in effect on July 1, 2011, for the term of that 
               lease. 

             b)   A lease for which the application and application fees 
               were submitted to the commission prior to March 31, 2011.

          4)Defines "recreational pier" to include a fixed facility for 
            the docking or mooring of boats. 









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           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :
           
          1)Background.  In 1976, the Attorney General wrote an opinion 
            concluding that the issuance of a rent-free lease to a 
            littoral landowner for a private recreational pier on state 
            land constitutes a gift of public property, which is 
            prohibited by the California Constitution's gift clause. There 
            is an exception, however, if the rent-free lease provides a 
            public benefit.  The Attorney General found no such public 
            benefit, especially since the public is excluded from these 
            piers.  
             
            The state Legislature passed SB 349, Chapter 431, Statutes of 
            1977, and declared that there is a substantial public benefit 
            from the construction and maintenance of private recreational 
            piers on waterways in the state that justifies rent-free 
            leases.  These benefits included the provision of safe harbor 
            for distressed or disabled vessels, protection of the public 
            from navigational hazards located near shorelines, elimination 
            or deceleration of erosion along shorelines, and the provision 
            of navigational aids to members of the public using waterways. 
            With SB 349, the Legislature intended to encourage members of 
            the public to construct private recreational piers on state 
            lands.

            SLC, the sponsor of this bill, asserts that the current law 
            only benefits an arbitrary group of people.  For example, the 
            rent-free recreational pier statute does not apply when the 
            littoral land is owned jointly by more than one family or when 
            the recreational pier is located on granted lands.  "There 
            seems to be no rationale justifying why these people Ýi.e. 
            rent-free lessees] deserve private exclusive use of state 
            lands without providing compensation to the state while others 
            pay fair market value for the same use of state property."  

            Opponents of the bill argue that property values of littoral 
            landowners that have built docks will diminish as a result of 
            the bill. They also argue that the individual homeowners 
            absorbed the cost of constructing and maintaining the piers 
            under the assumption that they would be rent-free.  

             Numerous attempts have been made in the legislature to repeal 
            or limit the rent-free provisions. Bills were proposed in 








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            1968, 1981, and 1991, but never made it out of the 
            Legislature.  

          2)Related Legislation  .  

           AB 693 (Badham, 1968) proposed a repeal of the rent-free 
            requirement and the definition of a littoral land owner. 
            Passed on consent in the Assembly, no hearing set in Senate 
            Governmental Efficiency Committee. 

          SB 349 (Nejedly), Chapter 431, Statutes of 1977, adopted 
            legislative finding and declaration that establish public 
            benefits derived from rent-free recreational piers. 

          SB 1017 (Sieroty, 1981) proposed to limit the rent-free 
            provisions to piers constructed prior to January 1, 1982 and 
            to sunset the rent-free provisions for all piers after January 
            1, 1985. Failed passage out of the Senate Governmental 
            Organization Committee. 

          AB 1490 (Speier, 1991) would have repealed the rent-free 
            provisions and would have (1) required the Commission to 
            establish an annual rental fee for private recreational piers 
            and buoys on state land, (2) required public access on private 
            piers that do not pay a rental fee, (3) prohibited the 
            subleasing, rental, or selling of a private pier or buoy on 
            state land without a new lease agreement with the state, (4) 
            required that revenues be deposited in the General Fund, (5) 
            required the commission to develop a management plan that 
            identifies the appropriate number of piers and buoys to be 
            constructed and leased on state lands. Passed Assembly with 
            only some provisions, assigned to the Senate Governmental 
            Organization Committee but was never heard. 
           
          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          California State Lands Commission (sponsor)
           
            Opposition 
           
          40 Individuals










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           Analysis Prepared by  :  Lynn Kirshbaum / NAT. RES. / (916) 
          319-2092