BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 122|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 122
Author: Lieu (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/9/13
AYES: Pavley, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,
Monning, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Vessels: abandonment: abatement
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill deletes the January 1, 2014 sunset date on
a pilot program that allows boat owners to voluntarily surrender
a vessel to a local agency at no cost, if that vessel is in
danger of being abandoned.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Makes it an infraction punishable by a maximum fine of $3,000
and a minimum $500 fine for a person who abandons a vessel
upon a public waterway or public or private property without
the express or implied consent of the owner or person in
lawful possession or control of the property.
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2.Authorizes a public agency to sell or otherwise dispose of
certain vessels that are unseaworthy, or abandoned property
removed from a navigable waterway.
This bill:
1.Deletes the January 1, 2014 sunset date on the program in
order to continue the voluntary turn-in program, where the
owner of a vessel can voluntarily turn it in to a local agency
rather than abandoning the boat.
2.Deletes the provision that would have reduced the minimum fine
for abandonment of a vessel from $1000 to $500.
3.Deletes an obsolete reporting requirement relating to the
department's duty to track and report to specified legislative
committees on the number of surrendered vessels accepted by a
public agency between January 1, 2010, and January 1, 2013.
Background
California has the second largest number of state boat
registrations just after Florida. Abandonment of vessels is a
major concern in California. Vessel abandonment causes
environmental harm due to toxic chemical leakage into the
waterways and it is a hazard to navigation.
The passage of AB 166 (Lieu, Chapter 416, Statutes of 2009),
created the pilot Vessel Turn-in 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 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
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and on all expenditures from the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement
Fund for surrendered vessel abatement between January 1, 2010
and January 1, 2013.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, at least
$250,000 annually in costs and cost pressures to the Abandoned
Watercraft Abatement Fund (Special Fund) for grants.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/24/13)
City of Santa Barbara
Contra Costa Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff
Port San Luis Harbor District
Recreational Boaters of California
Student Policy Alliance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the former Department of
Boating and Waterways (now a division at the Department of State
Parks and Recreation), the program has saved the state at least
50% of the cost of dismantling abandoned vessels.
Recent statistics show that the program saves the state money.
The cost of disposing of a surrendered vessel compared to an
abandoned vessel is less, requiring fewer resources. The
benefit of creating a vessel turn-in program is to avert the
environmental degradation that can occur when oil, fuel and
other chemicals, and raw sewage leak from a sunken or abandoned
vessel.
The program has been quite successful and is still gaining
popularity among local agencies; last year the requested funding
far exceeded the available budget.
Participating agencies have indicated that many of the vessels
received under the program would have likely been abandoned if
this program wasn't available.
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RM:ej 5/24/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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