BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1716 (McCarty) - Lower American River Conservancy Program
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Version: August 2, 2016 |Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 6 - 2 |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
|Hearing Date: August 8, 2016 |Consultant: Narisha Bonakdar |
| | |
|--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
| | |
| | |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1716 establishes the American River Conservancy Program
(Program) within the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB).
Fiscal
Impact:
Approximately $300,000 (special fund) to the Wildlife
Conservation Board (WCB).
Significant costs pressures (various special funds) to fund
programs and projects in the program area within existing
resources.
Background:
California has 10 conservancies which provide various services
within their regions, including public recreation, habitat
protection, open space acquisition, and projects to restore and
enhance natural areas and public facilities. They range in size
AB 1716 (McCarty) Page 1 of
?
from the largest conservancies (Coastal and Sierra Nevada) to
the smallest (Baldwin Hills, San Diego River, and San Joaquin
River), and often are funded through specific allocations in
state bond acts.
Some are urban (four in the Los Angeles area), some very rural
(Tahoe and Sierra Nevada), and most work within a specified
geographic area, and one, the Coastal Conservancy, has a
jurisdiction that includes the entire coast and the inland
watersheds that drain into the ocean.
The ten conservancies include Baldwin Hills, Tahoe, Coachella
Valley Mountains, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, San Diego River,
San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains, San
Joaquin River, Santa Monica Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and
Coastal.
At one point, successive administrations insisted that the
boards of the conservancies contain a majority of appointees who
were either directly appointed by the Governor or who served on
a conservancy board because of their appointment to another
position, such as the Director of Finance or the Secretary for
Natural Resources, both of whom serve on many conservancy
boards. That remains the status for most conservancies although
both the Sierra Nevada and Delta conservancies have a narrow
majority of local government representatives.
Although not a conservancy, the WCB fulfills a statewide land
acquisition function that has proven useful in areas not served
by a conservancy. In areas served by a conservancy, the WCB may
partner in funding various projects and leveraging other
dollars.
Also, both the San Francisco Bay region and the Santa Ana River
are distinct statutory programs within the State Coastal
Conservancy. Through that structure, those regions are covered
by the WCB, are eligible for specific line-item appropriations
in the budget or bond measures, and have achieved some
cost-savings with smaller administrative or additional personnel
costs than would normally occur with an entirely new
organization.
AB 1716 (McCarty) Page 2 of
?
Proposed Law:
This bill:
1)Establishes the Program within the WCB.
2)Creates an advisory board and requires the following:
a. The board must consists of three supervisors from
the County of Sacramento, two representatives of the City
of Sacramento, the mayor or a councilmember from the City
of Rancho Cordova, the Secretary of the Natural Resources
Agency, the Director of Finance, the Director of Parks
and Recreation, the Executive Officer of the State Lands
Commission, and three public members.
b. The advisory committee must meet at least twice a
year, and its meetings are subject to the Bagley-Keen
Open Meeting Act.
3)The WCB is directed to coordinate its activities with the
County of Sacramento, each city that includes a portion of the
American River Parkway, and appropriate local and regional
flood control districts, and relevant state agencies.
4)Prior to approving any funding, the WCB must consult with the
county as to whether the proposed actions are consistent with
the Plan.
5)Requires the WCB, prior to providing funding for any
acquisition project, to ensure that the title will be held by
Sacramento County.
6)Specifies that the WCB may provide grants to local public
agencies and nonprofit organizations for various acquisition
and restoration projects along the American River including
those that expand public access, interpretative and
educational facilities related to the Parkway, and the control
of invasive species, and the propagation of native species,
stormwater capture and treatment grants.
7)Prohibits the WCB from:
AB 1716 (McCarty) Page 3 of
?
a. Funding projects on land without the written consent
of the landowner, and managing, regulating, or
controlling the use of any land owned or leased by
another public agency or private party.
b. Levying of any tax or special assessment, or provide
any grants or take other actions inconsistent with the
above-referenced statutes.
c. Owning or acquiring land.
8)Requires the WCB, to the extent feasible, to use the
California Conservation Corps or a community conservation
corps for projects.
9)Establishes the Lower American River Conservancy Program Fund.
Related
Legislation:
SB 1396 (Wolk, 2016) establishes the Inner Coast Range Program
with specified goal areas and authorization related to the Inner
Coast Range Region, as defined. This bill was set for hearing in
Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee and was held by
the author.
SB 1390 (Correa, Chapter 562, Statutes of 2014) established the
Santa Ana River Conservancy Program within the State Coastal
Conservancy to address the resource and recreational goals of
the Santa Ana River corridor.
SB 1048 (Sher) Chapter 896, Statutes of 1997 created the San
Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program within the Coastal
Conservancy.
Staff
Comments:
Purpose of the bill. According to the author, the American River
and the American River Parkway are vitally important to the
people, economy, and culture of Sacramento and West Sacramento,
and other communities in Sacramento County. The City of
Sacramento points out that as a program of the WCB, the American
River would be eligible for additional funding. It states that
AB 1716 (McCarty) Page 4 of
?
of the $740 million of state bond and general funds allocated to
rivers since 1996, $660 million has gone to rivers with state
conservancies, but the American River has received only $3
million.
Staff notes that by creating an additional program within the
WCB, this bill puts costs pressures on the WCB's existing and
future funds, which are largely from bonds. However, this cost
pressure is somewhat mitigated because some priority projects of
this program are likely to be priorities of the WCB under their
existing mission even if this program was not created.
-- END --