BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1172
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1172
(Hancock) - As Amended August 1, 2016
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|Policy |Natural Resources |Vote:|9 - 0 |
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| |Local Government | |9 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill repeals the granting statute that requires tidelands
and submerged lands granted in trust to the City of Albany
(City) to be used and improved in accordance with the Albany
Waterfront Plan and instead requires the City to create and
submit a trust lands use plan to the State Lands Commission
(SLC) for approval. Specifically, this bill:
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1)Requires the City to submit a trust lands use plan to SLC for
approval on or before January 1, 2022.
2)Requires the City to submit a report to SLC on or before
September 30, 2022, and every five years thereafter, of its
utilization of the trust lands.
3)Requires the City to establish an accounting system to track
revenue received from the trust lands and any associated
assets. Requires any revenue received to be kept separate
from other City money and only expended in a manner consistent
with this bill.
4)Requires the City to obtain approval from SLC before spending
trust revenues for any large capital improvement project
($250,000 or greater).
5)Requires 20% of trust revenue be transmitted to SLC.
Requires, of this amount transmitted, 80% to be put in the
General Fund (GF) and the remaining 20% to be deposited in
the Land Bank Fund.
6)Permits the City to lease the land, under specified
conditions, for less than 50 years.
FISCAL EFFECT:
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1)Potential minor revenue increase. Existing law requires 85%
of excess trust revenues to be deposited in the GF. This bill
requires 20% of annual gross revenue to be transmitted to the
state. Of that amount, 20% is deposited into the Land Bank
Fund for use by SLC and the remaining 80% is deposited into
the GF.
Historically, granted lands rarely generate excess revenue.
The change from a percentage of excess trust revenues to
annual gross revenue could increase revenue to the state, both
to the GF and SLC. However, this area is currently used as
public open space and does not generate revenue. It is
unlikely that this bill will result in a significant change to
state revenue.
2)SLC costs are absorbable within existing resources.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. The City of Albany owns tide and submerged lands
along its waterfront that are held in trust for the public.
The City manages the lands under the common law Public Trust
Doctrine and its legislative granting statutes. The lands
include a former landfill site and an area known as the Bulb
and Neck portion of the waterfront. According to the author,
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this bill amends the City's granting statute to align with the
City's current plans for its waterfront.
2)Background. In 1919, the state granted the City three
parcels of submerged tidelands along the San Francisco Bay
waterfront. These lands include what is now known as the
Albany Neck and Bulb portion of the waterfront. The Neck and
Bulb are located at the base of Buchanan Street and protrude
into the bay. That granting statute was later amended
(Chapter 1223, Statutes of 1977) to require future development
to be consistent with the Albany Waterfront Plan. The Albany
Waterfront Plan reflected the City's plans at that time for
recreation-oriented development, including constructing a
small craft marina and retail complex. However, the plan was
never implemented.
Since 1977, policy at the local, regional, and state levels
has shifted away from commercial waterfront development on the
publically-owned portion of the Albany waterfront. The City
is currently in the process of developing a new plan for
improving the Albany Neck and Bulb area and transitioning the
area to become part of the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.
3)Technical Amendments. The following technical amendment was
agreed upon in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee to
further clarify the definition of Public trust doctrine. In
order to meet deadlines, this bill was passed without adopting
the amendment. The Committee recommends adopting this
clarification.
On Page 2, at line 8, amend paragraph (3) as follows:
Public trust doctrine" means the common law doctrine, as
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enunciated by the court in Marks v. Whitney (1971) 6 Cal.3d
251 and National Audubon Society v. Superior Court (1983) 33
Cal.3d 419 and other relevant judicial decisions, specifying
the state's authority as sovereign to exercise a continuous
supervision and control over the navigable waters of the
state, the lands underlying those waters, and nonnavigable
tributaries to navigable waters, including the protection of
maritime or water dependent commerce, navigation, and
fisheries, and the preservation of lands in their natural
state for scientific study, open space, wildlife habitat, and
water-oriented recreation.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081