Amended in Assembly April 22, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 881

Introduced by Assembly Member Chesbro

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Williams and Yamada)

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February 22, 2013

An act to amend Sections 8670.40 and 8670.41 of, and to add Section 8670.43 to, the Government Code, relating to oil spills.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 881, as amended, Chesbro. Oil spill prevention and administrative fee.

Existing law imposes an oil spill prevention and administration fee in an amount determined by the administrator to implement oil spill prevention activities, but not to exceed, until January 1, 2015, $0.065 per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products, on persons owning crude oil or petroleum products at a marine terminal. The fee is deposited into the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund in the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the fund are available for specified purposes, including to cover the costs incurred by the Oiled Wildlife Care Network for training and field collection and search and rescue activities.

This bill would increase the maximum annual assessment from $0.065 to $0.08 per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products and would allow the administrator to adjust the maximum fee annually based on the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index, as specified.

Existing law permits the administrator to charge a nontank vessel owner or operator a reasonable fee, to be collected with each application to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility, in an amount that is based upon the administrator’s costs in implementing oil spill prevention relating to nontank vessels.

This bill would require the fee not to exceed $3,500 per nontank vessel but would give the administrator discretion to reduce the fee for nontank vessels that pose a reduced risk of pollution and would allow the administrator to adjust the maximum fee annually based on the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index, as specified.

This bill would begin delete transfer $0.003 of the per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products fee collected, and $250 of the per nontank vessel fee collected, end delete begin insert allow the administrator to transfer up to $2,000,000 in funds from the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund to the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund, as described, end insert to fund specified activities begin insert of end insert the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.

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.  

Section 8670.40 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

8670.40.  

(a) The State Board of Equalization shall collect a
fee in an amount determined by the administrator to be sufficient
to carry out the purposes set forth in subdivision (e), and a
reasonable reserve for contingencies. The annual assessment shall
not exceed eight cents ($0.08) per barrel of crude oil or petroleum
products. The administrator may adjust the maximum fee annually
based on the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price
Index as determined pursuant to Section 2212 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code.

(b) (1) The oil spill prevention and administration fee shall be
imposed upon a person owning crude oil at the time that crude oil
is received at a marine terminal from within or outside the state,
and upon a person who owns petroleum products at the time that
those petroleum products are received at a marine terminal from
outside this state. The fee shall be collected by the marine terminal
operator from the owner of the crude oil or petroleum products
based on each barrel of crude oil or petroleum products so received
by means of a vessel operating in, through, or across the marine
waters of the state. In addition, an operator of a pipeline shall pay
the oil spill prevention and administration fee for each barrel of
crude oil originating from a production facility in marine waters
and transported in the state by means of a pipeline operating across,
under, or through the marine waters of the state. The fees shall be
remitted to the board by the terminal or pipeline operator on the
25th day of the month based upon the number of barrels of crude
oil or petroleum products received at a marine terminal or
transported by pipeline during the preceding month. A fee shall
not be imposed pursuant to this section with respect to crude oil
or petroleum products if the person who would be liable for that
fee, or responsible for its collection, establishes that the fee has
been collected by a terminal operator registered under this chapter
or paid to the board with respect to the crude oil or petroleum
product.

(2) An owner of crude oil or petroleum products is liable for
the fee until it has been paid to the board, except that payment to
a marine terminal operator registered under this chapter is sufficient
to relieve the owner from further liability for the fee.

(3) On or before January 20, the administrator shall annually
prepare a plan that projects revenues and expenses over three fiscal
years, including the current year. Based on the plan, the
administrator shall set the fee so that projected revenues, including
any interest, are equivalent to expenses as reflected in the current
Budget Act and in the proposed budget submitted by the Governor.
In setting the fee, the administrator may allow for a surplus if the
administrator finds that revenues will be exhausted during the
period covered by the plan or that the surplus is necessary to cover
possible contingencies. The administrator shall notify the board
of the adjusted fee rate, which shall be rounded to no more than
four decimal places, to be effective the first day of the month
beginning not less than 30 days from the date of the notification.

(c) The moneys collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
deposited into the fund.

(d) The board shall collect the fee and adopt regulations for
implementing the fee collection program.

(e) The fee described in this section shall be collected solely
for all of the following purposes:

(1) To implement oil spill prevention programs through rules,
regulations, leasing policies, guidelines, and inspections and to
implement research into prevention and control technology.

(2) To carry out studies that may lead to improved oil spill
prevention and response.

(3) To finance environmental and economic studies relating to
the effects of oil spills.

(4) To implement, install, and maintain emergency programs,
equipment, and facilities to respond to, contain, and clean up oil
spills and to ensure that those operations will be carried out as
intended.

(5) To respond to an imminent threat of a spill in accordance
with the provisions of Section 8670.62 pertaining to threatened
discharges. The cumulative amount of an expenditure for this
purpose shall not exceed the amount of one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000) in a fiscal year unless the administrator receives
the approval of the Director of Finance and notification is given
to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Commencing with the
1993-94 fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, it is the intent
of the Legislature that the annual Budget Act contain an
appropriation of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) from
the fund for the purpose of allowing the administrator to respond
to threatened oil spills.

(6) To reimburse the board for costs incurred to implement this
chapter and to carry out Part 24 (commencing with Section 46001)
of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(7) To cover annual costs incurred by the Oiled Wildlife Care
Network established by Section 8670.37.5, including costs for
training and field collection, and search and rescue activities,
pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 8670.37.5.

(f) The moneys deposited in the fund shall not be used for
responding to an oil spill.

(g) The moneys deposited in the fund shall not be used to
provide a loan to any other fund.

(h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2012.

SEC. 2.  

Section 8670.41 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

8670.41.  

(a) The administrator shall charge a nontank vessel
owner or operator a reasonable fee, to be collected with each
application to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility, in an
amount not to exceed three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500)
per nontank vessel for the administrator’s costs in implementing
this chapter relating to nontank vessels. The administrator may
adjust the maximum fee annually based on the percentage increase
in the California Consumer Price Index as determined pursuant to
Section 2212 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the administrator may
charge a reduced fee under this section for nontank vessels
determined by the administrator to pose a reduced risk of pollution,
including, but not limited to, vessels used for research or training
and vessels that are moored permanently or rarely move.

(c) The administrator shall deposit all revenue derived from the
fees imposed under this section in the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund established in the State Treasury under
Section 8670.38.

(d) Revenue derived from the fees imposed under this section
may be spent for the purposes listed in subdivision (e) of Section
8670.40, and may not be used for responding to an oil spill.

SEC. 3.  

Section 8670.43 is added to the Government Code, to
read:

8670.43.  

begin delete Three mills ($0.003) of the per barrel of crude oil or
petroleum products fee collected pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 8670.40 and two hundred fifty dollars ($250) of the per
nontank vessel fee collected pursuant to Section 8670.41 shall be
transferred end delete begin insert To the extent that the interest earned on the Oil Spill
Response Trust Fund is insufficient to meet the appropriation in
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (l) of Section
8670.48, the administrator may transfer up to two million dollars
($2,000,000) in funds end insert from the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund to the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund begin delete and, end delete begin insert to
be used, end insert upon appropriation by the Legislature, begin delete used for covering end delete
begin insert to cover end insert the annual costs of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network
described in paragraph (7) of subdivision (e) of Section 8670.40.