BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        SB 209|
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                                UNFINISHED BUSINESS 


          Bill No:  SB 209
          Author:   Pavley (D) 
          Amended:  3/17/16  
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE:  7-2, 3/24/15
           AYES:  Pavley, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Monning, Wolk
           NOES:  Stone, Fuller

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  5-2, 5/26/15
           AYES:  Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
           NOES:  Bates, Nielsen

           SENATE FLOOR:  25-13, 5/28/15
           AYES:  Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,  
            Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,  
            Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Pavley,  
            Roth, Wieckowski, Wolk
           NOES:  Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines,  
            Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Mitchell, Runner

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  54-20, 3/28/16 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Surface mining:  financial assurances:  reclamation  
                     plans


          SOURCE:    Sierra Fund


          DIGEST:  This bill makes numerous changes to the Surface Mining  
          and Reclamation Act (SMARA) that are all part of the year-long  
          stakeholder process convened by the Governor's office in 2015 to  
          recommend substantive and procedural changes to the state's  








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          mining laws. 


          Assembly Amendments divided the topics between this bill and AB  
          1142 (Gray). The two bills both contain contingent enactment  
          provisions. SB 209 contains the provisions relating formalizing  
          a new Division of Mines and Reclamation at the Department of  
          Conservation (DOC) that will be headed by a Supervisor of Mines  
          and Reclamation, fees, more flexible inspections at county-owned  
          borrow pits, and   authorizing the Board of Mining and Geology  
          (Board) to develop a corporate financial test in lieu of a  
          portion of the required financial assurances. 


          ANALYSIS:   


          Existing law:


            1)  Prohibits surface mining, with exceptions, unless a permit  
              is obtained from, a specified reclamation plan is submitted  
              and approved by, and financial assurances have been approved  
              by the lead agency (usually a local government) for the  
              operation of the surface mining operation. Operators are  
              entitled to be in "substantial compliance" with these  
              provisions. 

            2)  Requires annual inspections of surface mining operations  
              by the lead agency to be performed by a state-licensed  
              architect, civil engineer, landscape architect, or forester.  


            3)  Requires the lead agency to have primary responsibility  
              for enforcement and establishes deadlines when that  
              responsibility is transferred to the director of the DOC. 

          This bill:

          1)Increases, by agreement with industry, the maximum reporting  
            fee for any single mining operation from $4,000 to $10,000 and  
            caps the overall reporting fees at $8 million annually.  








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            Currently most operators pay the maximum amount which has  
            contributed to long-term budget shortfalls that have resulted  
            in inadequate reclamation plans, lack of coordination between  
            state and local agencies, erratic inspections, delayed permit  
            approvals, and a convoluted appeals process that was  
            cumbersome and largely ineffective. 





          2)Commits the fees paid by industry to the review of reclamation  
            plans, financial assurances, and the training of local  
            government mine inspectors that is authorized in AB 1142. 



          3)Contains new, flexible provisions for local governments to  
            inspect county-owned borrow pits every two years instead of  
            each year. 


          Comments


          The Governor called for a thorough review of SMARA and the  
          stakeholder process recommendations have been divided between SB  
          209 and AB 1142 (Gray). AB 1142 contains the provisions relating  
          to reclamation plans, financial assurances, inspections, and  
          enforcement. 


          The reforms to the financial assurance provisions, reclamation  
          planning, and inspections are contained in AB 1142. 


          The main purpose of the two bills is to retain the existing  
          components of SMARA but to enact new provisions that address the  
          issues raised in the stakeholder process so that the law works  
          better for industry, local governments, and the public. 










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          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   Yes


          According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, depending  
          upon how the Board calculates fees for different mining  
          operations, the administrative fee increase authorized in the  
          bill could result in an estimated increase in revenue between  
          $3.6 million and $6.2 million (special fund). The actual revenue  
          increase will depend upon how the Board calculates fees for  
          different operations. The statute requires that Board set fees  
          on an equitable basis reflecting the size and type of operation.


          SUPPORT:   (Verified3/28/16)


          Sierra Fund (source)
          California State Association of Counties
          California State Chamber of Commerce
          California League of Conservation Voters
          California Native Plant Society
          Center for Biological Diversity
          Claim-GV
          Clean Water Action
          Endangered Habitat League
          Rural County Representatives of California
          San Francisco Baykeeper
          San Juan Ridge Taxpayers Association
          South Yuba River Citizens League
          Wolf Creek Community Alliance


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified3/28/16)


          None received


          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:     The conservation groups in support all  
          have stated that this bill together with AB 1142 represent the  
          most significant improvements to SMARA in many years. SB 209  








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          specifically provides more flexibility to counties, establishes  
          a workable fee structure both for the department and the mine  
          operators, and allows the Board of Mining and Geology to  
          establish financial tests in lieu of surety bonds for financial  
          assurances. The local government and business supporters support  
          the flexibility to local governments, the financial test  
          provisions, and the fact that a portion of the fees will be used  
          to train local government employees to inspect mines. 

          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  54-20, 3/28/16
          AYES:  Alejo, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,  
            Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,  
            Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo  
            Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley,  
            Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine,  
            Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,  
            Nazarian, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,  
            Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon
          NOES:  Achadjian, Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Beth  
            Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Harper, Jones, Kim, Mathis, Mayes,  
            Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Chang, Dahle, Eggman, McCarty, O'Donnell


          Prepared by:William Craven / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
          3/30/16 15:31:19


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