BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 141|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 141
Author: McGuire (D), et al.
Amended: 5/13/15
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 9-0, 3/24/15
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Fuller, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,
Monning, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation
District Act: land grants, acquisitions, and
dispositions
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill (1) clarifies the Humboldt Bay Harbor,
Recreation, and Conservation District's (District) ability to
dispose of after-acquired property, (2) clarifies the
responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer and Treasurer of
the board of commissioners of the District; and (3) requires the
District to provide the State Lands Commission (Commission) 90
days written notice prior to expending trust moneys for the
acquisition of real property and prior to the disposition of
interest in real property.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law, under the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and
Conservation District Act:
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1)Regulates the use of specified tide and submerged lands within
Humboldt Bay and provides for the fill, improvement, and
reclamation of those tidelands, as prescribed.
2)Requires that all grants, franchises, leases, permits, rights
or privileges be made in accordance with those rules and
regulations as the board of commissioners of the District
prescribes by resolution, and prohibits irrevocable grants of
fee title from being granted or issued.
3)Authorizes the District to acquire, hold and enjoy, and lease
and dispose of real and personal property of every kind,
within the district, necessary to the full or convenient
exercise of its powers.
This bill:
1)Eliminates the ambiguity in the District's granting statutes
and thus allows the District to dispose of after-acquired
property by striking the sentence of its granting statutes.
2)Clarifies the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer
and Treasurer of the board of commissioners of the District.
3)Requires the District to provide the Commission 90 days
written notice prior to expending trust moneys for the
acquisition of real property and prior to the disposition of
interest in real property. The Commission will have 90 days
following the notice of intent to acquire real property with
trust moneys to review and approve the acquisition.
Background
1)The District is a trustee of sovereign lands granted to it by
the Legislature in the 1970s. These lands are considered
"granted lands" by the Commission, which maintains oversight
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authority. The District is governed by the specific granting
statute(s), the common law Public Trust Doctrine and other
applicable law.
2)Revenues generated by a trustee arising out of the use or
operation of its granted lands are public trust assets of the
State and must be reinvested back into the trust. These
revenues must be kept separate from the general funds of a
local government and may not be used for any purpose
unconnected with the trust. Expenditures of trust funds by a
trustee must be consistent with the common law Public Trust
Doctrine and the statutory trust grant.
3)While granted public trust lands and assets are managed
locally, the Legislature delegated the State's residual and
review authority for granted lands to the Commission. The
Commission is responsible for monitoring administration of
each statutory grant by the trustee to ensure compliance with
provisions of the granting statute and the Public Trust
Doctrine. The Commission has the authority to investigate,
audit, and review the administration of all statutory trust
grants. The Commission also has the authority to investigate
specific allegations of maladministration, to seek corrective
measures by trustees, and make recommendations to the
Legislature; the ultimate trustee of public trust lands.
4)In the course of conducting a review of a mismanagement
allegation against the District (which the Commission did not
find), Commission staff discovered an ambiguity in the
granting statutes relative to the District's authority to
dispose of property acquired after the initial grant
("after-acquired property"). Existing law bars any grantee
from transferring, selling or otherwise alienating sovereign
tide and submerged lands. However, the statute governing the
District restricts its ability to dispose of any lands
("Irrevocable grants of fee title shall not be granted or
issued." (see §23, Chapter 1040, Statutes of 1976)).
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Comments
Stringent restrictions remain on the District. The District is
still restricted in its purchasing and sale of land,
particularly in regards to Public Trust property, by the
remainder of its granting document, as well as by other existing
law.
In particular (from Chapter 1283 of the Statutes of 1970):
SEC. 28. The district may take by grant, purchase, gift,
devise, lease or otherwise acquire, hold and enjoy and
lease and dispose of real and personal property of every
kind, within the district, necessary to the full or
convenient exercise of its powers.
SEC. 77(7b). The district or its successors shall not,
at any time, grant, convey, give or alienate said lands, or
any part thereof, to any individual, firm or corporation
for any purposes whatsoever; provided, that said district,
or its successors, may grant franchises thereon for limited
periods, not exceeding 66 years, for wharves and other
public uses and purposes, and may lease said lands, or any
part thereof, for limited periods, not exceeding 66 years,
for purposes consistent with the trusts upon which said
lands are held by the State of California, and with the
requirements of commerce and navigation, and collect and
retain rents and other revenues from such leases,
franchises and privileges. Such lease or leases, franchises
and privileges may be for any and all purposes which shall
not interfere with commerce, navigation, fisheries, and
ecological protection.
Amendments have been made. Sections 2 and 3 were added by the
Senate on May 13, 2015. Section 2 provides clarifying amendments
as to the role and responsibility of the District Board Chief
Executive Officer and Treasurer. Section 3 specifies that the
Board must provide 90 day notice to the Commission prior to the
purchase or selling of real property acquired with trust moneys,
and the Commission must provide a response to a proposed
purchase within 90 days of receiving that notice.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified5/19/15)
Board of Commissioners of the Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and
Conservation District
State Lands Commission
Humboldt County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/19/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the State Lands
Commission, "SB 141 eliminates the prohibition on transferring
irrevocable grants of fee title as it related to after-acquired
lands. Eliminating this restriction is intended to provide
helpful clarification and assist the District in managing trust
assets of the state. This clarification is beneficial to the
District and to the state because the sale of after-acquired
lands provides funds that the District can reinvest into
administering and improving its trust lands within Humboldt Bay
for the statewide public's use and enjoyment."
Prepared by:Angee Doerr / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
5/21/15 12:28:28
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