Senate Bill No. 1396

Introduced by Senator Wolk

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Dodd)

(Coauthor: Senator McGuire)

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Levine)

February 19, 2016

An act to add Division 23.4 (commencing with Section 33400) to the Public Resources Code, relating to the Inner Coast Range Conservancy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1396, as introduced, Wolk. Inner Coast Range Conservancy.

Existing law establishes various conservancies in the Natural Resources Agency to acquire, manage, direct the management of, and conserve public lands in the state.

This bill would establish the Inner Coast Range Conservancy in the agency to undertake various activities related to the Inner Coast Range Region, as defined, and would prescribe the management, powers, and duties of the conservancy. The bill would create the Inner Coast Range Conservancy Fund in the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund would be available, upon appropriation, for the purposes of the conservancy.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Division 23.4 (commencing with Section 33400)
is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

 

Division 23.4.  Inner Coast Range Conservancy

 

Chapter  1. General Provisions and Definitions

 

33400.  

This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Inner Coast Range Conservancy Act.

33401.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The Inner Coast Range Region is a globally significant area,
including world renowned geological, biological, and cultural
resources, a national monument, and many large, pristine areas
that are open for public use.

(b) The Inner Coast Range Region is an important part of the
state’s economy, providing substantial agricultural products,
timber, water, fishery and other biological resources, ranching,
tourism, and recreation.

(c) In cooperation with local governments, private businesses,
nonprofit organizations, and the public, an Inner Coast Range
Conservancy can help do all of the following:

(1) Provide increased opportunities for tourism and recreation.

(2) Protect, conserve, and restore the region’s physical, cultural,
archaeological, historical, and living resources.

(3) Aid in the preservation of working landscapes.

(4) Reduce the risk and severity of natural disturbances, such
as wildfires, and restore resiliency to natural landscapes.

(5) Protect and improve water supply and water and air quality,
and improve water use efficiency.

(6) Assist the regional economy through the operation of the
conservancy’s program.

(7) Identify the highest priority projects and initiatives for which
funding is needed.

(8) Undertake efforts to enhance public use and enjoyment of
lands owned by the public.

(9) Support efforts that advance, in a complementary manner,
environmental preservation and restoration as well as the economic
well-being of the region’s residents.

33402.  

For the purposes of this division, the following terms
have the following meanings:

(a) “Board” means the Governing Board of the Inner Coast
Range Conservancy.

(b) “Conservancy” means the Inner Coast Range Conservancy.

(c) “Fund” means the Inner Coast Range Conservancy Fund
created pursuant to Section 33475.

(d) “Local public agency” means a city, county, district, or joint
powers authority.

(e) “Nonprofit organization” means a private, nonprofit
organization that qualifies for exempt status under Section
501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code, and whose
charitable purposes are consistent with the purposes of the
conservancy.

(f) “Region” or “Inner Coast Range Region” means all or
portions of the area lying within the Counties of Colusa, Del Norte,
Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Shasta, Siskiyou,
Solano, Tehama, Trinity, and Yolo, described as the area within
the following boundaries:

On the south by the southern boundary of the Putah Creek
watershed, including a portion of the Inner Coast Range in eastern
Napa County and northern Solano County north of Vacaville and
Fairfield; on the east by Interstates 505 and 5, northward, including
the eastern boundary of the Trinity River watershed, including the
western boundary of the Shasta River watershed to the Klamath
River, northward along Interstate 5 to the northern boundary of
the State of California; on the north by the northern border of the
State of California; and on the west by the eastern boundary of the
Napa River watershed, the eastern boundary of the Russian River
watershed, northward along the western boundary of the watershed
of the main stem of the Eel River to the southern Humboldt County
boundary, eastward to the western Trinity County boundary,
northward to the western boundary of the Trinity River watershed,
northward along the western boundary of the Trinity River
watershed to the confluence of the Trinity River and the Klamath
River, northward along the western boundary of the Klamath River
watershed to the northern boundary of the State of California.

