BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 691|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           
                                           
                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 691
          Author:   Muratsuchi (D)
          Amended:  8/12/13 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE  :  7-2, 6/25/13
          AYES:  Pavley, Evans, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Monning, Wolk
          NOES:  Cannella, Fuller

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-21, 5/23/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    State lands:  granted trust lands:  sea level rise

           SOURCE  :     State Lands Commission
                      State Controller John Chiang


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires a local trustee of granted public  
          trust lands whose annual gross public trust revenues exceed  
          $250,000 to prepare and submit to the State Lands Commission  
          (Commission) an assessment of how it proposes to address sea  
          level rise.

           ANALYSIS  :    

           Existing law  

          1. Protects, pursuant to the common law doctrine of the Public  
             Trust (Public Trust Doctrine), the public's right to use  
                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                     AB 691
                                                                     Page  
          2

             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. Grants, in trust, state public trust lands to over 80 local  
             public agencies (local trustees) 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. Recognizes a local trustee's fiduciary duty to take  
             reasonable steps under the circumstances to take and keep  
             control of and to preserve the trust property.

          This bill:

          1. Defines "local trustee" as a local trustee of granted public  
             trust lands that is a county, city, or district, including  
             water, sanitary, regional park, port, or harbor district, or  
             any other local political or corporate subdivision that has  
             been granted public trust lands through a legislative grant.

          2. Establishes that addressing the impacts of sea level rise for  
             all of its legislatively granted public trust lands pursuant  
             to this bill shall be among the management priorities of a  
             local trustee. 

          3. Requires, by July 1, 2019, a local trustee whose gross public  
             trust revenues average over $250,000 annually between January  
             1, 2009, and January 1, 2014, to prepare and submit to the  
             Commission an assessment of how it proposes to address sea  
             level rise (sea level rise assessment).  

          4. Requires the sea level rise assessment to include all of the  

                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                     AB 691
                                                                     Page  
          3

             following:

             A.    An assessment of the impact of sea level rise on  
                granted public trust lands, as described in the  
                Resolution of the California Ocean Protection Council on  
                Sea-level Rise and the latest version of the State of  
                California Sea-Level Rise Guidance Document;

             B.    Maps showing the areas that may be affected by sea  
                level rise in the years 2030, 2050, and 2100.  These  
                maps shall include the potential impacts of 100-year  
                storm events.  A local trustee may rely on appropriate  
                maps generated by other entities; and

             C.    An estimate of the financial cost of the impact of  
                sea level rise on granted public trust lands.  The  
                estimate shall consider, but is not limited to, the  
                potential cost of repair of damage to and the value of  
                lost use of improvements and land, and the anticipated  
                cost to prevent or mitigate potential damage; and 

             D.    A description of how the local trustee proposes to  
                protect and preserve natural and manmade resources and  
                facilities located, or proposed to be located, on trust  
                lands and operated in connection with the use of the  
                trust lands.  The description shall include, but is not  
                limited to, how wetlands restoration and habitat  
                preservation would mitigate impacts of sea level rises.

          5. Requires the Commission to exempt a local trustee from  
             preparing a sea level rise assessment if the Commission finds  
             any of the following:

             A.    The local trustee's public trust lands are not  
                subject to sea level rise by 2100, based upon the  
                highest projections in the most recent version of the  
                State of California Sea-Level Rise Guidance; 

             B.    The cost to provide an assessment of how the local  
                trustee proposes to address the impacts of sea level  
                rise substantially outweighs the benefit the action  
                would have in preventing the potential economic and  
                environmental harms associated with sea level rise on  
                the local trustee's granted public trust lands.  In  

                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                     AB 691
                                                                     Page  
          4

                making this determination, the economic benefits of all  
                ecological services provided by the existing natural  
                resources in the local trustee's granted public trust  
                lands shall be considered; and

             C.    The revenues derived from its granted public trust  
                lands and assets or funding made available to it from  
                other discretionary sources is not sufficient to pay  
                for the cost of assessing the impacts of sea level rise  
                on granted public trust land.

