BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 223 (Galgiani) - Division of Boating and Waterways: oversight
committee: invasive aquatic plants.
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|Version: April 30, 2015 |Policy Vote: N.R. & W. 7 - 1 |
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|Urgency: Yes |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: May 11, 2015 |Consultant: Marie Liu |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 223, an urgency measure, would require the Division
of Boating and Waterways (division) to establish an advisory and
oversight committee to evaluate and monitor the division's
activities related to the management and control of invasive
aquatic plants in the Delta and the Suisun Marsh.
Fiscal
Impact: Up to $280,000 annually until 2019, but potentially
substantially less, from the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving
Fund (special) to the division for staffing and administrating
the committee required by this bill and to implement future
recommendations.
Background: The division, within the Department of Parks and Recreation,
is the lead agency responsible for the control of specified
aquatic invasive species (water hyacinth, Brazilian elodea, and
SB 223 (Galgiani) Page 1 of
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South American spongeplant) in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,
its tributaries, and the Suisan Marsh. The division is
authorized to cooperate with other state agencies, local
governments, and federal agencies in controlling these species.
According to DPR, the division currently participates on two
existing committees that provide input to its aquatic weed
program. The first is statutorily required by HNC §64.5 and is
in consultation with the US Department of Agriculture with
various interested parties including the US Fish and Wildlife
Service, the University of California and other members of the
scientific and research communities to address the research,
management, and control of invasive aquatic plants in the Delta
and Suisun Marsh. The division also participates in the
Interagency Aquatic Invasive Species Coordination Team which
includes local, state, and federal agencies and evaluates the
operational, research, and regulatory approaches of the
division. This team meets quarterly to biannually.
Proposed Law:
This bill would require the division to establish and advisory
and oversight committee regarding invasive aquatic plants
management and control in the Delta, its tributaries, and the
Suisun Marsh. The committee would be required to have an
equitable number of representatives from the following
interests: agriculture, recreational boating, commercial
shipping, business owners, the California Invasive Plant
council, research institutions, wildlife conservation, the
environment, resource conservation districts, the general
public, and local government.
The committee would be required to meet at least twice a year.
The division would be required to staff the committee.
The advisory committee would be required to be established
within 90 days of the effective date of this urgency bill.
These provisions would sunset on January 1, 2019.
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Staff
Comments: The Department of Parks and Recreation estimates that
staffing the advisory committee and holding the requisite
meetings could result in costs of up to $280,000 annually for
2.5 PYs. This cost assumes that the committee created by the
bill will identify new recommendations for division actions
regarding aquatic invasive species. Staff notes that it is
unclear the likelihood that this committee will have
recommendations that have not already been recommended by the
other existing committees on aquatic invasive species.
Staff notes there are numerous other advisory and oversight
committees required by statute within the Natural Resources
Agency. In particular, the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW)
has advisory committees that provide oversight over many of its
species-related special fund such as the Spiny Lobster Advisory
Committee, the Big Game Advisory Committee, and the Dungeness
Crab Task Force. These committees have similar responsibilities
to the committee established in this bill- oversight of the
DFW's responsibilities and use of the relevant special funds.
While the staffing costs of these advisory committees vary, they
are generally are in the low to mid-hundreds of thousands of
dollars annually.
Given the existing efforts on this subject as well as the
typical costs for other advisory committees under the Natural
Resources Agency, the costs estimated by the Department of Parks
and Recreation should be seen as a maximum with actual costs
potentially much lower.
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