BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2764 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 2764 (Natural Resources Committee) As Amended August 19, 2014 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 15, 2014) |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 27, | | | | | | |2014) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES. 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, and 4) the Orange County public trust granting statute. The Senate amendments delete proposed amendments to 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. AB 2764 Page 2 (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.) 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. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, minor cost savings to the General Fund for reduced Commission staff time for activities regarding the cession of concurrent criminal jurisdiction. COMMENTS : 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. AB 2764 Page 3 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. Orange County Tidelands Grant. This bill amends an Orange County public trust land granting statute to provide the Dana 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. Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0005530