BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1432
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1432 (Bonta)
As Amended May 11, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(April 23, |SENATE: | 29-7 |(May 26, 2016) |
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(vote not relevant)
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |15-0 |(June 27, 2016) |RECOMMENDATION: |Concur |
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(Trans.)
Original Committee Reference: HEALTH
SUMMARY: Establishes a limited surcharge on vessels sailing
into and out of the San Francisco Bay (and its environs) to
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reimburse the San Francisco bar pilots for costs associated with
the purchase, lease, or maintenance of certain navigation
equipment. Specifically, this bill:
1)Deletes language authorizing the Board of Pilot Commissioners
(BOPC) to establish and collect a movement fee on an ongoing
basis and in advance of expenditures related to the purchase,
lease, or maintenance of navigation equipment.
2)Authorizes the BOPC to establish, and for San Francisco bar
pilots to collect, a movement fee to recover costs associated
with the purchase, lease, or maintenance of certain
navigational equipment on or after January 1, 2017.
3)Requires that the specified navigational equipment be used
strictly and exclusively to aid San Francisco bar pilots
working in areas under their jurisdiction.
4)Requires that the movement fee be identified as a navigation
technology surcharge on San Francisco bar pilot invoices and
accounted for separately.
5)Prohibits the cumulative amount of the surcharge collected
from exceeding $1.2 million.
6)Requires the BOPC to conduct a quarterly review of the
surcharge and to adjust it, as needed.
7)Requires that the surcharge sunset on January 1, 2021.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, no direct state impacts, but the bill would result in
unknown indirect surcharge revenue gains to the Board of Pilot
Commissioners' Special Fund.
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Pilotage fees and surcharges, including the "technology
navigation surcharge," are paid directly to the bar pilots and
are not deposited into the State Treasury. Staff notes,
however, that specified surcharges for the operations of the
Board and for pilot training and continuing education programs
are transferred by the Board for deposit into the Board of Pilot
Commissioners' Special Fund. Since the "board operations
surcharge" is based upon the pilotage fee rates, this bill would
technically make an appropriation by impacting the amount of
fees deposited into a continuously appropriated fund. The Board
has the authority to reduce the rate of the surcharge, with the
approval of the Department of Finance, if revenues are out of
balance with expenditures.
COMMENTS: Prior to the American Revolution, pilotage was
regulated by colonial legislatures which generally provided for
the commissioning of pilots, apprenticeship requirements, and
establishing fees. When the United States Constitution was
adopted, it recognized that pilotage fell within the domain of
the federal government because it involved foreign commerce.
One of the first acts of the newly formed Congress in 1789 was
to recognize state laws regulating pilotage and to delegate that
authority to the states. In California, the San Francisco bar
pilots have been guiding ships into the San Francisco Bay since
at least 1835 and one of the first legislative enactments by the
newly formed California Legislature in 1850 was to address the
regulation of San Francisco bar pilots.
Specifically, San Francisco bar pilots are responsible for
steering large commercial vessels through the Golden Gate of San
Francisco Bay and adjoining navigable waters, which include San
Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the Sacramento River, and associated
tributaries. When a vessel arrives at a point eleven miles west
of the Golden Gate Bridge, a San Francisco bar pilot boards the
ship, takes navigational control, and guides the ship to its
berth. The same process occurs in reverse as ships depart from
the San Francisco Bay. The San Francisco bar pilot's primary
function is to ensure that large commercial vessels are
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navigated safely through the San Francisco Bay's confined
waters. They provide service for all types of commercial
vessels, from 100-foot tugs to 1000-foot supertankers.
This bill would allow the BOPC to impose a fee on vessels
entering the San Francisco Bay to recover costs incurred for the
purchase, lease, or maintenance of specified navigation
equipment such as software, hardware, and ancillary equipment
following a public approval process of the required technology
by the BOPC. The navigation technology surcharge authorized by
this bill would sunset on January 1, 2021, and be capped at $1.2
million.
Earlier versions of this bill would have authorized the
surcharge to be collected indefinitely which, opponents argued,
essentially amounted to a pilotage rate increase - an issue that
has been the subject of much debate between commercial vessel
owners and the BOPC for many years. The parties agreed to
terms, reflected in the May 11, 2016, amendments of this bill,
and have agreed to continue discussions with regard to rate
increases in general in the coming months.
Writing in support of this bill, the Pacific Merchant Shipping
Association notes that it is extremely important that vessels
entering and exiting the San Francisco Bay be piloted safely and
they agree that providing San Francisco bar pilots with
state-of-the-art navigation technology would enhance safety and
reduce the risk of an accident or environmental catastrophe
(such as an oil spill).
There is no formal opposition on file.
Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
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Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN:
0003538