SB 718, as amended, Leno. Hazardous Materials Response and Restoration Subaccount.
Existing law establishes the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for, among other purposes, providing funds to cover promptly the costs of response, containment, and cleanup of oil spills into waters of the state, including damage assessment costs and wildlife rehabilitation. Existing law establishes the Hazardous Materials Response and Restoration Subaccount, a continuously appropriated subaccount in the Fish and Wildlife Pollution Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, for, among other purposes, the protection, preservation, and restoration of fish and wildlife impacted by discharges of hazardous materials into the environment of the state.
This bill would authorize the administrator for oil spill response to loan moneys from the Oil Spill Response Trust Fund to the Hazardous Materials Response and
Restoration Subaccount in an amount, notbegin delete to exceedend deletebegin insert exceedingend insert $500,000 annually, necessary to reimburse organizations providing wildlife rescue and rehabilitation services for expenses incurred by rescue and rehabilitation stations for wildlife injured by spill events of nonoil materials, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the administrator to notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee of the loan. The bill would require the administrator, through a public process, to develop and adopt guidelines identifying expenses eligible for reimbursement.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 8670.48.4 is added to the Government
2Code, to read:
(a) (1) At the discretion of the administrator,
4moneys may be loaned from the fund to the Hazardous Materials
5Response and Restoration Subaccount, created pursuant to Section
613010 of the Fish and Game Code, in an amount, notbegin delete to exceedend delete
7begin insert exceedingend insert five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) annually, that
8is necessary to reimburse organizations providing wildlife rescue
9and rehabilitation services for expenses incurred by rescue and
10rehabilitation stations for wildlife injured by spill events of nonoil
11materials.
12(2) The administrator shall notify the Joint Legislative Budget
13Committee of any loans made pursuant to paragraph (1) at the time
14of the loan.
15(3) The administrator shall, through a public process, develop
16and adopt guidelines identifying expenses eligible for
17reimbursement pursuant to paragraph (1).
18(b) A loan made pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a)
19shall be repaid no later than 10 years after the date the loan was
20made, with interest at the rate earned by the Pooled Money
21Investment Account at the time of the loan, upon appropriation by
22the Legislature, from either of the following:
23(1) Moneys recovered from a party responsible for the spill
24
event of nonoil materials.
25(2) If no responsible party is found, the General Fund.
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