BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1716


                                                                    Page  1





          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          1716 (McCarty and Cooley)


          As Amended  April 26, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Natural         |6-0  |Williams, Cristina    |                    |
          |Resources       |     |Garcia, Gomez,        |                    |
          |                |     |McCarty, Mark Stone,  |                    |
          |                |     |Wood                  |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |14-2 |Gonzalez, Bloom,      |Bigelow, Gallagher  |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,       |                    |
          |                |     |Calderon, Daly,       |                    |
          |                |     |Eggman, Eduardo       |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Roger         |                    |
          |                |     |Hernández, Holden,    |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |
          |                |     |Weber, Wood           |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          SUMMARY:  Establishes the Lower American River Conservancy in  








                                                                    AB 1716


                                                                    Page  2





          the Natural Resources Agency (NRA), which is created for the  
          purpose of receiving and expending proceeds from bonds or other  
          appropriations for the benefit of the American River Parkway  
          (Parkway). Specifically, this bill:


          1)Establishes a 15 voting member governing board (Board) that  
            consists of:


             a)   Three members of the Sacramento County Board of  
               Supervisors;


             b)   Two representatives of the City of Sacramento;


             c)   One representative of the City of Rancho Cordova;


             d)   The Secretary of NRA, or his or her designee; 


             e)   The Director of Finance, or his or her designee;


             f)   The Director of Parks and Recreation, or his or her  
               designee;


             g)   The Director of Fish and Wildlife, or his or her  
               designee;


             h)   The Executive Director of the Wildlife Conservation  
               Board, or his or her designee;


             i)   The Executive Officer of the State Lands Commission, or  








                                                                    AB 1716


                                                                    Page  3





               his or her designee; and,


             j)   Three members of the public at large, one appointed by  
               the Governor, one appointed by the Senate Committee on  
               Rules, and one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly. 


          2)Establishes Board policies, procedures, and Conservancy  
            authorities and priorities.


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Establishes ten conservancies in NRA to acquire, manage,  
            direct the management of, and conserve public lands in the  
            state.


          2)Defines "American River Parkway Plan" (Plan) to mean the  
            management plans for the Lower American River adopted by the  
            County of Sacramento on September 10, 2008, by Resolution No.  
            2008-0946, and by the City of Sacramento on November 6, 2008,  
            by Resolution No. 2008-731, and endorsed by the City of Rancho  
            Cordova on September 15, 2008, by Resolution No. 110-2008.


          3)Defines "Lower American River" to mean the portion of the  
            American River between Nimbus Dam and the confluence of the  
            American River with the Sacramento River and the adjacent  
            lands as described in the Plan.


          4)Declares that the Legislature has adopted the Plan in order to  
            provide coordination with local agencies in the protection and  
            management of the Parkway.










                                                                    AB 1716


                                                                    Page  4





          5)Requires land use decisions of state and local agencies to be  
            consistent with the Plan.


          6)Permits the Plan to be amended through a local amendment  
            process.  Specifies that area plans can only be amended if  
            they are consistent with the plan.  Specifies amendments to  
            area plans will conducted by the Sacramento County Board of  
            Supervisors through a process outlined in the Plan.


          7)Declares it is the intent of the Legislature that the duties  
            and responsibilities required by adoption of the Plan be  
            accomplished by utilizing existing staff resources and that no  
            additional funding be provided, other than that which is  
            appropriated by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee:


          1)Increased cost pressures, potentially in the millions of  
            dollars, for general obligation bonds or other state funding  
            to benefit the American River Parkway.


          2)Increased annual administrative costs of approximately  
            $250,000 to $350,000 (Environmental License Plate Fund).


          COMMENTS:  There are ten Conservancies in the NRA, which include  
          the Baldwin Hills, Tahoe, Coachella Valley Mountains,  
          Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta (Delta), San Diego River, San  
          Gabriel & Lower Los Angeles Rivers & Mountains, San Joaquin  
          River, Santa Monica Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and Coastal.   
          These conservancies have different missions, but common themes  
          are to enhance and restore important habitat lands, provide for  
          public recreation, educational opportunities, and undertake  








                                                                    AB 1716


                                                                    Page  5





          watershed restoration activities.  Most conservancies focus on  
          strategic acquisition of land from willing sellers in order to  
          preserve the land.  The Legislature created the Santa Ana  
          Conservancy and the San Francisco Bay Conservancy within the  
          Coastal Conservancy.  Originally, the authors creating these  
          programs tried to create new conservancies, but both authors  
          later pursued programs within the Coastal Conservancy to reduce  
          the cost of their legislation.  None of the ten existing  
          conservancies cover the Sacramento Valley.  The Delta  
          Conservancy borders Sacramento, but does not include the  
          Parkway.  This bill creates a different type of Conservancy.   
          The Conservancy is prohibited from acquiring land and actions  
          would primarily be providing grants.  




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092  FN:  
          0003104