BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1187|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1187
Author: Lara (D)
Amended: 6/22/16
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 6/27/16
AYES: Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lara
SUBJECT: Claims against the state: appropriation
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill appropriates $235,400 from the General Fund
to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the payment of a
specified settlement. Any funds appropriated in excess of the
amounts required for payment of the claim would revert to the
General Fund.
ANALYSIS: This bill is one of several annual bills carried by
the chairs of the Appropriations Committees to provide
appropriation authority for legal settlements approved by DOJ
and the Department of Finance (DOF). The settlement specified
in this bill was entered into lawfully by the state upon advice
of counsel (DOJ), and it is a binding state obligation.
This bill appropriates General Fund revenues related to the
following:
SB 1187
Page 2
Settlement agreement for Ballona Wetlands Land Trust v. Santa
Monica Bay Restoration Commission. (Los Angeles County Superior
Court, Case No. BS154128) $220,000 settlement, plus interest,
payable from the General Fund. This claim is the result of
litigation involving a California Public Records Act dispute.
Petitioners, the Ballona Wetlands Land Trust (Land Trust) sought
records from the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission
(Commission) with the goal of proving that the Commission had
misused public grant funds in its management of a restoration
project.
The Commission responded by saying that the majority of the
records sought regarding the project were in the possession of a
separate, nongovernmental entity: a private non-profit called
the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation (Foundation). The
Land Trust alleged that these two entities (the Commission and
the Foundation) were virtually identical, with shared staff and
a joint work plan, and that the Foundation should be subject to
Public Records Act requests relating to that partnership. The
Land Trust was told that only a subset of the requested records
would be disclosed, and in response, filed a petition for writ
of mandate in February of 2015.
In March of 2016, the Superior Court found in favor of the Land
Trust, awarding attorney's fees and compelling the Commission to
disclose certain Foundation documents that the Court declared to
be public records, but not all documents requested by the Land
Trust. Attorneys for DOJ collaborated with counsel for the
Commission to negotiate a settlement of $220,000 for the payment
of a portion of the Land Trust's attorney's fees and costs. The
agreement also provides for the payment of interest on the
settlement amount at a rate of 7 percent per annum, calculated
daily from March 1, 2016, the date the Court issued its Final
Statement of Decision.
This bill provides an appropriation that includes the settlement
amount of $220,000 plus $15,400, or the equivalent of a full
year of interest payment. Staff notes that about half of the
allotted interest amount will revert to the General Fund,
SB 1187
Page 3
assuming the bill is approved by the Legislature and signed by
the Governor by September.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
One-time appropriation of $235,400 in 2016-17 from the General
Fund to DOJ to pay the settlement related to Ballona Wetlands
Land Trust v. Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission.
SUPPORT: (Verified 6/28/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/28/16)
None received
Prepared by:Mark McKenzie / APPR. / (916) 651-4101
6/29/16 15:56:02
**** END ****