BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 122 (Lieu) - Vessels: abandonment: abatement.
Amended: As introduced Policy Vote: NR&W 9-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 23, 2013 Consultant: Marie Liu
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: SB 122 removes the sunset date on a pilot program
that allows boat owners to voluntarily surrender a vessel to a
public agency at no cost, if that vessel is in danger of being
abandoned.
Fiscal Impact: At least $250,000 annually in costs and cost
pressures to the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund (Special
Fund) for grants.
Background: The passage of AB 166 (Lieu) Chapter 416/2009,
created the pilot Vessel Turn-in Program (VTIP) program that
allowed boat owners to voluntarily surrender a vessel to a
public agency at no cost to the owner, if that vessel is in
danger of being abandoned and thereby causing environmental
degradation or a navigational hazard. The public agency may then
immediately sell or otherwise dispose of the vessel. Any
proceeds from the sale of the vessel are deposited in the
Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund (AWAF) to be made available
for grants, issued by the Department of Boating and Waterways
(DBW), to local agencies for the abatement, removal, storage,
and disposal of any abandoned vessels or to accept surrendered
vessels.
The DBW is required to report to the Legislature by July 1, 2013
on the number of vessels surrendered under this pilot program
and on all expenditures from the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement
Fund for surrendered vessel abatement between January 1, 2010
and January 1, 2013.
The voluntary vessel surrender pilot program is to sunset on
January 1, 2014.
Proposed Law: This bill would remove the sunset date for the
SB 122 (Lieu)
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pilot program and would delete the reporting requirements.
Staff Comments: The DBW report regarding the implementation of
the VTIP is not yet due. However, according to DBW, since the
2010, the inception of the pilot program, $400,000 from the AWAF
had been appropriated for VTIP. To date, these funds have
allowed public agencies to accept 165 surrendered vessels at an
average cost to the state of approximately $1,600 per vessel
(grantees have up to three years to spend the grant so the
number of vessels affected is anticipated to increase
significantly as grants are expended). For comparison, over the
same time period, it cost the state over $4,000 per abandoned
vessel for removal and disposal. Public agencies are highly
unlikely to accept a surrendered vessel unless it receives a
grant from DBW to pay for the disposal of that vessel.
According to DBW, VTIP has been a substantially oversubscribed
program. In FY 2010-11, FY 2011-12, and FY 2012-13, $150,000,
$100,000, and $150,000 was appropriated to VTIP respectively.
But as a better reflection of funding needs for surrendered
vessels, DBW received funding request in excess of $260,000 in
FY 2012-13. This program poses a corresponding cost pressure on
the AWAF.
This bill would remove the sunset date for the VTIP and thereby
continues a substantial cost pressure to the AWAF. Although the
AWAF is authorized in statute to receive abandoned vessel fines
and revenues from abandoned vessels that have been sold, no fine
or sales revenue have been received in almost 20 years. Instead,
the AWAF is funded through a transfer from the Harbors and
Watercraft Fund.
When AB 166 was being considered, DBW indicated anticipated
administrative costs of $84,000 for one PY to administer the
VTIP. However no additional PY funding was ever appropriated so
the administrative costs for the program have been absorbed.