BILL NUMBER: AB 1528 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE JUNE 29, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY APRIL 30, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife (Assembly
Members Levine (Chair), Cristina Garcia, Gomez, Gray, Lopez, Medina,
Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, and Williams)
MARCH 18, 2015
An act to add Section 424.6 to the Government Code, and to amend
Sections 5003.6, 5008, 5008.5, 5071.7, 6232, 6311, 30411, and 30419
of, and to repeal Section 5044 of, the Public Resources Code,
relating to public resources.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1528, Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife. Public
resources.
(1) Existing law declares the official state animal, rock,
mineral, grass, insect, and bird, among other official things.
This bill would make lace lichen (Ramalina menziesii) the official
state lichen.
(2) Existing law transferred the Department of Boating and
Waterways into the Department of Parks and Recreation as a division
of that department. Existing law renamed the Department of Fish and
Game as the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
This bill would making conforming and other nonsubstantive
changes, including repealing an obsolete provision.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Lichens are unique organisms that consist of a fungus and an
alga living together in a symbiotic relationship.
(b) Lichens are important for both wildlife and people. They are
used as a food source by a variety of animals. Many lichens have
antibacterial properties and have been used medicinally for thousands
of years.
(c) Lichens are known for their sensitivity to environmental
stressors and are used as biological indicators of air quality and
climate change around the world, including in California, which is
home to more than 1,900 species of lichens.
(d) Ramalina menziesii, commonly known as lace lichen, is a common
lichen found throughout much of California from the northern to the
southern border of the state, and as far as 130 miles inland from the
coast. Naming Ramalina menziesii as the official state lichen of
California will help promote appreciation, education, and study of
lichens in this state.
SEC. 2. Section 424.6 is added to the Government Code, to read:
424.6. Lace lichen (Ramalina menziesii) is the official state
lichen.
SEC. 3. Section 5003.6 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5003.6. The planning, design, and construction of a boating
facility within the state park system shall be the responsibility of
the Division of Boating and Waterways within the department pursuant
to Section 50 of the Harbors and Navigation Code.
SEC. 4. Section 5008 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5008. (a) The department shall protect the state park system and
the state vehicular recreation area and trail system from damage and
preserve the peace therein.
(b) The director may designate any officer or employee of the
department as a peace officer. The primary duties of the peace
officer shall be the enforcement of this division, Sections 4442 and
4442.5, the rules and regulations of the department, Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 650) of Division 3 of the Harbors and
Navigation Code, the rules and regulations of the Division of Boating
and Waterways within the department, Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 9850) of Division 3.5 of the Vehicle Code, and Division 16.5
(commencing with Section 38000) of the Vehicle Code and to arrest
persons for the commission of public offenses within the property
under its jurisdiction. The authority and powers of the peace officer
shall be limited to those conferred by law upon peace officers
listed in Section 830.2 of the Penal Code.
(c) The department shall protect property included in the
California recreational trail system and the property included in the
recreational trail system under Section 6 of Chapter 1234 of the
Statutes of 1980 from damage and preserve the peace therein. The
primary duties of any officer or employee designated a peace officer
under this section shall include enforcement of the rules and
regulations established by the department under subdivision ( l
) of Section 6 of Chapter 1234 of the Statutes of 1980 and the
arrest of persons for the commission of public offenses within the
property included in the recreational trail system under Section 6 of
Chapter 1234 of the Statutes of 1980.
(d) Any person who violates the rules and regulations established
by the department is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 90
days, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or
by both that fine and imprisonment, except that at the time a
particular action is commenced, the judge may, considering the
recommendation of the prosecuting attorney, reduce the charged
offense from a misdemeanor to an infraction. Any person convicted of
the offense after such a reduction shall be punished by a fine of not
less than ten dollars ($10) nor more than one thousand dollars
($1,000).
