BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 152 Page 1 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. SB 152 Page 2 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. SB 152 Page 3 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 SB 152 Page 4 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 SB 152 Page 5 Analysis Prepared by : Lynn Kirshbaum / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092