BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 551
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 29, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
SB 551 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: May 31, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : State property: tidelands transfer: City of Pittsburg.
SUMMARY : Repeals the 2006 public trust grant made to the City
of Pittsburg (City) and makes a new grant that includes the
lands from the 2006 grant as well as lands annexed to the City
in 2009. Specifically, this bill :
1)Repeals the 2006 grant made by AB 2324 (Canciamilla), Chapter
275, Statutes of 2006, and makes a new grant to the City that
includes the lands from the 2006 grant as well as lands
annexed to the City on December 31, 2009.
2)Provides, in the new grant, the following:
a) A requirement that the City must submit a trust lands
use plan by January 1, 2017, to the State Lands Commission
(Commission).
b) Authorization for the City to lease trust lands for
limited periods not to exceed 49 years; and,
c) A requirement for the City to report to the Commission
every five years, beginning in 2022, regarding the
utilization of trust lands for the five preceding years.
3)Requires the trust lands use plan to consist of a plan,
program, or other document that includes all of the following:
a) A general description of the type of uses planned or
proposed for the trust lands shown on a map or aerial
photograph;
b) The projected statewide benefit to be derived from the
planned or proposed uses of the trust lands;
c) The proposed method of financing the planned or proposed
uses of the trust lands, including estimated capital costs,
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annual operating costs, and anticipated annual trust
revenues;
d) An estimated timetable for implementation of the trust
lands use plan or any phase of the plan; and,
e) A description of how the trustee proposes to protect and
preserve natural and manmade resources and facilities
located on trust lands and operated in connection with the
use of the trust lands, including, but not limited to,
addressing impacts from sea level rise.
4)Requires the City, at the end of every fiscal year beginning
on June 30, 2012, to transmit 20% of all gross revenue
generated from the trust lands to the Commission, and provides
that of this amount, 80% will be deposited in the General Fund
and the remaining 20% will be deposited in the Land Bank Fund.
EXISTING LAW :
1) Protects, pursuant to the common law Public Trust
Doctrine, the public's right to use California's waterways
for commerce, navigation, fishing, boating, natural habitat
protection, and other water oriented activities. The
Public Trust Doctrine provides that filled and unfilled
tide and submerged lands and the beds of lakes, streams,
and other navigable waterways (i.e. public trust lands) are
to be held in trust by the state for the benefit of the
people of California.
2)Establishes the Commission is the steward and manager of the
state's public trust lands.
3)Grants, in trust, state public trust lands to over 80 local
public agencies (a.k.a. local trustees or grantees) to be
managed for the benefit of all the people of the state and
pursuant to the Public Trust Doctrine and terms of the
applicable granting statutes.
4)Provides that the Commission has oversight authority over
these granted public trust lands to ensure that they are
managed pursuant to the Public Trust Doctrine and relevant
granting statutes.
5) Grants, pursuant to Chapter 214, Statutes of 1937,
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Chapter 1835, Statutes of 1961, and Chapter 1828, Statutes
of 1963, portions of state tide and submerged lands to the
City for public trust purposes.
6) AB 2324 (Canciamilla):
a) Repealed existing legislative grants to the City and
enacted a new grant, subject to specified conditions and
public trust restrictions.
b) Defined "trust lands" to mean all tidelands and
submerged lands, whether filled or unfilled, situated
within the boundaries of the City as such boundaries exist
on January 1, 2007.
c) Required the City, on or before July 1, 2008, to submit
to the Commission for approval a plan of intended
development, preservation, or other use of the trust lands,
including the projected statewide financial, environmental,
or other benefits of the proposed uses of the trust lands,
the method of financing the plan, and a timetable for
implementation.
d) Authorized the City to lease the trust lands for periods
not exceeding 66 years, for purposes consistent with the
public trust and the development plan; the City may collect
and retain rents and other trust revenues from those
leases, but can only use them for purposes consistent with
the trust.
e) Directed the revenue generated from four specific
parcels to the General Fund rather than the City.
f) Set forth oversight, accounting, enforcement, and
revenue sharing provisions required of the City and
administered by the Commission.
7) Establishes the Land Bank Fund for which the Commission
is the trustee.
8) Allows the Land Bank Fund to receive funds for
mitigation or from title settlements, and allows the Land
Bank Fund to receive revenues from any party for the
purpose of providing management and improvement of real
property held by the Commission for the public trust.
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, the bill will reduce General Fund revenues by about
$330,000 per year. However, the Commission believes that, over
time, the bill will lead to increased state revenues.
COMMENTS :
1)For over 100 years, the Legislature has granted public trust
lands to local public agencies so they can be managed locally
for the benefit of the people of California. The Commission
retains oversight authority to ensure that the lands are
managed pursuant to the Public Trust Doctrine and the relevant
granting statutes. A granting statute generally explains what
lands have been granted and how the land is to be managed by
the grantee. Without a public trust grant, the Commission has
direct authority to lease or otherwise manage public trust
lands within the jurisdiction of a local public agency.
2)The City of Pittsburg pursued AB 2324 in 2006 in response to
its desire to control its entire shoreline for the purposes of
waterfront economic development. In 2009, approximately 1,467
acres and 17 parcels of public trust lands were annexed to the
City. Since these lands were annexed after AB 2324, they were
not part of the grant. This bill will grant administrative
control over these annexed lands to the City so they can be
incorporated into the City's shoreline redevelopment plans.
3)This bill repeals the 2006 grant contained in AB 2324, and
instead, makes a new grant to the City that includes the lands
from the 2006 grant as well as lands annexed to the city on
December 31, 2009. This new grant is substantially similar to
the AB 2324 grant except for the following: the new grant
requires the City to submit a trust lands use plan by January
1, 2017 and specifies the contents of the plan, authorizes the
City to lease trust lands for a period not to exceed 49 years,
and requires the City to transmit 20% of all gross revenues
generated from the trust funds, annually beginning on June 30,
2012, to the Commission. Of that 20%, 80% will be deposited
in the General Fund, and the remaining 20% will be deposited
in the Land Bank Fund.
4)Support arguments: Supporters believe that granting land to
the City of Pittsburg will allow further development of these
resources to be integrated in the city's land use planning and
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will benefit the residents of the city and region as a whole.
Opposition arguments: Opposition could argue that the
property being swapped by the Commission may be better off
remaining in the public's trust instead of being transferred
to the City.
5)This bill is double-referred to the Committees on Natural
Resources Committee and Local Government.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City of Pittsburg ÝSPONSOR]
Genon Energy, Inc.
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958