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