BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1473|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1473
Author: Committee on Natural Resources and Water
Amended: 8/11/16
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 9-0, 4/12/16
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,
Monning, Vidak, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR: 37-0, 4/28/16 (Consent)
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,
Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno,
Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach,
Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Stone,
Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hernandez, Runner, Vidak
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 8/18/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Natural resources
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill makes technical changes to the Fish and Game
Code based on recommendations submitted by the California Law
Revision Commission; repeals an outdated statute granting public
trust lands to the County of Los Angeles; clarifies when Coastal
Commission meetings can occur; and increases the maximum
duration for concession contracts at Will Rogers State Beach.
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Assembly Amendments clarify when the Coastal Commission meetings
can occur, increases the maximum duration for concession
contracts at Will Rogers State Beach, and adds language to avoid
chaptering out problems with SB 345 (Berryhill), SB 1287
(McGuire), and AB 2249 (Cooley).
ANALYSIS:
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
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)Requires the Coastal Commission to meet at least 11 times per
year with no more than 45 days between meetings. Requires a
hearing on any coastal development permit application or an
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appeal to be set no later than 49 days after the date on which
the application or appeal is filed with the commission.
4)Allows a state park concession contract at Will Rogers State
Beach to be limited to 20 years with a possible extension of
15 years, as specified.
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 Administrative Procedure Act (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
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
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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)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.
8)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.
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
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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.
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.
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.
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill
has negligible state impact.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/18/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/18/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 8/18/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
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Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roger Hernández
Prepared by:Matthew Dumlao / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
8/19/16 19:21:47
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