BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 209|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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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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Page 2
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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Page 3
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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