BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1323
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1323 (Frazier)
As Amended June 10, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 74-0 | (May 22, |SENATE: |40-0 | (September 8, |
| | |2015) | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY: Authorizes a public agency to remove and dispose of
marine debris after 10 days if the marine debris is floating,
sunk, partially sunk, or beached in or on a public waterway,
public beach, or on state tidelands or submerged lands, as
specified.
The Senate amendments are technical and clarifying.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Pursuant to the Public Resources Code:
a) Authorizes the State Lands Commission (SLC) to remove
vessels located on state lands under specified conditions.
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b) Authorizes SLC to remove and dispose of an abandoned or
derelict vessel on a navigable waterway that is not under
the jurisdiction of SLC, if requested by the public entity
that has regulatory authority over the area in which the
vessel is located.
c) Defines "vessel" as:
i) A vessel, boat, raft, or similar watercraft;
ii) A buoy, anchor, mooring, or other ground tackles
used to secure a vessel, boat, raft, or similar
watercraft; or,
iii) A hulk, derelict, wreck, or parts of a ship, vessel,
or other watercraft.
2)Pursuant to the Harbors and Navigation Code:
a) Requires the sheriff of any county in which wrecked
property is found, when no person entitled to the
possession appears, to take possession of it, have it
independently appraised, and safely store it for the owner.
Establishes timelines and guidelines for managing wrecked
property that is not claimed.
b) States that any hulk, derelict, wreck, or parts of any
ship, vessel, or other watercraft sunk, beached, or allowed
to remain in an unseaworthy or dilapidated condition upon
publicly owned submerged lands, salt marsh, or tidelands
without consent for longer than 30 days is abandoned
property.
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c) Authorizes a local government to take title of the
abandoned property for purposes of abatement, as specified.
Establishes requirements for the collection of property
tax and sale of abandoned property.
d) Authorizes removal of abandoned property by a peace
officer to remove and, if necessary, store a vessel removed
from a public waterway under specified conditions.
e) Authorizes the public entity to pursue cost recovery in
any court in the state.
f) Prohibits a person from abandoning a vessel upon a
public waterway or public or private property without the
express consent of the owner, except for immediate safety
concerns.
3)Establishes the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund (AWAF),
administered by the Department of Boating and Waterways, to
provide grants to local agencies to remove, store, and dispose
of abandoned, wrecked, or dismantled recreational vessels
which pose a substantial hazard to navigation.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS: The state has experienced an increase in the amount
of watercraft being abandoned in state waterways over the last
several years. Boats are some of the most expensive luxury
items to maintain and store, and unlike other luxury goods
cannot be disposed of easily or cheaply. An August 2010
Petaluma Argus-Courier article reported that some boat owners
were selling vessels for as little as one-dollar to avoid the
cost of removing their boats from California waterways and
properly disposing of the vessel. Even more distressing, the
Argue-Courier noted that an underground "scuttle" economy has
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developed whereby a boat owner pays individuals to strip a boat
of all usable material and identifiable markings then dump the
boat in a public waterway.
Abandoned boats, especially those that capsize and sink, can
interfere with boating traffic and damage operational vessels
attempting to navigate a waterway. More troublesome, abandoned
boats that begin to deteriorate can leach toxic chemicals or
fuel into state waterways. Removing these vessels is difficult,
potentially dangerous, and expensive. To ensure that a boat
does not further deteriorate and expose salvage crews or the
local environment to toxic chemicals, salvage efforts take
significant time and require great care and effort. The sooner
an abandoned boat is removed from the waterway, the less likely
it is to pose harm to the environment and salvage crews.
Currently, there are processes in place to allow SLC and local
authorities to remove vessels from state and public waterways,
under certain conditions. However, such removals are expensive,
and the process is lengthy, which often results in it only being
used for intact vessels with clear ownership markings. The
state has taken action to assist with the cost by establishing
the AWAF, which provides grants to local public agencies for the
removal of abandoned vessels and other navigational hazards.
The grants cover the costs of removal, storage, and disposal of
abandoned vessels. This bill addresses the remaining barrier to
local public entities by streamlining the process for the
removal of marine debris.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN: 0001466
AB 1323
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