BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 727 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 727 (Stone) As Amended June 18, 2013 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |May 20, 2013 |SENATE: |33-0 |(July 1, 2013) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES. SUMMARY : Requires, for maintenance dredging on granted public trust lands, a local trustee of public trust lands (local trustee) to notify the State Lands Commission (Commission) in writing of the dredging project rather than submit a lease application and processing fee. The Senate amendments clarify that a local trustee or applicant for dredging may presume that a dredging lease is not required if certain conditions are met. EXISTING LAW : 1)Protects, pursuant to the common law doctrine of the Public Trust (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. Establishes, pursuant to the Public Trust Doctrine, 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. Grants the Commission 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 (i.e., 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. AB 727 Page 2 4)Requires, generally, through individual granting statutes that the mineral rights of the granted public trust lands are reserved by the state. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY : 1)Declared that it is the intent of the Legislature to streamline the process of dredging on granted tide and submerged lands wherein mineral deposits are reserved to the state when consistent with the preservation and promotion of tideland trust activities, and to preserve tideland trust revenue within the corpus of the trust. 2)Required a local trustee or an applicant for dredging on granted tide and submerged lands that intends to commence dredging on granted public trust lands, upon which any right to minerals on those lands is reserved by the state, to notify the Commission, in writing, no later than 120 days prior to the time dredging is commenced. 3)Required the dredging notice to contain all of the following information: a) A description of the dredging to be conducted on those lands, including a map and land description showing the area and project site; b) A description of the amount of material to be dredged, disposal amount, location, and means of disposal, if available; c) The time and manner in which dredging is to occur; d) The relevant permits, authorizations, and approvals that exist or must be obtained to complete dredging, or, if applicable, demonstration of compliance with a dredged materials management office plan that is administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers; e) A declaration that the dredging is necessary for the proper management of the grant consistent with the public trust for commerce, navigation, and fisheries, or a statement of why the dredging is necessary to be undertaken for other purposes and a declaration that the dredging is consistent with the statutory grant; and, AB 727 Page 3 f) A statement with supporting documents that explains whether the trustee anticipates receipt of any revenues from the materials to be dredged, and, if so, in what amounts. 4)Did not require, after submission of the written dredging notice, a local trustee or applicant for dredging to enter into a lease for the dredging if all of the following conditions are met: a) The dredging is maintenance dredging consistent with the proper management of the granted lands; b) The dredged material is not sold or used for a private benefit; and, c) The dredged material is disposed of at an approved onshore or offshore disposal site. 5)Authorized the Commission to require a lease for any dredging on granted tide and submerged lands wherein the right to minerals is reserved to the state if the proposed dredging does not meet the conditions described above. Authorized the Commission to delegate the authority to determine whether a lease is necessary to its executive officer. If the Commission determines that a lease is required, required the Commission to provide the grantee or applicant for dredging with written notification of that determination within 30 days after the Commission receives notification of the proposed dredging. Required all applicable reimbursement costs to be submitted with the application for a lease, if a lease is necessary. 6)Did not exempt a local trustee of tide and submerged lands or other person or entity dredging on those lands from any permit or other approval necessary to carry out dredging operations that may be required by another local, state, or federal law. 7)Required any revenue that is earned by a local trustee from the dredging of granted lands to be held or spent in a manner consistent with the trustee's existing obligations under the Public Trust Doctrine and the specific terms of its grant of lands. AB 727 Page 4 8)Required, if a local trustee receives any revenue from the dredged materials not otherwise disclosed in the dredging notice, the local trustee to immediately notify the Commission in writing. Authorized the Commission to require the grantee to pay a reasonable royalty and enter into a lease for the dredging. If a grantee fails to notify the commission, authorized the Commission to require the local trustee to remit all revenues to the state. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. COMMENTS : Since 1851, public trust lands have been legislatively granted to local government entities to manage in trust on behalf of the people of California. While these entities manage these lands, most statutory grants reserve the mineral rights to the state. These mineral reservations stipulate that any dredging activities on these lands require a dredging lease from the Commission. When a local grantee of public trust lands applies for a dredging lease with the Commission, it is responsible for the Commission's staffing costs for processing the application. These costs are approximately $1,500 and the processing can take several months depending on the completeness of the application, the Commission's meeting schedule, and staff resources. According to Commission staff, if dredging will result in a public good, the Commission does not charge an annual rent for the lease. In an effort to streamline the dredging lease process and to more efficiently allocate Commission staff resources, this bill will eliminate the requirement that dredging on granted public trust lands requires a lease if: 1) the dredging is maintenance dredging consistent with the proper management of the granted lands, 2) the dredged material is not sold or used for a private benefit, and 3) the dredged material is disposed of at an approved onshore or offshore disposal site. The person or entity wishing to conduct the dredging will, however, be required to notify the Commission of their intent to dredge and include specific information about the project. No lease application or fee will be required with this notice. This bill does not affect other local, state, and federal requirements associated with a dredging project, such as those AB 727 Page 5 imposed by the Coastal Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Regional Water Quality Control Boards. Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0001337