BILL NUMBER: AB 1293	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 11, 1997
	PASSED THE SENATE   SEPTEMBER 9, 1997
	AMENDED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 5, 1997
	AMENDED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 4, 1997
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 6, 1997
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   JUNE 3, 1997
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 15, 1997

INTRODUCED BY  Assembly Member Bowen

                        FEBRUARY 28, 1997

   An act to add Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 8301) to
Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to information
systems.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1293, Bowen.  Geographic information systems.
   Existing law requires or authorizes state and local agencies to
compile, maintain, and disseminate data for various purposes, and to
develop electronic information systems for those purposes.
   Existing law sets forth the duties of the Resources Agency in the
development and oversight of various environmental programs in the
state.
   This bill would enact the Strategic Geographic Information
Investment Act of 1997.  It would require the Resources Agency to
create a Geographic Information Systems Panel, with a described
membership, and with specified duties.  It would require the agency,
in consultation with the panel, to administer grants under the
Geographic Information Grant Program for the development of new, and
maintenance of, framework data bases for geographic information
systems, and to maintain a registry of projects in which it
participates under the program.  It would establish the Geographic
Information Grant Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of
funding the grant program, and provide that moneys in the fund shall
be subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act.
   This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that funding
for its provisions be provided through the annual Budget Act.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Quality information is essential to maintain the health,
safety, and welfare of the people of California and California's
economy and environment, and it is the responsibility of state
government to ensure that crucial information is available for
effective operation of the public sector.
   (b) The lack of quality information leads to poor decisions by
public and private organizations.
   (c) Crime prevention, property management, energy resources
planning and service delivery, land planning, risk assessment,
economic development, emergency response, pollution control,
education, delivery of human and social services, transportation
management, natural resources management, and environmental
decisionmaking are all functions of the public and private sectors
that require large amounts of high quality and available information.
  This information can be indexed by its geographic location, and,
through the use of geographic information systems, can be retrieved
rapidly and effectively.
   (d) Computers and electronic data bases proliferate throughout
government, and automated mapping and geographic information systems
are the fastest growing areas for information technology.
   (e) Data are often collected and data bases designed for isolated
reasons, and seldom with consideration for the needs and requirements
of those outside the sponsoring organization.  California cannot
afford data fragmentation.  A new direction must focus on coordinated
actions and better allocation of existing financial resources at all
levels of government.
   (f) The capture of geographic information is expensive, and public
and private organizations must be encouraged to work together to
create shared geographic information data bases, thus avoiding
redundancy and duplication.
   (g) The update and maintenance of existing geographic information
system data bases is an effort that is critical to the effective use
and preservation of the resources invested in geographic information
systems.
   (h) Geographic information is heavily relied upon and critical to
agencies, public utilities, educational institutions, and private
organizations, and provides the foundation for assessment and
planning of services and actions.
   (i) The flow of information between public organizations and the
citizenry must be unfettered in order for public organizations to
respond rapidly and successfully to the health, safety, and welfare
concerns of the people of California.
   (j) Increased electronic access to the public's information
systems will enhance the delivery of public services and the
availability of information.
   (k) California must implement a comprehensive strategy for the
development, funding, and coordinated use of geographic information
to successfully serve its citizens and to compete in the new
international economic system.
   (l) Automated mapping and geographic information systems offer
great value to the public.
   (m) Because of the high cost of creating and maintaining
geographic information data bases, many public agencies are seeking
greater authority to sell the data.  Public agency policies for
pricing the data range from covering the cost of data duplication, to
recouping the costs from compilation and maintenance of the data
bases.  These policies impede and discourage the sharing of data
among public agencies with overlapping geographic jurisdictions and
interests.  They also threaten to thwart the public's right to open
and unfettered access to the government's decisionmaking information.

   (n) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to
redress these problems and take better advantage of opportunities
described in this act.  It is the further intent of the Legislature
to provide an alternative source of funds for public agencies to
create and maintain geographic information data bases without having
to sell the public data.  Finally, it is the intent of the
Legislature that the Resources Agency coordinate open exchange of
geographic information among public agencies by establishing
compatible standards for framework information and serving as a
clearinghouse for access to data.
  SEC. 2.  Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 8301) is added to
Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:

      CHAPTER 4.5.  STRATEGIC GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION INVESTMENT ACT
OF 1997