(g) “Subregions” means the four subregions in which the Inner
Coast Range Region is located, described as follows:

(1) The east subregion, comprising the Counties of Colusa,
Glenn, and Tehama.

(2) The west subregion, comprising the Counties of Humboldt,
Mendocino, and Trinity.

(3) The south subregion, comprising the Counties of Lake, Napa,
Solano, and Yolo.

(4) The north subregion, comprising the Counties of Del Norte,
Shasta, and Siskiyou.

(h) “Tribal organization” means an Indian tribe, band, nation,
or other organized group or community, or a tribal agency
authorized by a tribe, which is recognized as eligible for special
programs and services provided by the United States to Indians
because of their status as Indians and is identified on pages 52829
to 52835, inclusive, of Number 250 of Volume 53 (December 29,
1988) of the Federal Register, as that list may be updated or
amended from time to time.

 

Chapter  2. Inner Coast Range Conservancy

 

33420.  

There is in the Natural Resources Agency the Inner
Coast Range Conservancy, which is created as a state agency to
do all of the following, working in collaboration and cooperation
with local governments and interested parties:

(a) Provide increased opportunities for tourism and recreation.

(b) Protect, conserve, and restore the region’s physical, cultural,
archaeological, historical, and living resources.

(c) Aid in the preservation of working landscapes.

(d) Reduce the risk and severity of natural disturbances, such
as wildfires, and restore resiliency to natural landscapes.

(e) Protect and improve water supply and water and air quality
and improve water use efficiency.

(f) Assist the regional economy through the operation of the
conservancy’s program.

(g) Identify the highest priority projects and initiatives for which
funding is needed.

(h) Undertake efforts to enhance public use and enjoyment of
lands owned by the public.

(i) Support efforts that advance, in a complementary manner,
environmental preservation and restoration as well as the economic
well-being of the region’s residents.

33421.  

(a) The board shall consist of 11 voting members and
two nonvoting liaison advisers, appointed or designated as follows:

(1) The 11 voting members of the board shall consist of all of
the following:

(A) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, or his or
her designee.

(B) The Director of Finance, or his or her designee.

(C) Three public members appointed by the Governor, who are
not elected officials, to represent statewide interests.

(D) One public member appointed by the Speaker of the
Assembly, who is not an elected official, to represent statewide
interests.

(E) One public member appointed by the Senate Committee on
Rules, who is not an elected official, to represent statewide
interests.

(F) One member for each of the four subregions who shall be
a member of the board of supervisors of a county located within
that subregion, and whose supervisorial district shall be at least
partially contained within the Inner Coast Range Region. Each
member shall be selected by the counties within that subregion,
according to the following procedure:

(i) Each county board of supervisors within a subregion shall
select a member of that board to determine, with the selected
members of the other counties in the subregion, which member of
a board of supervisors within the subregion shall be appointed as
a member of the conservancy board. An alternate may be
appointed. The appointed member and any alternate shall have at
least part of his or her supervisorial district within the subregion.

(ii) The initial appointment of a member for each subregion
shall be made no later than 60 days after the effective date of this
division. A subsequent appointment to a regular term on the board
shall be made before the date specified in Section 33422 for the
commencement of that term. A vacancy occurring before the end
of a term shall be filled for the remainder of the term within 60
days of the vacancy.

(iii) If the boards of supervisors within a subregion do not
appoint a member to the board within the timeframe specified in
clause (ii), the Governor shall appoint one of the supervisors
selected pursuant to clause (i) to serve as the board member for
the subregion.

(2) The two nonvoting liaison advisers who serve in an advisory,
nonvoting capacity shall consist of all of the following:

(A) One representative of the United States Forest Service,
designated by the United States Secretary of Agriculture.

(B) One representative of the United States Bureau of Land
Management, designated by the United States Secretary of the
Interior.

