BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Kevin de León, Chair AB 2764 (Committee on Natural Resources) - Public resources. Amended: July 1, 2014 Policy Vote: NR&W 8-0, EQ 5-1 Urgency: No Mandate: No Hearing Date: August 4, 2014 Consultant: Marie Liu This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: AB 2764 is an omnibus measure that would make changes to the State Lands Commission's (SLC) authorities, alter an existing land grant to Orange County, allow the Solid Waste Disposal Site Cleanup Trust Fund to be used to clean up abandoned vessels, and make technical and clarifying changes. Fiscal Impact: Ongoing cost pressures, possibly in the millions of dollars, to the Solid Waste Disposal Site Cleanup Trust Fund/Integrated Waste Management Fund (special) for the cleanup of abandoned vessels. Minor cost savings to the General Fund for reduced SLC staff time for activities regarding the cession of concurrent criminal jurisdiction. Background: The Solid Waste Disposal and Codisposal Site cleanup Program, administered by CalRecycle, aims to address the cleanup of solid waste disposal and codisposal sites where the responsible party can either not be identified or is unwilling or unable to pay for timely remediation. The program is funded by the Solid Waste Disposal Site Cleanup Trust Fund, which is funded by an annual $5M appropriation from the Integrated Waste Management Account. Proposed Law: This bill would modify the SLC's ability to cede concurrent criminal jurisdiction to the federal government for specified lands for up to 10 years instead of 5 and would allow the SLC to approve cessions at regularly noticed SLC meetings. This bill would change the deadline for a local trustee of granted public lands to submit their annual report to the SLC regarding the revenues and expenditures related to the trust AB 2764 (Committee on Natural Resources) Page 1 lands from October 1 to December 31 of each year. This bill would, for the purposes of the Solid Waste Disposal and Codisposal Site Cleanup Program, clarify that cleanup sites include sites located in the waters of the state. This bill would amend a grant of public lands to Orange County to allow public trust revenues from its granted lands to be used beyond the grant boundaries so long as the funds are being used for trust purposes on other state-owned tidelands and submerged lands. This bill would also allow granted land revenues to be used to purpose, lease, or acquire real property necessary for the development and operation of a harbor, subject to specified conditions. This bill would also make a number of technical and clarifying changes. Staff Comments: The SLC would have some costs savings for reduced staff time regarding cessations on specified lands utilized by the federal government, though these savings will likely be minor. This bill would allow the Solid Waste Disposal Site Cleanup Trust Fund to be used to cleanup sites in state waters, which would essentially refer to abandoned vessels. The cost to cleanup an abandoned vessel can vary greatly, but can be in the tens to hundreds of thousands for a single project. In 2011, CalRecycle granted $665,000 from the trust fund to cleanup abandoned vessels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This bill would clarify any ambiguity on the ability to use the trust fund for cleanups in state waters. To the extent that this bill increases the number of potential projects that can be funded by the trust fund, this bill creates cost pressures, likely in the millions of dollars, for projects collectively throughout the state. Because the trust fund is funded by the Integrated Waste Management Fund, the cost pressures could transfer to the Integrated Waste Management Fund, which is anticipated to have a future imbalance. AB 2764 (Committee on Natural Resources) Page 2