BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1473 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 1473 (Committee on Natural Resources and Water) As Amended August 11, 2016 Majority vote SENATE VOTE: 37-0 -------------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------| |Water |14-0 |Levine, Gallagher, |> | | | |Bigelow, Dodd, Eggman, | | | | |Cristina Garcia, | | | | |Eduardo Garcia, Gomez, | | | | |Harper, Lopez, Medina, | | | | |Olsen, Salas, Williams | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------| |Natural |8-0 |Williams, Cristina |> | |Resources | |Garcia, Gomez, Hadley, | | | | |Harper, McCarty, Mark | | | | |Stone, Wood | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------| |Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, |> | | | |Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, | | | | |Calderon, Chang, Daly, | | SB 1473 Page 2 | | |Eggman, Gallagher, | | | | |Eduardo Garcia, | | | | |Holden, Jones, | | | | |Obernolte, Quirk, | | | | |Santiago, Wagner, | | | | |Weber, Wood, Chau | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Makes procedural and technical changes to update the Fish and Game Code, including conforming certain regulatory processes of the Fish and Game Commission to the State Administrative Procedures Act (APA), and deleting obsolete provisions. Specifically, this bill: 1)Clarifies that, except where otherwise expressly excluded, all Fish and Game Commission regulations governing take or possession of wild animals are subject to the general rulemaking procedures specified in Fish and Game Code Division 1 Chapter 2 Article 1. 2)Revises and updates the regulatory procedures specified in Article 1 to make these rules consistent with the requirements of the APA. 3)Repeals several obsolete and superfluous provisions of the Fish and Game Code, and reorganizes other provisions based on their function, without substantive change. 4)Makes various other technical and conforming changes. 5)Repeals obsolete provisions of existing law that conditionally SB 1473 Page 3 granted certain tidelands and submerged lands to the county of Los Angeles, but which by their terms never took effect, thereby causing the lands to revert to the state and the jurisdiction of the State Lands Commission. 6)Clarifies that the existing requirement that each Coastal Commission meeting shall occur not more than 45 days after the previous meeting means 45 working days. Similarly clarifies that the existing requirement that a hearing on any coastal development permit application or an appeal shall be set no later than 49 days after the date on which the application or appeal is filed with the commission, means 49 working days. 7)Adds technical language to avoid chaptering out problems with SB 345 (Berryhill), SB 1287 (McGuire), and AB 2249 (Cooley), all of the current legislative session. 8)Authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to award a concession agreement at Will Rogers State Beach for up to 50 years in length upon approval of the DPR director, and if the director determines that a longer term is necessary to allow the concessionaire to amortize improvements made by the concessionaire that are anticipated to exceed $1.5 million in capital improvements. EXISTING LAW: 1)Specifies in the Fish and Game Code state laws concerning fish and wildlife in California, including laws regarding the conservation and management of fish and wildlife resources, and laws governing the recreational and commercial take of game and nongame species in the State. Specifies the duties, responsibilities and authorities of the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Fish and Game Commission with regard to SB 1473 Page 4 implementation of the code requirements. 2)Provides for a grant of certain tidelands and submerged lands in trust to the City and County of Los Angeles, and to the City of Santa Monica, based on specified conditions, including development and approval of a master plan. Requires that the tidelands shall revert to the State and the jurisdiction of the State Lands Commission if the conditions are not met. 3)Prohibits a state park concession contract from exceeding 20 years in length without specific statutory authorization. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, negligible state impact. COMMENTS: This bill makes nonsubstantive changes to the Fish and Game Code recommended by the California Law Revision Commission (CLRC). The recommended changes update and modernize the code by conforming procedural rules to current practices and the APA, improve the organization of the code, and eliminate obsolete language. In 2012, the Legislature asked the CLRC to conduct a comprehensive review of the Fish and Game Code, and to recommend changes to the Legislature that would update, clarify, and improve the code. In 2015, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 1527 (Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife), Chapter 154, which contained the first set of recommendations. This bill is the second set of such recommendations. Specifically, the changes put forward in this bill would 1) generalize the rulemaking procedure for the Fish and Game Commission, 2) modernize the statutes governing rulemaking at public meetings to conform to APA requirements, and 3) repeal obsolete provisions and make conforming revisions. SB 1473 Page 5 In addition to the technical changes to the Fish and Game Code, this bill would repeal an outdated statute that granted tidelands to the County of Los Angeles in 1967 that has been agreed to by the County and the State Lands Commission. This provision being repealed was never implemented and is now obsolete. The State Lands Commission has asked that the statute be deleted to avoid confusion. The State Lands Commission explains that in 1967, the California Legislature conditionally granted public trust lands to the County of Los Angeles. To be operative, the grantee was required to submit a land use plan to the State Lands Commission for approval. The land use plan was not submitted and the land reverted back to the State. It is currently under the State Lands Commission's jurisdiction. This bill would repeal the granting statute to clarify jurisdiction and lessen confusion when projects are proposed on the land. The latest amendments also add a provision authorizing the director of the DPR to approve a concession agreement at Will Rogers State Beach to be awarded for up to 50 years if the director determines that the longer term is necessary to allow the concessionaire to amortize improvements made by the concessionaire that are anticipated to exceed $1.5 million in capital improvements. Since 1975, the County of Los Angeles has been managing Will Rogers State Beach under an operating agreement with the DPR. A concession contract for a restaurant on the property has been providing the county with annual rent payments, but those rent payments have been declining. The concession contract is expiring at the end of 2017 and is not being renewed. SB 1473 Page 6 According to the DPR, the facilities will require a multimillion capital investment to make them profitable again. The County is currently in the process of issuing an RFP for the concession. According to the DPR and the County, it is probable that prospective concessionaires, who will likely be required to demolish the existing building and construct an entirely new facility on the property, will be deterred from bidding on the project because current law does not allow for a concession contract term longer than 20 years for this type of structure without specific statutory authorization. Without full refurbishment, due to the age and deterioration of the building, the County will experience a decline in revenue which is currently used to defray beach maintenance operations. This bill allows the DPR director to approve a longer term concession agreement of up to 50 years, in order to allow these significant investments to be amortized over a longer period. Analysis Prepared by: Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096 FN: 0003891