BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó





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          |                                                                 |
          |         SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER         |
          |                   Senator Fran Pavley, Chair                    |
          |                    2013-2014 Regular Session                    |
          |                                                                 |
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          BILL NO: SB 457                    HEARING DATE: April 23, 2013
          AUTHOR: Monning                    URGENCY: No
          VERSION: April 15, 2013            CONSULTANT: Leonardo Scherer  
          Alves  
          DUAL REFERRAL: No                  FISCAL: Yes
          SUBJECT: Vessels: collisions and accidents.
          
          BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
          Federal law requires state departments such as the California  
          Department of Boating and Waterways to collect boating accident  
          data and, upon request, provide these data to federal agencies.  
          Funding from the federal agency is contingent upon compliance  
          with these federal regulations. According to the author's  
          office, California law is often confusing to individuals and  
          peace officers and as a result the California Department of  
          Boating and Waterways receives incomplete or inaccurate reports.  
          Changes to statute will help the state compliance with federal  
          regulation and improvement of boating accident data which will  
          help the department prevent or reduce loss of properties and  
          lives due to accidents. 

          PROPOSED LAW
          This bill updates boating accident reporting requirements aiming  
          at improving the quality and accuracy of data collected. This  
          bill would require that any local agency that receives grant  
          funds from the department to report and collect data on any  
          boating accident to which it responds or which it has received a  
          report, in turn these local agencies shall provide these data to  
          the state department. Failure to comply may make the agency  
          ineligible to received future grant funds for up to 5 fiscal  
          years. This bill also would require the department to notify the  
          agency of the failure to submit a report prior of making the  
          agency ineligible to receive future grant funds.

          COMMENTS 
          It is uncertain how the most recent amendment, which will change  
          the word  shall  , expressing a mandatory or a command, to the word  
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           may  , which indicates the possibility of being considered  
          ineligible for future grants, will help the state department to  
          obtain better and more complete reporting. The suggested  
          amendment is agreeable to the committee and the author. 

          SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS 
          AMENDMENT 1 
          Re-state page 3, line 33 as follows: shall be determined by the  
          department to be ineligible to receive future grant funds for up  
          to five fiscal years following the date of the failure to submit  
          a report, except by good cause shown by that public agency. 

          SUPPORT
          None Received

          OPPOSITION
          None Received






























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