BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       SB 1020|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  SB 1020
          Author:   Wieckowski (D) 
          Amended:  4/19/16  
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE:  9-0, 4/12/16
           AYES:  Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,  
            Monning, Vidak, Wolk

           SUBJECT:   Land use:  mitigation lands


          SOURCE:    Author

          DIGEST:   This bill creates a way for the East Bay Regional  
          Parks District to fulfill its natural resources mitigation  
          responsibilities through the possession of budget reserves  
          combined with compliance with other specified factors and  
          without creating a permanent endowment which would otherwise be  
          required. 

          ANALYSIS:  
          
          Existing law: 

          1)Authorizes an agency required to mitigate its environmental  
            impacts to pay for that mitigation in several ways including  
            transferring an interest in land to a third party, providing  
            funds to third parties to acquire land or easements or to  
            undertake the mitigation, or to create an endowment under  
            specified terms.  (Government Code Section 65967)

          2)Specifies, for mitigation that will not be completed prior to  








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            the start of activities that will affect wildlife species  
            listed under the California endangered species act, the  
            Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) requires that a trust  
            account or other form of approved security document is  
            established to ensure that funding is available to carry out  
            mitigation and monitoring measures in the event the applicant  
            fails to complete these activities. DFW generally requires  
            that the performance security be in the form of an irrevocable  
            letter of credit, surety bond, a bank trust or escrow account,  
            or another form of security approved in writing in advance.

          This bill: 

          1)Contains numerous findings regarding the East Bay Regional  
            Park District.

          2)States the intent of the Legislature that the DFW, as part of  
            its mitigation and endowment practices, should not  
            unnecessarily obligate public resources of the district that  
            are otherwise performed as part of its ongoing  
            responsibilities and operations.

          3)Is specific to the East Bay Regional Parks District (and other  
             regional park entities created pursuant to Section 5500 of  
            the Public Resources Code) and allows it, as an alternative to  
            an endowment, to satisfy its mitigation obligations by  
            possession of budget reserves in excess of funds required to  
            do all of the following: 

             a)   Meet mitigation obligations.
             b)   Retain permanent stewardship and maintenance staff to  
               manage the resource. 
             c)   Maintain mitigation obligations consistent with permit  
               requirements. 
             d)   Ensure that if the mitigations are not maintained the  
               state will not incur any financial liabilities from the  
               lack of mitigation. 

          Comments

          This bill continues to be a work in progress that will involve  
          future discussions with the opposition and DFW. 









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          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified4/19/16)


          East Bay Regional Parks District
          John Muir Land Trust
          Save Mount Diablo


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified4/19/16)


          California Council of Land Trusts
          Center for Natural Lands Management
          Defenders of Wildlife
          Sequoia Riverlands Trust
          Sierra Foothill Conservancy
          The Nature Conservancy 
          Wildlife Heritage Foundation

          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:  According to the author, East Bay  
          Regional Parks District has an 80-year history of responsible  
          fiscal and environmental governance and is organized to serve a  
          steward of parklands in perpetuity. In his view, it is  
          unreasonable to require districts to set aside mitigation funds  
          which could be better used for staffing to actually manage  
          protected land. He believes that the district should be able to  
          rely on proven asset liquidity as an alternative form of  
          mitigation. 

          Save Mount Diablo works closely with the district and stated  
          that any concern about changing the provisions in this law  
          should not apply to the district because of its record, funding,  
          staff, and experience that can't be matched by any other public  
          agency. 

          ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:  A coalition of land trusts and other  
          conservation groups, including the California Council of Land  
          Trusts (CCLT), is in opposition. CCLT and others have built  
          California's endowment procedures in a series of 5 bills over  
          the past several years that it considers to be the nation's  







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          premier law regarding how mitigation endowments are held and  
          managed. The coalition is very concerned that the exception for  
          East Bay Regional Parks inevitably opens the door to a myriad of  
          exceptions for every agency not wishing to meet mitigation  
          endowment requirements-a policy it states has been rejected on  
          three previous occasions in both houses of the California  
          Legislature. 

          The coalition points out that other funding mechanisms are  
          specifically allowed in existing law (such as performance bonds)  
          for the long-term stewardship of the mitigation property. It  
          considers SB 1020 as "jumping completely past other funding  
          mechanisms to completely exempt selected public parties from any  
          form of dedicated financial assurance for mitigation lands." 



          Prepared by:William Craven / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
          5/4/16 16:19:10


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