BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 595 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 27, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES Wesley Chesbro, Chair SB 595 (Wolk) - As Amended: May 3, 2011 SENATE VOTE : 39-0 SUBJECT : Tidelands and submerged lands: removal of vessels SUMMARY : Provides the State Lands Commission (Commission) with administrative authority to dispose of abandoned vessels located on state waterways. 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 that the Commission is the steward and manager of the state's public trust lands. The Commission has direct administrative control over the state's public trust lands and oversight authority over public trust lands granted by the Legislature to local governments. 3)Authorizes the Commission to remove from areas under its jurisdiction any vessel, boat, raft, or watercraft that either: a) Is left unattended and is moored, docked, beached, or made fast to land and in a position as to obstruct the normal movement of traffic, or to create a hazard to other vessels, to public safety, or to the property of another. b) Seriously interferes with, or otherwise poses a critical and immediate danger to navigation or to the public health, safety, or welfare. SB 595 Page 2 4)Authorizes the Commission, through court action, to remove or destroy any vessel, boat, watercraft, raft, or other similar obstruction which hinders navigation or otherwise creates a public nuisance. The Commission may recover its costs to remove a vessel or obstruction through appropriate court action. 5)Creates the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund, administered by the Department of Boating and Waterways, to provide grants to local agencies to remove, store, and dispose of abandoned, wrecked, or dismantled recreational vessels which pose a substantial hazard to navigation. SB 595 Page 3 6)Creates a pilot project that allows local agencies to use Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund monies to accept a surrendered recreational vessel if the vessel is in danger of being abandoned and has a likelihood of causing environmental degradation or becoming a hazard to navigation. THIS BILL: 1)Clarifies that the Commission may take immediate action, without notice, when it removes a vessel from an area in its jurisdiction that is a hazard to navigation or poses a significant threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, or to the environment. Classifies a vessel as "abandoned" if, after removal and the expiration of a 30 day notice mailed to all known owners and lienholders, the vessel remains unclaimed. 2)Authorizes the Commission to remove a vessel, regardless of its effect on navigation, the public, or environment, if it has been placed on state lands without the Commission's permission. Requires the Commission to attach a 30 day notice to remove on the vessel and mail a 15 day notice to any owner and lienholder that can be located before removal may occur. Classifies a vessel as "abandoned" if, after a notice to remove the vessel has expired, the vessel remains unclaimed. 3)Authorizes the Commission, at a properly noticed hearing, to take title to an abandoned vessel for the sole purpose of abatement and may cause the property to be sold, destroyed, or otherwise disposed of in any manner it determines expedient or convenient. Requires the Commission to give notice of the hearing to the known owner and known lienholders, who must also be given the right to appear and be heard prior to disposition of the property. Prohibits the Commission from implementing a decision to dispose of a vessel for 30 days after the decision to allow the owner to pursue any other legal action. 4)Authorizes the Commission, at its discretion, to take action to remove and dispose of an abandoned or derelict vessel on a navigable waterway in the state that is not under the Commission's jurisdiction if requested to do so by another public entity that has regulatory authority over the area where the vessel is located. SB 595 Page 4 FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. COMMENTS : 1)Background. The Commission has been entrusted with the responsibility of managing lands underlying the state's navigable and tidal waterways, known as "sovereign lands," including those underlying state waters in the Pacific Ocean. These lands, acquired at statehood in 1850, cover nearly four million acres and include more than 120 navigable river and streams and about 40 lakes. The Commission holds these sovereign lands in public trust and can only be used for purposes consistent with the trust (e.g., commerce, navigation, fisheries, recreation, preservation). According to the Commission, "boat owners in increasing numbers are abandoning both recreational and commercial vessels in areas within the Commission's jurisdiction. Our state waterways are becoming clogged with hulks that break up, leak, sink and add pollutants to our waterways and marine habitat." Recent press has documented how this problem has been exacerbated by the deteriorating economy as boat owners chose to abandon their boats instead of maintaining them. Currently, the Commission has authority to sue a vessel owner to remove his/her abandoned boat. To litigate a case like this can cost the state well over $100,000, not to mention hundreds if not thousands of hours of staff time. The Department of Boating and Waterways has a program that grants about $500,000 annually to local governments to remove abandoned vessels. This program, however, is limited to recreational boats and requires a proactive local government that is willing to apply for grants and provide ten percent matching funds. If a local government does not apply for funding or have the ability to provide matching funds, it does not receive state aid to remove abandoned vessels. Through this bill, the Commission has proposed an administrative adjudication process that will provide a more cost effective and streamlined process to remove abandoned vessels from state waters. The Commission may take title and sell or dispose of a vessel only after exhausting due process SB 595 Page 5 and notice requirements specified in the bill. The Commission has and continues to deal with salvors and scrap metal dealers for the purpose of vessel disposal; however, such dealers require clear title to scrap vessels. This bill will allow the Commission to provide clear title to these dealers. 2)Suggested Amendments. The bill allows the Commission to take administrative action if the vessel at issue is "abandoned." The bill considers a vessel abandoned if, after a notice to remove the vessel has expired, the vessel remains unclaimed. The bill does not define the term "unclaimed." Is a vessel claimed or unclaimed if a person admits ownership but refuses to remove the vessel? Since the intent of the bill is to clear the state's waterways of derelict vessels, the author and committee may wish to consider amendments clarifying that the bill can apply to a vessel with an owner who, after receiving notice from the Commission, does not make adequate arrangements to remove the vessel. The author and committee may also wish to consider an amendment suggested by the Recreational Boaters of California that deletes a provision that expressly preempts the Harbors and Navigation Code if a conflict of law exists. This suggested amendment seems reasonable since the consequence of the preemption provision is unclear at this point. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support None on file Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092