(b) Appointing powers shall seek to include individuals from a
breadth of backgrounds.

33422.  

Members and alternates, if any, shall serve terms as
follows:

(a) The members appointed pursuant to subparagraphs (C) to
(E), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 33421
shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing power.

(b) The members and alternates, if any, appointed under
subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section
33421 shall serve, as follows:

(1) Members and alternates for the west subregion and the north
subregion shall have terms beginning on January 1 in an
odd-numbered year and ending on December 31 of the following
even-numbered year. All terms shall be for two years.

(2) Members and alternates for the east subregion and the south
subregion shall have terms beginning on January 1 in an
even-numbered year and ending on December 31 in the following
odd-numbered year. Members and alternates for these regions who
are appointed to the board at its initiation shall serve a one-year
term. Subsequent terms shall be for two years.

(c) No member of the board, whose appointment to the board
was contingent upon meeting a condition of eligibility under this
division, shall serve beyond the time when the member ceases to
meet that condition.

33423.  

(a) The voting members appointed or designated under
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 33421 who are not state
employees shall be compensated for attending meetings of the
conservancy at the rate of one hundred dollars ($100) per scheduled
meeting day.

(b) All members of the board shall be reimbursed for their actual
and necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in
attending meetings of the conservancy and carrying out the duties
of the office.

33424.  

Annually, the voting members of the board shall elect
from among the voting members a chairperson and
vice-chairperson, and other officers as necessary. If the office of
the chairperson or vice-chairperson becomes vacant, a new
chairperson or vice-chairperson shall be elected by the voting
members of the board to serve for the remainder of the term.

33425.  

(a) Six of the voting members shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of the business of the conservancy. The board
shall not transact the business of the conservancy if a quorum is
not present at the time a vote is taken. A decision of the board
requires an affirmative vote of six of the voting members, and the
vote is binding with respect to all matters acted on by the
conservancy.

(b) The board shall adopt rules, regulations, and procedures for
the conduct of business by the conservancy.

(c) The voting members of the board appointed or designated
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 33421 and
the nonvoting advisers selected pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 33421, shall have the right to attend all
meetings of the board, including closed sessions.

33426.  

The board may establish advisory boards or committees,
hold community meetings, and engage in public outreach using
advanced forms of technology in order to facilitate the
decisionmaking process. Members of advisory boards or
committees may be reimbursed for the actual and necessary
expenses, including travel expenses, that they incur in attending
regular meetings of the advisory board or committee of which they
are a member.

33427.  

The board shall establish and maintain a headquarters
office within the region. The conservancy may rent or own real
and personal property and equipment pursuant to applicable statutes
and regulations.

33428.  

The board shall determine the qualifications of, and
shall appoint, an executive officer of the conservancy, who shall
be exempt from civil service. The board shall employ other staff
as necessary to execute the powers and functions provided for
under this division.

33429.  

The board may enter into contracts with private entities
and public agencies to procure consulting and other services
necessary to achieve the purposes of this division.

33430.  

The conservancy’s expenses for support and
administration may be paid from the conservancy’s operating
budget and any other funding sources available to the conservancy.

33431.  

The board shall conduct business in accordance with
the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article
9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

33432.  

The board shall hold its regular meetings within, or
near, the region.

33433.  

The board shall post agendas for each board meeting
on the Internet.

 

Chapter  3. Jurisdiction and Cooperation

 

33440.  

The conservancy’s jurisdiction is limited to the Inner
Coast Range Region.

33441.  

The conservancy shall carry out projects and activities
to further the purposes of this division throughout the region. The
board shall make every effort to ensure that, over time, conservancy
funding and other efforts are spread equitably across each of the
various subregions and among the stated goal areas, with adequate
allowance for the variability of costs associated with individual
regions and types of projects.

33442.  