           Background
           
          The Commission created by the Legislature in 1938 as an  
          independent body composed of three members - the Lieutenant  
          Governor, State Controller and the Director of Finance.  Among  
          other duties, the Commission is responsible for managing over 4  
          million acres of sovereign land acquired by California at  
          statehood.  These sovereign lands include the beds of navigable  
          rivers, lakes and streams, and tide and submerged lands.  These  
          lands are subject to the Public Trust Doctrine which protects  
          the public's right to use California's waterways for commerce,  
          navigation, fishing, boating, natural habitat protection, and  
          other water-oriented activities.  

          Public trust lands are held in trust by the state for the  
          benefit of the people of California.  Periodically, however, the  
          Legislature transfers sovereign lands to local government  
          entities for management purposes subject to certain terms and  
          conditions, including the public trust.  The state retains  
          oversight authority over public trust lands granted to local  
          governments.  Currently, there are 85 grants to local  
          governments (grantees).  The grantee is a trustee to the lands  
          and the revenues generated from these lands are held in trust  
          and may only be used for purposes consistent with the public  
          trust.  Examples of granted lands include the Ports of San  
          Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego.

          According to the National Research Council, the sea level off  
          most of the state's coast is expected to rise approximately 1.4  
          meters by 2100, an amount slightly higher than projected for  
          global sea levels.  This sea level rise will likely increase  
          damage in the state's coastal areas from storm surges and high  
          waves.  This is an issue that has serious implications for  

                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                     AB 691
                                                                     Page  
          5

          public trust lands held by local trustees.  For example, in  
          California's coastal areas approximately one-half million people  
          (based upon the 2009 population) and $100 billion of property  
          would be at risk at the end of the century from the estimated  
          impact of a 100 year storm coupled with the anticipated sea  
          level rise.

          In 2009, the Commission sent 104 surveys regarding sea level  
          rise to all of its grantees and lessees of major facilities  
          along the coast and San Francisco Bay.  Of the 104 surveys sent,  
          40 were completed and returned.  The responses indicated that  
          most trustees have not yet begun to comprehensively consider the  
          impacts of sea level rise.  A similar survey was conducted in  
          2010 and yielded similar results.

           Prior Legislation
           
          AB 752 (Brownley, 2011) would have required local trustees to  
          perform an assessment of sea level rise on granted lands (held  
          in Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/12/13)

          State Lands Commission (co-source)
          State Controller John Chiang (co-source)
          California Coastkeeper Alliance
          Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
          Sierra Club California

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/12/13)

          California State Association of Counties 
          League of California Cities 

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author, this bill  
          "would ensure that a local trustee takes reasonable steps to  
          protect public trust lands from sea level rise. [?] AB 691  
          begins the process of taking reasonable and wise steps to  
          preventing Californians from losing these important public  
          assets."


                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                     AB 691
                                                                     Page  
          6

          "This bill places the responsibility in the hands of the local  
          trustee because they are the ones best equipped to assess sea  
          level rise."

          The Sierra Club California states "requiring local trustees to  
          address the impacts of impending changes such as sea level rise  
          ensures that economic and natural communities in the potentially  
          affected areas are prepared.  The requirement also elevates  
          public attention to climate change's serious consequences.   
          Providing public access to the documents creates a transparency  
          which holds the local trustees accountable."

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    In a joint letter, the California  
          State Association of Counties and the League of California  
          Cities stated that "we're already planning for sea level rise"  
          and that this bill represents "another mandate for local  
          government."  The two opponents raise concerns about the  
          uncertainty of which grantee is affected by this bill and the  
          potential duplication of existing requirements to address sea  
          level rise in existing local planning processes.  Both express a  
          wish to continue working with the author's office.  
           
           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-21, 5/23/13
          AYES:  Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,  
            Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong,  
            Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Hall, Roger Hernández,  
            Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina,  
            Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel  
            Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,  
            Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NOES:  Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Dahle,  
            Donnelly, Fox, Beth Gaines, Hagman, Harkey, Linder, Logue,  
            Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Nestande, Olsen, Patterson,  
            Wagner, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Gorell, Gray, Grove, Holden, Jones, Waldron,  
            Vacancy, Vacancy


          RM:d  8/13/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                   ****  END  ****

                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                     AB 691
                                                                     Page  
          7

          












































                                                                CONTINUED