BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1424
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 6, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 1424 (Wolk) - As Amended: June 18, 2014
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:9-0
Local Government 8-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill grants state trust lands to the City of Martinez
subject to the public trust doctrine and revenue share and other
agreements with the state. Specifically, this bill:
1)Repeals the 1976 public trust land grant to the City and
grants the same lands back to the City with the addition of
the public trust lands located at the Martinez Marina.
2)Authorizes the City to lease public trust lands under
specified conditions.
3)Requires the City to submit a trust lands use plan to the
State Lands Commission (SLC) describing any proposed
development, preservation, or other use by January 1, 2020.
Requires a report of the actual utilization of trust lands by
September 30, 2025 and every five years thereafter.
4)Requires the City to file a statement of all trust revenues,
expenditures, and outstanding obligations annually to the SLC.
Requires the statement to include a summary explaining how
the City is using trust revenues to revitalize the Martinez
Marina and prevent its closure.
5)Before expending trust revenues for a single capital
improvement on the trust lands involving an amount in excess
of $250,000, requires the City to obtain approval from the
SLC, as specified.
6)Provides a revenue sharing plan between the state and the City
SB 1424
Page 2
on all gross revenues generated from the trust lands.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor costs, likely less than $15,000 annually from the GF and
the Land Bank Fund for forgone revenue-sharing and lease
revenue until 2021.
2)Unknown revenues to the GF and Land Bank Fund after 2021 as a
result of the revenue-sharing agreement.
3)Annual GF costs, likely minor, to the SLC for administrative
and oversight duties. The City is required to reimburse these
costs.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. According to the author, the current lease between
the City and the SLC precludes the City from pursuing long
term opportunities to redevelop the City Marina and improve
the revenue stream. This bill provides the City with a new
land grant encompassing four parcels of land, including the
City Marina. Granting these lands to the City will help
facilitate the Marina's revitalization and development of
those parcels, subject to the terms of the grant.
2)Background. In 1976, the Legislature granted, in trust, three
public trust parcels to the City. This bill will repeal the
legislative trust grant of these three parcels and enact a new
grant to the City that includes the three parcels (on updated
grant terms) and an additional fourth parcel, which is
generally known as the Martinez Marina.
The Martinez Marina consists of ungranted public trust lands
that the SLC leased to the City for the operation and
maintenance of the marina. Presently, silt flowing through
the gaps in the marina's dilapidated eastern breakwater wall
has rendered the eastern portion of the marina unusable,
resulting in a significant decrease in revenue. The
deteriorating conditions at the marina have hampered the
City's ability to revitalize the Marina and prevent its
closure.
To help address these circumstances and turn the Marina into a
productive resource, this bill proposes to transfer the Marina
SB 1424
Page 3
to the City with terms that will allow the City to use
revenues from the land to restore the Marina. This bill is
sponsored by the City of Martinez.
1)Public Trust Lands. For over 100 years, the Legislature has
granted public trust lands to local trustees so the lands can
be managed locally for the benefit of the people of
California. There are over 80 trustees in the state,
including the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, San
Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, Benicia, and Eureka. While
these trust lands are managed locally, the SLC has oversight
authority to ensure the local trustees are complying with the
Public Trust Doctrine and the applicable granting statutes.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081