SEC. 5. Section 5008.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5008.5. In any prosecution charging a violation within any unit
of the state park system of the rules and regulations of the
department, Section 655.2 or Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 650)
of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, or the rules and
regulations of the Division of Boating and Waterways within the
department, proof by the people of the State of California that the
vehicle or vessel described in the complaint was parked or placed in
violation of any provision of these statutes or rules and regulations
together with proof that the defendant named in the complaint was,
at the time of the parking or placing, the registered owner of the
vehicle or vessel, shall constitute prima facie evidence that the
registered owner of the vehicle or vessel was the person who parked
or placed the vehicle or vessel at the point where, and for the time
during which, the violation occurred, but the proof that a person is
the registered owner of a vehicle or vessel is not prima facie
evidence that the person has violated any other provision of law. The
above provisions shall apply only when there has been compliance
with the procedure required by Article 3 (commencing with Section
40200) of Chapter 1 of Division 17 of the Vehicle Code. Proof of a
written lease of, or rental agreement for, a particular vehicle or
vessel described in the complaint, on the date and time of the
violation, which lease or rental agreement includes the name and
address of the person to whom the vehicle or vessel is leased or
rented, shall rebut the prima facie evidence that the registered
owner was the person who parked or placed the vehicle at the time and
place where the violation occurred.
Any charge under this section shall be dismissed when the person
charged has made a bona fide sale or transfer of the vehicle or
vessel and has delivered possession thereof to the purchaser and has
complied with the requirements of subdivision (a) or (b) of Section
5602 of the Vehicle Code or with Section 710 of the Harbors and
Navigation Code prior to the date of the alleged violation and has
advised the court of the name and address of the purchaser.
SEC. 6. Section 5044 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.
SEC. 7. Section 5071.7 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5071.7. (a) (1) In planning the system, the director shall
consult with and seek the assistance of the Department of
Transportation. The Department of Transportation shall plan and
design those trail routes that are in need of construction contiguous
to state highways and serve both a transportation and a recreational
need.
(2) The Department of Transportation shall install or supervise
the installation of signs along heritage corridors consistent with
the plan element developed pursuant to this section and Section
5073.1; provided, however, that it shall neither install nor
supervise the installation of those signs until it determines that it
has available to it adequate volunteers or funds, or a combination
thereof, to install or supervise the installation of the signs, or
until the Legislature appropriates sufficient funds for the
installation or supervision of installation, whichever occurs first.
(b) The element of the plan relating to boating trails and other
segments of the system which are oriented to waterways shall be
prepared and maintained by the Division of Boating and Waterways
within the Department of Parks and Recreation pursuant to Article 2.6
(commencing with Section 68) of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of the
Harbors and Navigation Code. Those segments shall be integrated with
the California Protected Waterways Plan developed pursuant to Chapter
1278 of the Statutes of 1968, and shall be planned so as to be
consistent with the preservation of rivers of the California Wild and
Scenic Rivers System, as provided in Chapter 1.4 (commencing with
Section 5093.50) of this division.
(c) Any element of the plan relating to trails and areas for the
use of off/highway motor vehicles shall be prepared and maintained by
the Division of Off/Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation pursuant to
Chapter 1.25 (commencing with Section 5090.01).
(d) In planning the system, the director shall consult with and
seek the assistance of the Department of Rehabilitation,
representatives of its California Access Network volunteers, and
nonprofit disability access groups to assure that adequate provision
is made for publicizing the potential use of recreational trails,
including heritage corridors by physically disabled persons.
SEC. 8. Section 6232 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
6232. The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall appoint
the following members of the advisory panel, who shall serve at the
pleasure of the secretary:
(a) A representative of the Division of Boating and Waterways
within the Department of Parks and Recreation.
(b) A representative of the Department of Conservation.
(c) A representative of the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(d) The Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission or
the executive director's designee.
(e) A representative of the fish industry.
(f) A representative of the aquaculture industry.
(g) A representative of the ocean engineering industry.
(h) A representative of the University of California.
(i) A representative of the California State University.