In carrying out this division, the conservancy shall
cooperate with and consult with the city or county where a grant
is proposed to be expended or an interest in real property is
proposed to be acquired; and shall, as necessary or appropriate,
coordinate its efforts with other state agencies, in cooperation with
the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency. The conservancy
shall, as necessary and appropriate, cooperate and consult with a
public water system that owns or operates facilities, including
lands appurtenant thereto, where a grant is proposed to be expended
or an interest in land is proposed to be acquired.

33443.  

The conservancy shall adopt guidelines setting priorities
and criteria for projects and programs, based upon its assessment
of program requirements, institutional capabilities, and funding
needs throughout the region, and federal, state, and local plans,
including land and resource management plans, general plans,
recreation plans, urban water management plans, groundwater
management plans, and groundwater sustainability plans. As part
of the process of developing guidelines for projects and programs,
the conservancy shall undertake and facilitate a strategic program
planning process involving meetings and workshops within each
of the subregions, with the purpose of formulating strategic
program objectives and priorities within that subregion. The
strategic program shall be updated regularly, at least once every
five years.

33444.  

Nothing in this division grants to the conservancy:

(a) Any of the powers of a city or county to regulate land use.

(b) Any powers to regulate any activities on land, except as the
owner of an interest in the land, or pursuant to an agreement with,
or a license or grant of management authority from, the owner of
an interest in the land.

(c) Any powers over water rights held by others.

 

Chapter  4. Grants and Loans

 

33450.  

(a) The conservancy may make grants or loans to public
agencies, nonprofit organizations, and tribal organizations in order
to carry out the purposes of this division, including grants or loans
provided to acquire an interest in real property, including a fee
interest in that property. Grant or loan funds shall be disbursed to
a recipient entity only after the entity has entered into an agreement
with the conservancy, on the terms and conditions specified by
the conservancy. After approving a grant, the conservancy may
assist the grantee in carrying out the purposes of the grant.

(b) When awarding grants or making loans pursuant to this
division, the conservancy may require repayment of those funds
on the terms and conditions it deems appropriate. Proceeds from
the repayment or reimbursement of amounts granted or loaned by
the conservancy shall be deposited in the fund.

(c) An entity applying for a grant from the conservancy to
acquire an interest in real property shall specify all of the following
in the grant application:

(1) The intended use of the property.

(2) The manner in which the land will be managed.

(3) How the cost of ongoing management will be funded.

33451.  

In the case of a grant of funds to a nonprofit
organization or tribal organization to acquire an interest in real
property, including, but not limited to, a fee interest, the agreement
between the conservancy and the recipient organization shall
require all of the following:

(a) The purchase price of an interest in real property acquired
by the organization shall not exceed fair market value as established
by an appraisal approved by the conservancy.

(b) The terms under which the interest in real property is
acquired shall be subject to the conservancy’s approval.

(c) An interest in real property to be acquired under the grant
shall not be used as security for a debt unless the conservancy
approves the transaction.

(d) The transfer of an interest in the real property shall be subject
to approval of the conservancy, and a new agreement sufficient to
protect the public interest shall be entered into between the
conservancy and the transferee.

(e) A deed or instrument by which the organization acquires an
interest in real property under the grant shall include a power of
termination on the part of the state, subject to the requirements of
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 885.010) of Title 5 of Part
2 of Division 2 of the Civil Code. The deed or instrument shall
provide that the state may exercise the power of termination by
notice in the event of the organization’s violation of the purpose
of the grant through breach of a material term or condition thereof,
and that, upon recordation of the notice, full title to the interest in
real property identified in the notice shall immediately vest in the
state, or in another public agency or a nonprofit organization
designated by the conservancy to which the state conveys or has
conveyed its interest.

(f) A deed or instrument by which the organization acquires an
interest in real property under the grant shall provide that the
conveyance is subject to a remainder interest vested in the state.
If the existence of the organization is terminated for any reason,
the conservancy may require that the remainder shall become a
present interest and that full title to the real property shall vest in
the state, or in another public agency or a nonprofit organization
designated by the conservancy to which the state conveys or has
conveyed its interest.

