BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2764
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 2764 (Natural Resources) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Public resources: State Lands Commission: State Air
Resources Board
SUMMARY : Makes amendments to statutes related to 1) the State
Lands Commission's (Commission) authority to cede concurrent
criminal jurisdiction to the United States over military and
national parks land, 2) reporting requirements imposed on local
trustees of public trust lands, 3) the Air Resources Board's
(ARB) code section regarding expense reimbursements for ARB
members, 4) the Orange County public trust granting statute, and
5) the definition of "marine waters" in the Commission's oil
spill statutes.
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. Requires, through the Public Trust Doctrine, that
filled and unfilled tide and submerged lands and the beds of
lakes, streams, and other navigable waterways (public trust
lands) are to be held in trust by the state for the benefit of
the people of California.
2)Requires the Commission to be the steward and manager of the
state's public trust lands. Gives 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 (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.
This includes a grant of public trust lands located at Dana
Point Harbor to Orange County for the promotion of harbor
construction, operation, and related activities.
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4)Requires that all revenues received by a local trustee from
its trust lands and trust assets be expended only for those
uses and purposes consistent with the public trust for
commerce, navigation, and fisheries, and the applicable
statutory grant or grants. By October 1 of each year,
requires each local trustee to file with the Commission a
detailed statement of all revenues and expenditures relating
to its trust lands and trust assets, including obligations
incurred but not yet paid, covering the fiscal year preceding
submission of the statement.
5)Authorizes the Commission to cede concurrent criminal
jurisdiction for no more than a five year period to the United
States within certain lands held by the United States, as
specified.
6)Requires the Commission to adopt rules, regulations,
guidelines, and leasing policies for reviewing marine
terminals (i.e., facilities used for transferring oil to or
from tankers or barges) and other marine facilities to
minimize the possibilities of a discharge of oil. Defines
"marine facility" as any facility of any kind, other than a
vessel, which is or was used for the purposes of exploring
for, drilling for, producing, storing, handling, transferring,
processing, refining, or transporting oil and is located in
marine waters, or is located where a discharge could impact
marine waters. Defines marine waters as those waters subject
to tidal influence, except for waters in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Rivers and Delta upstream from a line running north
and south through the point where Contra Costa, Sacramento,
and Solano Counties meet.
THIS Bill :
1)Makes technical cleanup changes to the Commission's authority
to cede concurrent criminal jurisdiction to the United States
within certain lands held by the United States. Extends the
maximum period of cession from 5 years to 10 years.
Authorizes the Commission to approve cession at a regularly
noticed Commission meeting.
2)Changes the deadline for a local trustee's annual report from
October 1 to December 31.
3)Fixes a technical drafting error in an ARB code section
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regarding expense reimbursements for ARB members.
4)Expressly authorizes Orange County to use public trust
revenues from its granted public trust lands on lands located
outside of the grant boundaries if those revenues are used for
trust purposes.
5)Amends the definition of "marine waters" to include waterways
used for vessel traffic to the Port of Sacramento and the Port
of Stockton.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Ceding Concurrent Criminal Jurisdiction . The Legislature has
enacted a number of special statutes in the last 160 years
with respect to cession of the state's concurrent criminal
jurisdiction over federally owned lands used for military
purposes and national parks. These provisions can now be
found in Government Code Section 126. This bill makes cleanup
amendments, allows a cession to last up to ten years, and
allows the Commission to authorize cession at its regular
public meetings. Cession hearings happen separately from the
regular public Commission meetings. Since 1981, there only
have been two occasions when members of the public attended
these cession hearings. Commission staff spends considerable
time, effort, and expense to set up the hearings that is
generally not attended by either the United States or the
general public for whom it is intended. The process would be
more efficient if hearings could be incorporated into the
regular Commission meetings and if cession could be extended
by five years.
2)Local Trustee Annual Report . This bill changes the date local
trustees are required to submit their financial information to
the Commission from October 1 of each year to December 31st of
each year. This change has been suggested by Commission staff
because many local trustees regularly request an extension
from the Commission because their financial records are still
being audited, and often the auditing is not completed until
the end of December.
3)Orange County Tidelands Grant . This bill amends an Orange
County public trust land granting statute to provide the Dana
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Point Harbor District with a more flexible approach for
purchasing, leasing, or acquiring non-adjacent lands for
vessel storage during upcoming harbor redevelopment work. The
amendments also address concerns about the Dana Point Harbor
Patrol patrolling areas outside of the geographic region of
the grant. The use of public trust revenues for these
purposes is generally consistent with the Public Trust
Doctrine.
4)Marine Waters . The Commission's oil spill prevention statutes
exclude the Sacramento Delta from the definition of "marine
waters." The Commission, however, asserts oil spill
jurisdiction over parts of the Sacramento Delta pursuant to
the definition of "marine facility," which includes a facility
"located where a discharge could impact marine waters."
According to Commission staff, an oil spill at a marine
facility at the Port of Sacramento or the Port of Stockton
could impact marine waters outside the Delta. Moreover, the
term "marine waters" has been amended in the Government Code
and Revenue and Taxation Code to include waterways used for
vessel traffic to the Port of Sacramento and the Port of
Stockton.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
County of Orange
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092