BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER
                             Senator Fran Pavley, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:            AB 1734         Hearing Date:    June 14,  
          2016
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          |Author:    |Obernolte              |           |                 |
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          |Version:   |February 1, 2016                                     |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:    |No               |
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          |Consultant:|William Craven                                       |
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                              Subject:  Mining claims:  recording
          
          BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
          
           1) Pursuant to federal mining law, a mining claimant is  
             required to file an annual affidavit that is recorded with  
             the county recorder with the mailing addresses of the  
             individuals involved in the claim. This changed in 2012.  
             Prior to 2012, the annual mining form required both the  
             mailing and residential addresses of those individuals. 

           1)  Pursuant to state mining law, the California version of the  
             annual form (which is required for claims on BLM land as well  
             as private lands) requires both the mailing and residential  
             addresses of the individuals involved in the claim to be  
             filed annually with the county recorder. 

          FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown 

          PROPOSED LAW
          This bill would conform state reporting requirements to the  
          federal reporting requirements. 

          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
          According to the author, county recorders in California may not  
          legally process the federal form. Claimants may be at risk of  
          losing their claim if the corrected forms are not received and  
          recorded by the prescribed deadline. 








          AB 1734 (Obernolte)                                     Page 2  
          of ?
          
          
          Data provided by the author from Inyo County illustrates the  
          issue. 

          According to the county, one mining claim may generate several  
          annual forms because a claim may have more than one individual  
          associated with it. The actual number of active mining claims  
          requiring an annual notice is around 350. The total number of  
          documents recorded in Inyo County in 2015 is 4,376. In that  
          year, the county rejected 100% of Affidavit of Assessments who  
          mailed in their Affidavit using the approved BLM form. Because  
          the county mailed every miner the modified form in 2015, it was  
          able to mitigate rejection rates in Inyo County by directing  
          miners to the form posted on its website. However, the county is  
          not aware of how other counties are handling the problem.  

          
          



          ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
          None received

          SUPPORT
          County Recorders Association of California
          County of Inyo
          Rural County Representatives of California 

          OPPOSITION
          None Received

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