33452.  

(a) The conservancy may expend funds and award
grants and loans to facilitate collaborative planning efforts and to
develop projects and programs that are designed to further the
purposes of this division.

(b) The conservancy may provide and make available technical
information, expertise, and other nonfinancial assistance to public
agencies, nonprofit organizations, and tribal organizations, to
support program and project development and implementation.

(c) The recipient of a grant or loan provided by the conservancy
pursuant to this division for the acquisition of real property shall
provide for the management of the real property to be acquired as
specified in the grant agreement.

33453.  

The conservancy may apply for and receive grants to
carry out the purposes of this division.

 

Chapter  5. Interests in Real Property

 

33460.  

(a) The conservancy may acquire from willing sellers
or transferors, an interest in any real property, in order to carry out
the purposes of this division. However, the conservancy shall not
acquire a fee interest in real property by purchase.

(b) The acquisition of an interest in real property under this
section is not subject to the Property Acquisition Law (Part 11
(commencing with Section 15850) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code), unless the value of the interest exceeds two
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) per lot or parcel, as
adjusted for annual changes to the Consumer Price Index for the
State of California, as calculated by the Department of Finance.
However, the conservancy may request the State Public Works
Board to review and approve specific acquisitions.

(c) The conservancy shall not exercise the power of eminent
domain.

33461.  

Notwithstanding Section 11005.2 of the Government
Code or any other law, the conservancy may lease, rent, sell,
exchange, or otherwise transfer an interest, option, or contractual
right in real property, as well as a vested right severable therefrom,
that has been acquired under this division, to a person or entity,
subject to terms and conditions in furtherance of the conservancy’s
purposes.

33462.  

(a) The conservancy shall take whatever actions are
reasonably necessary and incidental to the management of lands
or interests in lands under its ownership or control and may initiate,
negotiate, and participate in agreements for the management of
those lands or interests with public agencies or private individuals
or entities.

(b) The conservancy may improve, restore, or enhance lands
for the purpose of protecting the natural environment, improving
public enjoyment of or public access to public lands, or to
otherwise meet the objectives of this division and may carry out
the planning and design of those improvements or other measures.

(c) The conservancy may enter into an agreement with a public
agency, nonprofit organization, or private entity for the
construction, management, or maintenance of facilities authorized
by the conservancy.

 

Chapter  6. Funding and Expenditures

 

33470.  

The conservancy shall make an annual report to the
Legislature and to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency
regarding expenditures, land management costs, and administrative
costs.

33471.  

The conservancy may expend funds under this division
to conduct research and monitoring in connection with the
development and implementation of the program administered
under this division.

33472.  

(a) The conservancy may receive gifts, donations,
bequests, devises, subventions, grants, rents, royalties, and other
assistance and funds from public and private sources.

(b) Except as provided in Section 33460, the conservancy may
receive an interest in real or personal property through transfer,
succession, or other mode of acquisition generally recognized by
law.

(c) All moneys or income received by the conservancy shall be
deposited in the fund for expenditure for the purposes of this
division.

33473.  

The conservancy may fix and collect a fee for a direct
service it renders, provided the service is rendered at the request
of the individual or entity receiving the service. The amount of a
fee shall not exceed the conservancy’s reasonable costs and
expenses of providing the service rendered. All fees received by
the conservancy shall be deposited in the fund for expenditure for
the purposes of this division.

33474.  

Proceeds from a lease, rental, sale, exchange, or transfer
of an interest or option in real property, and all other income of
the conservancy, shall be deposited in the fund for expenditure for
the purposes of this division.

33475.  

The Inner Coast Range Conservancy Fund is hereby
created in the State Treasury. Moneys in the fund shall be available,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, only for the purposes of
this division.