BILL NUMBER: AB 763	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 12, 2013
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 2, 2013
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 17, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 29, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 10, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 18, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Buchanan

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2013

   An act to add Section 64.5 to the Harbors and Navigation Code,
relating to aquatic invasive plants.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 763, as amended, Buchanan. Aquatic invasive plants: control and
eradication.
   Existing law designates the  Department  
Division  of Boating and Waterways as the lead agency of the
state for the purpose of cooperating with agencies of the United
States and other public agencies in controlling certain invasive
plants in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, its tributaries, and the
marsh, and authorizes the  department   division
 to furnish money, services, equipment, and other property for
the control of those invasive plants.
   This bill would additionally designate the  department
  division  as the lead agency of the state for the
purpose of cooperating with other state, local, and federal agencies
in identifying, detecting, controlling, and administering programs
to manage invasive aquatic plants, as defined, in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta, its tributaries, and the Suisun Marsh. The bill would
authorize the  department  division  , in
consultation with appropriate state, local, and federal agencies, and
upon concurrence from the Department of Fish and Wildlife following
the completion of a specified assessment described in the bill, to
take such action it determines is necessary to implement control and,
when feasible, eradication measures for those invasive aquatic
plants.
   This bill would require the  department  
division  to regularly consult with the United States Department
of Agriculture, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of
California, and other members of the scientific and research
communities, and other state agencies with authority over the control
of invasive aquatic plants, to determine which species of those
plants should be given the highest priority for management and to
determine the best control, and, when feasible, eradication measures.
The bill would also require the  department,  
division,  after consulting with those entities, if it
identifies a species of aquatic plant that may be invasive and need
to be controlled or eradicated, to notify the Department of Fish and
Wildlife of the potential threat from that aquatic plant.
   The bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife, after
receipt of that notice, in consultation with other appropriate local,
state, and federal agencies, to conduct a risk assessment of that
aquatic plant species to determine whether the plant species presents
a threat to the environment, economy, or human health, as determined
after consideration of specified factors. The bill would require the
risk assessment to specify whether the aquatic plant under
consideration has been determined to be an invasive aquatic plant.
The bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife, within 60
days after completing that assessment, to report its findings to the
 department   division  so that the
 department   division  may take any
necessary action to control and, when feasible, eradicate an invasive
aquatic plant, as authorized under the bill.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The spread of invasive aquatic plants is a continuing problem
in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, its tributaries, and the Suisun
Marsh.
   (b) Invasive aquatic plants impact the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta, its tributaries, and the Suisun Marsh by creating navigational
obstructions and hazards for boats and other watercraft; impairing
recreational activities such as swimming, fishing, and hunting;
damaging water supply infrastructure and flood protection systems;
altering water quality; and degrading the physical and chemical
characteristics of fish and wildlife habitat.
   (c) Coordinated, early-stage response to introductions of invasive
aquatic plants is critical to long-term control and management of
those invasive species to protect the state's environment, economy,
and human health from harmful impacts of those invasive species.
   (d) Authorizing the  Department   Division
 of Boating and Waterways to cooperate with other state,
federal, and local agencies in the identification and management of
invasive aquatic plants in-lieu of requiring that the 
department   division  undertake legislative action
each time a new species of invasive aquatic plant is identified,
would enable the state to manage and control invasive aquatic plants
in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, its tributaries, and the Suisun
Marsh in a more cost-efficient and effective manner than is currently
implemented.
  SEC. 2.  Section 64.5 is added to the Harbors and Navigation Code,
to read:
   64.5.  (a) The  department   division 
is designated as the lead agency of the state for the purpose of
cooperating with other state, local, and federal agencies in
identifying, detecting, controlling, and administering programs to
manage invasive aquatic plants in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,
its tributaries, and the Suisun Marsh. The  department,
  division,  in consultation with appropriate
state, local, and federal agencies, may take such action it
determines is necessary, upon concurrence from the Department of Fish
and Wildlife following the completion of the risk assessment
described in subdivision (c), to implement control and, when
feasible, eradication measures for invasive aquatic plants. Any
actions taken to control invasive aquatic plants shall be in
compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and conducted in
an environmentally sound manner.
   (b) The  department   division  shall
regularly consult with the United States Department of Agriculture,
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, the University of California, and other
members of the scientific and research communities, as well as other
state agencies with authority over the control of invasive aquatic
plants to determine which species of those plants should be given the
highest priority for management and determine the best control and,
when feasible, eradication measures.
   (c) (1) After consulting with the various entities as required in
subdivision (b), if the  department   division
 identifies a species of aquatic plant that may be invasive and
need to be controlled or eradicated, the  department
  division  shall notify the Department of Fish and
Wildlife of the potential threat from that  aquatic  plant
species. After receipt of that notice, the Department of Fish and
Wildlife, in consultation with other appropriate local, state, and
federal agencies, including, but not limited to, the Department of
Food and Agriculture, the Department of Water Resources, the State
Water Resources Control Board, the Department of Pesticide
Regulation, and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment,
shall conduct a risk assessment of the aquatic plant species
identified by the  department   division 
to determine whether the plant species is invasive and presents a
threat to the environment, economy, or human health. In making that
determination, the  department   Department of
Fish and Wildlife  shall take prompt action to minimize
detrimental impacts and costs of management, and shall consider all
of the following:
   (A) Whether the aquatic plant species may obstruct navigation and
recreational uses of waterways.
   (B) Whether the aquatic plant species may cause environmental
damage, including threats to the health and stability of fisheries,
impairment to birds' access to waterways and nesting, roosting, and
foraging areas, deterioration of water quality resulting from plant
decay, and harm to native plants.
   (C) Whether the aquatic plant species may cause harm to the state'
s economy, infrastructure, or manmade facilities such as state water
storage facilities and pumping operations, by increasing flood risk,
threatening water supplies by blocking pumps, canals, and dams
necessitating early control efforts.
   (2) Based on factors specified in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)
of paragraph (1) and any other environmental, economic, or human
health impacts, the risk assessment shall specify whether the plant
species under consideration has been determined to be an invasive
aquatic plant. Findings from the risk assessment shall be documented
in a way that clearly describes the severity and types of impacts
caused by a plant species determined to be an invasive aquatic plant.

   (3) Within 60 days after completing the risk assessment required
by paragraph (1), the Department of Fish and Wildlife shall report
its findings to the  department   division 
so that the  department   division  may
take any necessary action to control and, when feasible, eradicate an
invasive aquatic plant, as authorized under subdivision (a).
   (d) For purposes of this section, "invasive aquatic plant" means
an aquatic plant or algae species, including its seeds, fragments,
and other biological materials capable of propagating that species,
whose proliferation or dominant colonization of an area causes or is
likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human
health.
   (e) Aquatic plants shall be determined to be invasive through the
risk assessment required to be completed by the Department of Fish
and Wildlife in consultation with the  department 
 division  and other state, local, and federal agencies
pursuant to subdivision (c).