BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 815
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
815 (Ridley-Thomas) - As Introduced February 26, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable:
SUMMARY:
This bill clarifies provisions from the 2014 resources budget
AB 815
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trailer bill relating to the expansion of the oil spill
prevention fee program to avoid confusion and overpayment.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies that a marine terminal and refinery operator may
presume the fee has been paid on petroleum products derived
from fee-paid crude oil refined in California.
2)Deletes the provision that allows the owner of the crude oil
or petroleum products to pay the fee directly to the Board of
Equalization (BOE)
3)Deletes the requirement for pipeline operators to register
with the BOE.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Minor, absorbable BOE administrative costs.
2)No anticipated impact on oil spill prevention fee revenues.
COMMENTS:
1)Rationale. Last year's resources budget trailer bill, SB 861,
Chapter 35, Statutes of 2014, eliminated the sunset on the oil
spill prevention fee, and expanded the fee base to include all
crude oil entering the state. SB 861 specifically expanded
the fee from only marine waters to all waters of the state and
all crude oil and petroleum products received at a refinery.
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SB 861 also authorized the fee revenues to be used for inland
oil response and contained a provision to prevent the fee from
being imposed or paid twice on the same crude or petroleum
products.
However, according to BOE staff, it is not clear that
petroleum products derived from fee-paid crude oil, once
refined, is not subject to the fee.
This bill clarifies the intent of last year's SB 861 and makes
several administrative changes to reduce confusion regarding
the expansion of the fee.
2)Background. The Oil Spill Administrator annually sets the fee
rate. The current fee rate cap is $0.065 per gallon. The
Administrator is required to prepare a plan that projects
revenues and expenses over three fiscal years. The fee amount
is set so that the projected revenue will meet current and
proposed state budget needs. The Administrator may also allow
for a surplus if revenues will not be adequate to meet
contingencies and shortfalls.
The refinery, marine terminal, and pipeline operators must
each register with the BOE. The owner of the crude oil or
petroleum products, the marine terminal operator, or the
refinery operator pays the fee monthly to the BOE. If the fee
has been previously collected or paid on the crude oil or
petroleum products at another marine terminal or refinery, the
fee will not be imposed or collected again. The marine
terminal or refinery operator or the owner of the crude oil or
petroleum products has the obligation to demonstrate that the
fee has been previously paid on the same crude oil or
petroleum product.
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Fees are deposited into the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund to pay for oil spill prevention programs
and studies. A separate fee funds oil spill response
activities.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081