Amended in Senate April 16, 2013

Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate Bill No. 461

Introduced by Senator Leno

February 21, 2013

An act to add Section 6217.9 to the Public Resources Code, relating to coastal resources.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 461, as amended, Leno. State tide and submerged lands: mineral extraction leases: revenues.

Existing law authorizes the State Lands Commission to lease tide and submerged lands and beds of navigable rivers and lakes for the extraction of oil and gas, as specified. Existing law, with specified exceptions, generally requires the State Lands Commission, on and after July 1, 2006, to deposit all revenue, money, and remittances, derived from mineral extraction leases on state tide and submerged lands into the General Fund, to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for specified purposes.

This bill would create the Coastal Adaptation Fund in the State Treasury, and would authorize the expenditure of moneys in the fund, in an amount not to exceed $15,000,000 annually, by the Ocean Protection Council, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Coastal Commission, the State Coastal Conservancy, and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the Budget Act, for purposes relating to the preparation, planning, and implementation of measures, based upon the best available scientific information, designed to address sea level rise and coastal climate change, and related begin delete impacts end delete begin insert impacts. This bill would require the Legislature to appropriate unspecified amounts for these purposes to each of these state agencies in the annual Budget Act and would make various findings and declarations end insert .

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following: end insert

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(a) The coast of California is a vital and invaluable natural
resource of statewide importance belonging to all the people, and
its preservation and accessibility by current and future generations
is of paramount concern to the residents of this state and nation.

end insert begin insert

(b) Burning nonrenewable fossil fuels that are extracted from
California’s public lands and state tidelands contributes to global
climate change and sea level rise, which threatens the state’s
coastal natural resources, human, plant, and animal communities,
public infrastructure, coastal tourism and recreational
opportunities, and the state’s fifty-billion-dollar ($50,000,000,000)
coastal economy.

end insert begin insert

(c) Royalty revenue generated from leases authorizing the
extraction of nonrenewable resources on the state’s trust lands
should be prioritized for planning, minimizing, and mitigating the
environmental impacts of those activities, including, but not limited
to, sea level rise.

end insert begin insert

(d) California’s coastal management agencies, the California
Coastal Commission, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission, and the State Coastal Conservancy,
have broad authority for protecting coastal resources, enhancing
public access to and along the shoreline, and working in
partnership with local governments in long-range land use
planning, permitting, and projects.

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(e) The State Lands Commission, Ocean Protection Council,
and the Department of Fish and Wildlife have constitutional and
statutory obligations to protect natural resources on other coastal
public lands while ensuring public access.

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(f) Recent “King Tide” events, during which residents
photographed the local consequences of extreme high tide events
around the state, illustrate that California’s coastal communities
are not prepared for the coming “new normal” of rising sea levels,
and that enhanced coastal planning and management of coastal
resources and development continue to be of preeminent concern
to the state.

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(g) The current rate of global sea level rise calls for an urgent,
coordinated, statewide initiative to actively plan for adaptation
and mitigation strategies to address the inevitable economic and
environmental impacts of sea level rise in this state.

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(h) California has an existing “planning infrastructure” already
in place to address sea level rise, coastal management, and
associated planning and land use issues in the form of local coastal
programs and the San Francisco Bay Plan.

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(i) Maintaining a strong state coastal management program,
including comprehensive updates of existing planning documents,
is the most efficient, cost-effective, and practical method for
ensuring that statewide coastal management and climate change
policies are locally implemented and that unplanned and costly
ad hoc responses that risk more significant environmental and
social harm are avoided.

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(j) Revenues generated from state tideland, oil, and gas leases
were historically allocated for environmental projects and
programs with a nexus to the extraction activities.

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(k) In order for the state to maintain its strong coastal
management program and to plan and prepare comprehensively
for sea level rise in the face of a rapidly changing climate, it is
appropriate to allocate revenues from nonrenewable resource
royalties to purposes related to coastal resource protection and
management, including forward-thinking sea level rise and climate
change planning.

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begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 6217.9 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

6217.9.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert The Coastal Adaptation Fund is hereby created
in the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund may be expended, in an
amount not to exceed fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000), by the
Ocean Protection Council, the Department of Fish and Wildlife,
the California Coastal Commission, the State Coastal Conservancy,
and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development
Commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the Budget
Act, for purposes relating to the preparation, planning, and
implementation of measures, based upon the best available
scientific information, designed to address sea level rise and coastal
climate change, and related impacts.

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(b) The Legislature shall appropriate at least ____ dollars ($
____) in the annual Budget Act to each of the state agencies
described in subdivision (a), for the purposes stated therein.

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