BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 152 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 152 (Pavley) As Amended May 25, 2011 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :24-15 NATURAL RESOURCES 5-4 LOCAL GOVERNMENT 5-3 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Brownley, Dickinson, |Ayes:|Alejo, Bradford, Campos, | | |Hill, Monning, Skinner | |Gordon, Hueso | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Chesbro, Knight, Grove, |Nays:|Smyth, Knight, Norby | | |Halderman | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- APPROPRIATIONS 12-5 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, | | | | |Bradford, Charles | | | | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, | | | | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, | | | | |Mitchell, Solorio | | | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, | | | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Repeals the 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. Specifically, this bill: 1)Repeals the rent-free recreational pier statute and the associated legislative findings and declarations. 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. SB 152 Page 2 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; and, 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. 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. 5)Defines "recreational pier" as any fixed facility for the docking or mooring of boats that is constructed for the use of SB 152 Page 3 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. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 1)Annual costs to SLC of approximately $200,000 to administer rental agreements on leases for use of state land. 2)SLC estimates annual rent revenue ranging from $225,000 in 2011-12 and gradually peaking at about $2 million beginning 10 years following passage of the bill. COMMENTS : 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 Legislature passed SB 349 (Nejedly), 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. SB 152 Page 4 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 (Nejedly), 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 (i.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." Some of the littoral landowners with rent-free recreational piers on state lands oppose the bill arguing, among other things, that it is unfair to require rent now when rent was never charged in the past. Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0001996