BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2764 SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Senator Jerry Hill, Chair 2013-2014 Regular Session BILL NO: AB 2764 AUTHOR: Assembly Committee on Natural Resources AMENDED: June 11, 2014 FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: June 25, 2014 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Karen Morrison SUBJECT : PUBLIC RESOURCES SUMMARY : Existing law : 1) Provides that the State Lands Commission (SLC) may cede concurrent criminal jurisdiction to the United States under specified conditions (Government Code §126). 2) Establishes the requirements for members of the State Air Resources Board (ARB) and specifies how the members will be reimbursed (Health and Safety Code §39510 et seq.). 3) Requires local trustees of granted public trust lands to file fiscal statements with SLC annually by October 1 (Public Resources Code (PRC) §6306). 4) Defines "marine waters" as waters subject to tidal influence, excluding specified waters in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers and Delta in the context of the jurisdiction of the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) (PRC §8750). 5) Authorizes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to use funds from the Solid Waste Disposal Site Cleanup Trust Fund (Fund) for the cleanup of solid waste disposal sites in the place of a responsible party, as specified, and where cleanup is needed to protect public health and safety or the environment (PRC §48020). 6) Grants Orange County a public trust for the tidelands and submerged lands in the Dana Point area for the purposes of commerce, recreation, and other public uses (Section 1 of AB 2764 Page 2 Chapter 321 of the Statutes of 1961). This bill : 1) Authorizes SLC to make the cession at a publicly-noticed meeting of SLC, extends the period of cessation from 5 to 10 years, requires the United States government to bear costs associated with cessation, and makes technical corrections. 2) Makes a technical correction to specify how ARB members who serve on regional air resources boards are to be reimbursed. 3) Requires trustees of granted public trust lands to complete their annual filing with SLC by December 31 and updates a cross-reference. 4) Expands the definition of "marine waters" to include waterways used for commercial waterborne traffic through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers and the Delta to the Ports of Sacramento and Stockton. 5) Allows CalRecycle to use funds from the Fund to clean up sites located in waters of the state. 6) Permits Orange County to use funds generated within public trust lands for development of the Dana Point Branch of the Orange County Harbor Patrol, and allows funds to be used to purchase, lease, or acquire property for development of the public trust lands. COMMENTS : 1) Cessation of concurrent jurisdiction . California law reflects several provisions related to ceding the state's concurrent criminal jurisdiction over federally owned lands used for military purposes and national parks. The bill cleans up outdated provisions, allows a cessation to last ten years rather than five, and allows SLC to authorize cessation at its regular public meetings. Currently, cessation hearings happen separately from the regular meetings, and in the last 33 years, there have only been two occasions when members of the public have attended the hearings. AB 2764 Page 3 2) Local trustee annual report . According to SLC staff, this change will accommodate the timeline for local trustees and their current financial auditing process. 3) Marine waters . According to SLC staff, a spill at a marine facility at the Stockton or Sacramento Ports could affect marine waters outside of the Delta. The bill amends the definition of "marine waters" to provide consistency with the definition of "marine facility" under OSPR and other areas of the code. 4) Disposal site cleanup . Under statute, CalRecycle can only use money from the Fund to provide cleanup to sites on land. In recent years, CalRecycle has engaged with SLC on a pilot basis to help remove abandoned vessels on state submerged lands. These removal projects are expensive, and often require large, specialized equipment in order to complete the cleanup. This bill would provide flexibility to CalRecycle in using the Fund to pay for these operations. 5) Orange County tidelands grant . This bill provides the Dana Point Harbor District with more flexibility in their harbor patrolling and redevelopment work. 6) Double Referral to Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee . This measure was heard in Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee on June 10, 2014, and passed out of committee with a vote of 8-0. SOURCE : State Lands Commission SUPPORT : Orange County Board of Supervisors OPPOSITION : None on file