BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 691|
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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."
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"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 Hern�ndez,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina,
Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Ch�vez, 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
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