BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 727
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 727 (Stone)
          As Amended  June 18, 2013
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |74-0 |May 20, 2013    |SENATE: |33-0 |(July 1, 2013) |
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           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.









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          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,








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             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.









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          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  








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          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