BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 141
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Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 141
(McGuire) - As Amended June 22, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY: This bill clarifies that the Humboldt Bay Harbor,
Recreation, and Conservation District (District) is authorized
to sell or transfer certain property, and makes several other
changes to the District's Act. Specifically, this bill:
1)Deletes the provision prohibiting irrevocable grants of fee
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title be granted or issued.
2)Clarifies the responsibilities of the chief executive officer
(CEO) and the Treasurer of the District.
3)Prohibits the District from making an expenditure of trust
moneys from the Humboldt Bay, Harbor, Recreation, and
Conservation District Fund (Fund) to purchase or otherwise
acquire real property without first having provided at least
90 days' written notice of the proposed expenditure to the
State Lands Commission (SLC);
FISCAL EFFECT:
Negligible state fiscal impact.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the State Lands Commission (SLC),
sponsor of the bill, "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."
2)Background. 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 SLC which maintains
oversight authority. The District is governed by the specific
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granting statute(s), the common law Public Trust Doctrine, and
other applicable law.
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 SLC. The SLC is
responsible for monitoring and administration of each
statutory grant by the trustee to ensure compliance with
provisions of the granting statute and the Public Trust
Doctrine.
The SLC has the authority to investigate, audit, and review
the administration of all statutory trust grants. The SLC
also has the authority to investigate specific allegations of
maladministration, to seek corrective measures by trustees,
and make recommendations to the Legislature.
In the course of conducting a review, SLC 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"). This bill corrects that
inconsistency.
3)Prior Legislation. AB 1943 (Chesbro), Chapter 891, Statutes of
2014, revised the statutory obligation for the City of Eureka
to remit certain funds to the state related to tidelands and
submerged lands located in Humboldt Bay that were granted to
the City in the 1970s.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
SB 141
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