Amended in Senate April 19, 2016

Amended in Senate March 29, 2016

Senate BillNo. 1020


Introduced by Senator Wieckowski

February 11, 2016


An act to amend Section 65967 of the Government Code, relating to land use.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1020, as amended, Wieckowski. Land use: mitigation lands.

The Planning and Zoning Law authorizes a state or local agency, where that agency requires a project proponent to transfer property to mitigate adverse project impacts upon natural resources, to in turn authorize a government entity, special district, or any of certain types of parties to hold title to, and manage, the transferred property. Existing law allows a state or local agency that has required such a transfer of property for mitigation purposes to identify the funding needs for the long-term stewardship of the property, and establishes various requirements with respect to the amount and management of any endowment conveyed or secured for purposes of funding the protection of the property.

Existing law authorizes a state or local agency that, in the development of its own project is required to protect property in order to mitigate an adverse impact upon natural resources, to take any action that the agency deems necessary to meet its mitigation obligations, including, but not limited to, transferring the interest to specified entities, providing funds to specified entities to acquire land or easements or to implement a restoration or enhancement project, or holding an endowment in an account administered by an elected official, as provided.

This bill would authorize abegin insert regional park district, regional park and open-space district, and regional open-spaceend insert districtbegin delete that meets specified criteriaend delete to meet the mitigation obligation by possessing budget reserves in excess of funds requiredbegin delete toend deletebegin insert to, among other things,end insert meet the mitigationbegin delete obligation and retainingend deletebegin insert obligation and retainend insert permanent stewardship and maintenance staff to manage the resource.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations, including findings and declarations demonstrating the necessity of a special statute with respect to a particular district.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) The Department of Fish and Wildlife construes Sections
465966 and 65967 of the Government Code to require all entities,
5including public entities and private businesses and nonprofit
6corporations, to set aside restricted endowments to guarantee the
7stewardship of lands where conservation easements have been
8required.

9(b) In the case of the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD),
10which is a nonenterprise, independent special district with its own
11taxing authority and elected board of directors whose sole purpose
12is to acquire and manage land for open space, public recreation,
13and natural resource protection, endowment requirements need
14additional consideration. For the reasons set forth below, a special
15statute is necessary with respect to the EBRPD.

16(c) Requiring entities established pursuant to Section 5500 of
17the Public Resources Code, such as the EBRPD, which employs
18permanent police, rangers, and stewardship staff, to fund
19endowments effectively doubles the cost burden on local taxpayers
20for managing specified habitat enhancements or conservation lands.

21(d) Requiring this agency to mitigate for its own public projects
22and permanently put local tax dollars in restricted endowment
23accounts increases the costs and taxpayer obligations by millions
24of dollars.

P3    1(e) The EBRPD is specifically required to manage public
2parklands consistent with its master plan, as well as state and
3federal regulatory requirements.

4(f) Furthermore, the EBRPD’s ability to manage land for the
5benefit of protected species and habitat has been recognized by
6the Department of Fish and Wildlife, which has authorized the
7EBRPD to hold and manage mitigation lands for third parties and
8the state.

9(g) Permanently obligating local taxpayer funding toward
10endowment accounts will significantly reduce the funds available
11to invest in stewardship staff and the appropriate management of
12habitat sensitive public lands.

13(h) Consistent with existing law, the Legislature affirms the
14authority of the Department of Fish and Wildlife to require local
15agencies to establish endowments for the ongoing care and
16maintenance of lands and projects resulting from mitigation
17practices.

18(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Fish
19and Wildlife, as part of mitigation and resulting endowment
20practices, administer Section 65967 of the Government Code so
21as not to unnecessarily obligate public resources for activities
22otherwise performed as part of an agency’s ongoing responsibilities
23and operations.

24

SEC. 2.  

Section 65967 of the Government Code is amended
25to read:

26

65967.  

(a) If a state or local agency requires a project
27proponent to transfer property to mitigate any adverse impact upon
28natural resources caused by permitting the development of a project
29or facility, the agency may authorize a governmental entity, special
30district, a nonprofit organization, a for-profit entity, a person, or
31another entity to hold title to and manage that property.

32(b) If a state or local agency, in the development of its own
33project, is required to protect property to mitigate an adverse impact
34upon natural resources, the agency may take any action that the
35agency deems necessary in order to meet its mitigation obligations,
36including, but not limited to, the following:

37(1) Transfer the interest, or obligation to restore and enhance
38property, to a governmental entity, special district, or nonprofit
39organization that meets the requirements set forth in subdivision
40(c).

P4    1(2) Provide funds to a governmental entity, nonprofit
2organization, a special district, a for-profit entity, a person, or other
3entity to acquire land or easements, or to implement a restoration
4or enhancement project, that satisfies the agency’s mitigation
5obligations.

6(3) Hold an endowment in an account administered by an elected
7official provided that the state or local agency is protecting,
8restoring, or enhancing its own property.

begin delete

9(4) Possess budget reserves in excess of the funds required to
10meet the mitigation obligation and retain permanent stewardship
11and maintenance staff to manage the resource, provided that the
12agency does both of the following:

13(A) Acts as an agent for the state to acquire, plan, and develop
14units of the state park system pursuant to Section 5003.03 of the
15Public Resources Code.

16(B) Works in collaboration with the state and other local entities
17to implement a project pursuant to the Natural Community
18Conservation Planning Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section
192800) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code).

end delete
begin insert

20
(4) If the local agency is a district formed pursuant to Article
213 (commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3 of Division 5 of
22the Public Resources Code, possess budget reserves in excess of
23the funds required to do all of the following:

end insert
begin insert

24
(A) Meet mitigation obligations.

end insert
begin insert

25
(B) Retain permanent stewardship and maintenance staff to
26manage the resource.

end insert
begin insert

27
(C) Maintain mitigation obligations consistent with permit
28requirements.

end insert
begin insert

29
(D) Ensure that if the mitigations are not maintained the state
30will not incur any financial liabilities from the lack of mitigation.

end insert

31(c) A state or local agency shall exercise due diligence in
32reviewing the qualifications of a governmental entity, special
33district, or nonprofit organization to effectively manage and
34steward land, water, or natural resources. The local agency may
35adopt guidelines to assist it in that review process, which may
36include, but are not limited to, the use of or reliance upon
37guidelines, standards, or accreditation established by a qualified
38entity that are in widespread state or national use.

39(d) The state or local agency may require the governmental
40entity, special district, or nonprofit organization to submit a report
P5    1not more than once every 12 months and for the number of years
2specified in the mitigation agreement that details the stewardship
3and condition of the property and any other requirements pursuant
4to the mitigation agreement for the property.

5(e) The recorded instrument that places the fee title or partial
6interest in real property with a governmental entity, special district,
7nonprofit organization, or for-profit entity, pursuant to subdivision
8(a) or (b) shall include a provision that if the state or local agency
9or its successor agency reasonably determines that the property
10conveyed to meet the mitigation requirement is not being held,
11monitored, or stewarded for conservation purposes in the manner
12specified in that instrument or in the mitigation agreement, the
13property shall revert to the state or local agency, or to another
14public agency, governmental entity, special district, or nonprofit
15organization pursuant to subdivision (c) and subject to approval
16by the state or local agency. If a state or local agency determines
17that a property must revert, it shall work with the parties to the
18mitigation agreement, or other affected entities, to ensure that any
19contracts, permits, funding, or other obligations and responsibilities
20are met.



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