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.









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          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
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          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
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           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 








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            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