(j) A representative of a private California institution of higher
education that is participating in the National Sea Grant Program.
(k) A representative of the State Lands Commission.
(l) A representative of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment.
(m) A representative of the State Water Resources Control Board.
(n) A representative of the Office of Oil Spill Prevention and
Response in the Department of Fish and Wildlife, designated by the
administrator for oil spill response.
SEC. 9. Section 6311 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
6311. It is hereby declared to be the policy of this state that
any grant of tidelands or submerged lands made after January 1, 1971,
within an area which has been designated by the Division of Boating
and Waterways within the Department of Parks and Recreation as the
location of a small craft harbor of refuge, shall contain a
reservation and condition requiring the grantee to submit a plan to
the Division of Boating and Waterways within the Department of Parks
and Recreation, within a reasonable period of time after the
effective date of the grant, for the construction of facilities
necessary or convenient for the use of the granted lands as a small
craft harbor of refuge, and requiring the construction of facilities
to be completed within a specified period of time after approval of
the plan by the Division of Boating and Waterways within the
Department of Parks and Recreation.
SEC. 10. Section 30411 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
30411. (a) The Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Fish and
Game Commission are the principal state agencies responsible for the
establishment and control of wildlife and fishery management programs
and the commission shall not establish or impose any controls with
respect thereto that duplicate or exceed regulatory controls
established by these agencies pursuant to specific statutory
requirements or authorization.
(b) The Department of Fish and Wildlife in consultation with the
commission and the Division of Boating and Waterways within the
Department of Parks and Recreation, may study degraded wetlands and
identify those which can most feasibly be restored in conjunction
with development of a boating facility as provided in subdivision (a)
of Section 30233. Any study conducted under this subdivision shall
include consideration of all of the following:
(1) Whether the wetland is so severely degraded and its natural
processes so substantially impaired that it is not capable of
recovering and maintaining a high level of biological productivity
without major restoration activities.
(2) Whether a substantial portion of the degraded wetland, but in
no event less than 75 percent, can be restored and maintained as a
highly productive wetland in conjunction with a boating facilities
project.
(3) Whether restoration of the wetland's natural values, including
its biological productivity and wildlife habitat features, can most
feasibly be achieved and maintained in conjunction with a boating
facility or whether there are other feasible ways to achieve these
values.
(c) The Legislature finds and declares that salt water or brackish
water aquaculture is a coastal-dependent use which should be
encouraged to augment food supplies and to further the policies set
forth in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 825) of Division 1. The
Department of Fish and Wildlife may identify coastal sites it
determines to be appropriate for aquaculture facilities. If the
Department of Fish and Wildlife identifies these sites, it shall
transmit information identifying the sites to the commission and the
relevant local government agency. The commission, and where
appropriate, local governments, shall, consistent with the coastal
planning requirements of this division, provide for as many coastal
sites identified by the Department of Fish and Wildlife for any uses
that are consistent with the policies of Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 30200) of this division.
(d) Any agency of the state owning or managing land in the coastal
zone for public purposes shall be an active participant in the
selection of suitable sites for aquaculture facilities and shall make
the land available for use in aquaculture when feasible and
consistent with other policies of this division and other provisions
of law.
SEC. 11. Section 30419 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
30419. The Division of Boating and Waterways within the
Department of Parks and Recreation is the principal state agency for
evaluating the economic feasibility of any boating facility to be
developed within the coastal zone.
If the economic viability of a boating facility becomes an issue
in a coastal development permit matter or in a local coastal program
or any amendment thereto, the commission shall request the Division
of Boating and Waterways within the Department of Parks and
Recreation to provide comment, including, but not limited to, the
analysis of costs associated with conditions of approval. In cases
where the Division of Boating and Waterways within the Department of
Parks and Recreation desires to make any comment, it shall be made
within 30 days of the commission's request. The commission shall
include the comment in its decision regarding a coastal development
permit or local coastal program or any amendment thereto.