BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2092
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Date of Hearing: April 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 2092
(Frazier) - As Introduced February 17, 2016
SUBJECT: Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund: grants
SUMMARY: Allows Watercraft Abatement Fund (AWAF) revenues to be
used for the removal of abandoned commercial vessels.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Deletes the prohibition on using AWAF revenues to for
abatement, removal, storage, or disposal of commercial
vessels.
2)Makes related, clarifying amendments.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Makes it an infraction, punishable by a maximum fine of
$3,000, for a person to abandon a vessel on a public waterway
or public or private property without express or implied
consent of the owner or person in control of the property,
with the exception for the urgent and immediate concern for
the safety on board the vessel.
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2)Requires that 80% of fines imposed and collected for
abandoning recreational vessels be deposited in AWAF
3)Authorizes AWAF revenues to be used, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for grants to local agencies to, among other
things, the removal of specified vessels determined to be a
public nuisance.
4)Requires that in reviewing AWAF grant proposals that weight be
placed on the existence of an active local enforcement program
to control and prevent the abandonment of watercraft within
the local agencies jurisdiction and the existence of a
submerged navigational hazard abatement plan.
5)Requires that grant awards be matched by a 10% contribution
from the local agency receiving the grant.
6)Prohibits AWAF grants from being used to abate, remove, store,
or dispose of commercial vessels.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: AWAF was created in 1998 and is funded with proceeds
from vessel fuel taxes, vessel registration fees, yacht and ship
broker and sales person licensing fees, as well as fines
collected pursuant to laws prohibiting vessel abandonment. AWAF
is used to provide grants to public agencies to fund the
abatement of non-commercial abandoned vessels, as specified, as
well as marine debris or any other partially submerged objects
that pose a navigation hazard. According to the Department of
Boating and Waterways (DBW), AWAF funds cannot be used to abate
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commercial vessels because the fund was created by and revenues
collected from recreational boaters for the express use of
abating recreational vessels. According to the Governor's
budget, AWAF is projected to be $1.74 million in the 2016/17
fiscal year.
When a local jurisdiction wishes to remove a qualifying
abandoned vessel, they can apply for AWAF grant funds, which,
when awarded by DBW, require a 10% match (or contribution) from
the local agency receiving the grant. According to the sponsor,
the California Sheriffs' Association, because only
non-commercial abandoned vessels qualify for AWAF grants, and
because local jurisdictions typically lack funds for vessel
abatement, many commercial vessels are not promptly removed. As
a result, over time, the vessels sink and disintegrate. The
sponsor notes that once the vessel is submerged and
disintegrated, a local jurisdiction can, at that time, apply for
AWAF revenues because the vessel is then considered "marine
debris," and a qualifying use of AWAF revenues.
The author and the sponsor contend that allowing these
commercial vessels to sink and disintegrate not only pollutes
the waterways with fuel and other chemicals (e.g., battery
acids, and other products), it also creates boating strike
hazards because the vessels (which can lie just underneath the
surface) often go undetected by passing vessels. The sponsor
contends that it makes no sense to allow these vessels to
deteriorate before AWAF grant monies can be used. They also
argue that this practice is more costly and results in severe
environmental damage. For example, the sponsor provided an
example where an abandoned commercial vessel could have been
abated at a cost of $10,000 by a local jurisdiction but instead
the local jurisdiction was awarded a $48,500 AWAF grant for
abatement of that same vessel after the vessel sank and became
"marine debris." The sponsor also contends that it makes more
sense to remove vessels that present a strike hazard or
environmental impacts regardless of their commercial or
non-commercial status.
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Writing in opposition to AB 2092, the Recreational Boaters of
California (RBOC) points out that opening up boater fuel tax and
registration fee revenues in AWAF to abate commercial vessels
would quickly deplete the fund since these vessels are
significantly more expensive to remove. RBOC points out that
since commercial vessels do not contribute to fund; recreational
vessel abatement should take priority. RBOC and a number of
private citizens contend that other state and local agencies
have the financial resources and expertise to address the
abatement of abandoned commercial vessels, namely CalRecycle's
Solid Waste Cleanup Trust Fund and the State Water Resources
Control Board's Cleanup and Abatement Account.
A number of private citizens, also writing in opposition to this
bill, contend that commercial vessels, while clearly
representing a danger on California waterways, are easily
identified and, therefore, the owners of these vessels should be
required to pay the abatement and clean-up costs.
Committee comments: The AWAF was created to help local
jurisdictions remove abandoned vessels and eliminate associated
health and safety risks. While recreational vessel fees sustain
the fund, it seems that removal of hazardous vessels, regardless
of their status, would benefit all waterway users. If existing
funds are insufficient to fully address what appears to be a
significantly greater need, expanding AWAF funding to encompass
additional source fees may be worth consideration.
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Previous legislation: Senate Bill 172 (Rainey), Chapter 930,
Statutes of 1997, expanded the authority of local officials to
remove and dispose of wrecked vessels on public waterways.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Sheriffs' Association (Sponsor)
Opposition
Recreational Boaters of California
Sportsmen Yacht Club
115 private citizens
Analysis Prepared by:Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
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