BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 355|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 355
Author: Lara (D), et al.
Amended: 6/25/15
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 6-2, 4/14/15
AYES: Pavley, Allen, Hueso, Jackson, Monning, Wolk
NOES: Stone, Fuller
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hertzberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR: 24-12, 4/30/15
AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez,
Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu,
McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Pavley, Roth,
Wieckowski, Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines,
Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Stone
NO VOTE RECORDED: Galgiani, Runner, Vidak
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/27/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and
Mountains Conservancy
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill increases the San Gabriel and Lower Los
Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy's (Conservancys)
governing board to 15 voting members and nine ex officio members
and specifies the additional members' qualifications.
Assembly Amendments add one voting member from Orange County and
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one voting member from a city adjacent to the San Gabriel River,
as specified.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Conservancy, which is responsible for the
preservation and protection of specified lands.
2)Requires the Conservancy to prepare a San Gabriel and Lower
Los Angeles Parkway and Open Space Plan, which includes
policies and priorities for the conservation of the San
Gabriel River and its watershed, the Lower Los Angeles River,
and the San Gabriel Mountains and identifies underused
existing public open spaces and recommendations for providing
better public use and enjoyment.
3)Establishes the Conservancy's governing board and specifies
the board shall consist of 13 voting members and seven ex
officio members, as follows:
a) Voting members:
i) A member of the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors
ii) Two members of the board of directors of the San
Gabriel Valley Council of Governments who must be a
mayor or city council member
iii) Two members of the board of directors of the
Gateway Cities Council of Governments, one must be the
mayor of Long Beach or a Long Beach city council member
and one must be appointed by the Speaker of the
Assembly
iv) Two members of the Orange County Division of the
League of California Cities who must be mayors or city
council members
v) A San Gabriel Water Association representative
vi) A Central Basin Water Association representative
vii) A member proposed by an environmental
organization involved in restoration, open space, or
river preservation activities
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viii) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency
ix) The Secretary of the California Environmental
Protection Agency
x) The Director of Finance
b) Ex officio, non-voting members (or their designees):
i) The District Engineer of the United States (U.S.)
Army Corps of Engineers
ii) The Regional Forester of the Pacific Southwest
Region, U.S. Forest Service
iii) Director of Los Angeles County Department of Public
Works
iv) Director of Orange County Department of Public Works
v) A member of the San Gabriel River Watermaster
vi) Director of State Parks
vii) Executive Officer of the Wildlife Conservation Board
This bill:
1)Expands the Conservancy's voting board members from 13 to 15
and specifies the two additional members will be appointed by
the Governor. Specifies that one of the new members be a
resident of a city bordering the San Gabriel River, and the
other a resident of a city bordering the Lower Los Angeles
River and that both meet certain additional eligibility
requirements.
2)Expands the Conservancy's ex officio board members from seven
to nine. Requires the additional members to be:
a) A member of the Senate, appointed by the Senate
Committee on Rules.
b) A member of the Assembly, appointed by the Speaker of
the Assembly.
Background
History of the Conservancy. The Conservancy was created by the
California Legislature in 1999. It is one of 10 conservancies
within the California Resources Agency. The Conservancy's
mission is to preserve open space and habitat in order to
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provide for low-impact recreation and educational uses, wildlife
habitat restoration and protection, and watershed improvements
within its jurisdiction. The territory of the Conservancy
includes the watersheds for the San Gabriel River and the lower
Los Angeles River, along with portions of the Santa Clara River
and the lower Santa Ana River. According to the Conservancy's
Web-page it has received funding from Proposition 12 (2000),
Proposition 13 (2000), Proposition 40 (2002), Proposition 50
(2002) and Proposition 84 (2006) in addition to the recently
passed Proposition 1 (2014). Several of these bonds contained
specified funding for the Conservancy [Proposition 84 ($36
million), Proposition 50 ($20 million), Proposition 40 ($40
million) and Proposition 12, which predated the establishment of
the Conservancy, provided $25 million for the Los Angeles and
San Gabriel River watersheds]. Additionally, Proposition 1 and
the earlier bonds also include programs which the Conservancy
would be eligible to receive funding from, such as urban river
restoration, among others.
Legislative representation to Conservancies. Six of the state's
conservancies have no requirements for members of the Senate or
Assembly to participate on their respective governing boards.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy's governing board
includes two nonvoting members who are a Senator and Assembly
Member whose districts include a portion of the Delta. The
statutes governing the State Coastal Conservancy and the Santa
Monica Mountains Conservancy also provide for three Senators and
three Assembly Members to participate in their governance.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill
has minor, absorbable state costs.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/28/15)
Aja Brown, Mayor, City of Compton
City of Bell
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City of Cudahy
Orange County Water District
City of Paramount
City of South Gate
City of Vernon
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/28/15)
Anaheim Chamber of Commerce
City of Fountain Valley
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "The recently
approved state water bond provides millions of dollars in
funding opportunities for the revitalization of the Lower Los
Angeles River watershed, including parks and open space along
the river. Many of those funds, including a $30 million direct
allocation for watershed improvements, and a share of $100
million for urban creek restoration, will be allocated through
the Conservancy. Opportunities for improvements to the Lower Los
Angeles River directly impact the communities that border the
river. It is vital that the conservancy board include
representation from the cities that border the river, to provide
a local perspective on plans and developments. Adding state
elected officials as non-voting board members in an advisory
capacity has proven successful at other state conservancies."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: Opponents object to a reduction in
Orange County's voting representation on the RMC Board. (All
opposition letters appear to reference an earlier version of the
bill as the bill now leaves intact Orange County representation
on the RMC Board.)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Dodd, Eggman, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo
Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove,
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Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Daly, Frazier
Prepared by:Katharine Moore / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
8/28/15 16:58:01
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