BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1259 (Levine) - Bees: apiculture: state-owned lands
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|Version: June 24, 2015 |Policy Vote: AGRI. 3 - 0 |
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|Urgency: Yes |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: July 13, 2015 |Consultant: Marie Liu |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill would allow the Department of Fish and
Wildlife (DFW) to authorize the temporary placement of beehives
on wildlife areas through simple lease or permit agreements that
are not subject to competitive bidding requirements. This bill
would also authorize the Department of General Services (DGS) to
lease state lands for commercial apiary purposes at less than
fair market value with the consent of the agency concerned.
Fiscal
Impact:
Unknown administrative cost impacts, but potential minor
savings, to the Wildlife Restoration Fund (special) to allow
DFW-managed lands to be issued without competitive bidding.
Unknown revenues losses, potentially in the tens to hundreds
of thousands of dollars, to the General Fund and the Wildlife
Restoration Fund (special) for leases made below fair market
value.
Increased costs for increased state liability (General Fund
AB 1259 (Levine) Page 1 of
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and various special funds) for apiary activities on state
lands
Background: Commercial beekeepers are currently allowed to use some
federal lands, including National Forests lands, for temporary
foraging. Additionally, DFW has allowed bee keeping on its lands
in some limited cases in the past, though DFW did not have an
actual policy on allowing beekeeping, commercial or otherwise,
on their lands until the passage of AB 2185 (Eggman) Chapter
338, Statutes of 2014. AB 2185 required DFW to consider
permitting apiculture on department-managed wildlife areas,
where it deemed appropriate. Additionally, AB 2185 required DFW
to make several considerations regarding the use of wildlife
areas for apiary purposes when developing or amending its land
management plans. Since the passage of AB 2185, there have been
questions raised to whether the permitting of apiculture on DFW
lands requires a competitive bidding process and whether
existing agreements to allow bee keeping were valid.
DGS is authorized under §14670 of the Government Code to lease
state property for periods not to exceed five years, if the
lease is in the best interest of the state. The lease may be
below fair market rental to a nonprofit for use as a self-help
community vegetable garden so long as the lease is less than
five acres and is allowable under local zoning ordinances.
Revenues from such garden leases are deposited into a special
fund. This statute also includes a Legislative finding and
declaration that any lease for a community vegetable garden that
is let at less than fair market rental is of broad public
benefit.
Proposed Law:
This bill would allow DFW to authorize, rather than permit,
the use of wildlife areas for the temporary use for apiary
purposes without competitive bidding and would allow DFW to
continue to any authorization for apiculture on wildlife areas
that were granted before January 1, 2015 without taking further
action.
This bill would also authorize the DGS to lease state property,
with the consent of the agency concerned, for up to five years
for commercial apiary purposes, notwithstanding Government Code
AB 1259 (Levine) Page 2 of
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§14670. These leases may be less than fair market value
Related
Legislation: AB 2185 (Eggman) Chapter 338, Statutes of 2014
required DFW to consider permitting apiculture on
department-managed wildlife areas.
AB 2777 (LaMalfa, 2008) would have required the Resources Agency
to establish a statewide policy on the use of public lands for
honeybee keeping. AB 2777 was held under submission by the
Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1912 (Evans) Chapter 585, Statutes of 2010 created the
California Apiary Research Commission to conduct research and
education programs regarding the health and welfare of honey
bees and the beekeeping industry.
Staff
Comments: There has been limited used of DFW or other state
lands for apiary purposes. However, the purpose of this bill, AB
2185, and previous legislative efforts, is generally to increase
the potential for state lands to be used for apiary purposes.
Therefore, past use of state lands for apiary purposes is not
necessarily a reflection of potential future use. As all the
costs associated with this bill are dependent on the extent that
state lands are used for apiary purposes, the uncertainty on
future use translates to uncertainty on potential future costs.
This bill would allow DGS to issue leases below fair market
value, thereby resulting in losses of potential state revenue.
While bees play an essential role to billions of dollars of
agricultural crops in California, staff notes that this bill
essentially is allowing the use lands owned by the people of
California for commercial purposes at below-market rates.
Furthermore, by notwithstanding GOV §14670, the bill is removing
these leases from the requirement that the lease be in best
interest of the state. Presumably the bill has this provision to
allow the issuance of a below-market value lease because usually
the best interests of the state are protected by charging fair
market value for leases, though there have been specific cases
where the legislature has found that the interest of the state
was maintained in below-market leases through other conditions
AB 1259 (Levine) Page 3 of
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and requirements.
By allowing DFW to authorize, rather than permit, apiculture on
department-managed wildlife areas outside of competitive bidding
requirements, there may be some administrative cost savings to
DFW for future apiary agreements. However, this bill also
implies that DGS would handle leasing responsibilities on behalf
the concerned agency, which may include DFW. Staff recommends
that the bill be clarified as to the responsibilities of DGS and
DFW when state wildlife areas are involved. If DGS is to handle
leasing responsibilities on behalf of DFW under this bill, it is
unclear whether this will change administrative costs. Staff
notes that the lack of a competitive bid process does not
automatically imply that the lease will take minimal workload to
execute. DGS notes that in its experience, leases offered below
market value often lead to protracted and contentious
negotiations as prospective lessees interpret legislative
authorization for below-market value to mean nominal value.
To the extent that state lands used for apiary purposes are open
to the public or nearby to public areas, there may be increased
liability exposure to the state for any increased hazards that
the apiary activities may cause.
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