   8301.  This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
Strategic Geographic Information Investment Act of 1997.
   8302.  For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
   (a) "Agency" means the Resources Agency.
   (b) "Data base" means records or groups of records, stored
electronically, that can be retrieved by a computer.
   (c) "Framework data base" means any categories of geographic
information and their attributes that provide a foundation for
collection and analysis of other data.  A characteristic of framework
data is that it serves multipurpose and multiple users with the same
data.
   (d) "Geographic information" means any physical, legal, economic,
environmental, biological, or human information related by some
indicator of geographic location.  Geographic information includes,
but is not limited to, information relating to topography, soil,
geology, vegetation, land cover, land use, land use controls and
restrictions, wildlife, land ownership, jurisdictional boundaries,
administrative zones, tax assessment, land value, geodetic control,
aerial photography, planimetric data, satellite imagery, historic and
prehistoric sites, and economic projections.
   (e) "Geographic information records" means maps, documents,
computer files, data bases, and other information storage media in
which geographic information is recorded.
   (f) "Geographic information system" means an organized collection
of computer hardware, software, geographic information, and personnel
designed to efficiently capture, store, update, manipulate, analyze,
and display all forms of geographically referenced information.
   8303.  (a) The Resources Agency shall implement this chapter.
   (b) The agency shall create a Geographic Information Systems Panel
consisting of members, each with one vote, who shall advise the
agency on policies to carry out this chapter and make recommendations
on the awarding of  grants.  The panel shall include, in its
membership, a representative of a regional planning agency, a county
employee active in the management of geographic information systems,
a municipal employee active in the management of geographic
information systems, a representative of professional surveyors, a
representative of professional engineers, representatives of
elementary and higher education, representatives from state and
federal agencies active in the management of geographic information
systems, and other groups that the agency believes will help foster
its goals and objectives.
   (c) Each member of the panel shall represent the state at large
and not any particular geographic region or special interest thereof.

   (d) The terms of office of the appointed members of the panel
shall be for four years, except that the members first appointed to
the panel shall classify themselves by lot so that the term of two or
three members, as the case may be, shall expire at the end of each
of the four years following the initial appointments to the panel.
   (e) Any vacancy shall be filled by the Secretary of the Resources
Agency within 30 days of the date on which a vacancy for the
unexpired portion of the term occurs or for any new term of office.
If the Secretary of the Resources Agency fails to make an appointment
for any vacancy within that period, the panel may, by a majority
vote of all members, make the appointment to fill the vacancy for the
unexpired portion of the term.
   (f) Every two years, the panel shall elect a chairperson and a
vice chairperson from the membership of the panel.  The term of
office for the chairperson and vice chairperson shall be two years.
If a vacancy occurs in either office, the panel shall fill the
vacancy for the unexpired term.
   (g) Members shall be entitled to reimbursement of travel expenses
and per diem pursuant to rules set forth by the Department of
Personnel Administration.
   (h) A majority of the voting members of the panel shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business of the panel.  A majority
vote of the voting members present shall be required to take action
with respect to any matter unless otherwise specified in this
chapter.  The vote of each member shall be individually recorded.
   (i) The panel shall adopt its own rules and procedures necessary
for its organization and operation. Any rule, procedure, plan, or
other record of the panel that constitutes a public record pursuant
to subdivision (d) of Section 6252 shall be available for inspection
and copying during regular office hours.
   (j) The agency, on behalf of the panel, may apply for and accept
federal grants or other federal funds and receive gifts, donations,
rents, royalties, state funds derived from bond sales, the proceeds
of taxes or funds from other state revenue sources or any other
financial support available from public or private sources.
   (k) The agency, on behalf of the panel, may expend no more than 10
percent of the moneys in the grant fund appropriated annually by the
Legislature for the operations of the panel.
   8304.  The panel shall perform the following functions:
   (a) Direct and supervise the geographic information grant program
for the state.
   (b) Collect, maintain, and disseminate information regarding the
availability and development of geographic information and geographic
information products and serve as the state clearinghouse for access
to geographic information.
   (c) Administer and monitor the Geographic Information Grant
Program established pursuant to Section 8306.  The panel shall set
eligibility requirements, competitive selection criteria, and
performance monitoring criteria for grants.
   (d) Define framework geographic data bases and the minimum level
of attribution for the framework data bases that are eligible for
grants from the geographic information grant program.
   (e) Ensure and certify that data developed and maintained through
the grant program conform to framework standards and integrates with
other framework data.  The panel shall ensure that a consistent set
of standards applies to all framework data bases developed and
maintained through the grant program.
   8305.  (a) There is in the State Treasury the Geographic
Information Grant Fund.  All moneys appropriated or transferred by
the Legislature to, or received from any other source by, the agency
or the panel for purposes of subdivision (b), shall be deposited in
the fund.
   (b) Moneys in the fund shall be used for fostering programs and
activities to create and improve geographic information, including,
but not limited to, the Geographic Information Grant Program and the
activities of the panel.
   (c) Moneys in the fund shall be subject to appropriation in the
annual Budget Act.
   8306.  (a) The agency shall establish the Geographic Information
Grant Program, to administer, in consultation with the panel, grants
from the Geographic Information Grant Fund as follows:
   (1) Development of new, and maintenance of, framework data bases
for geographic information systems shall be the only purposes for
which grants may be made.
   (2) The panel shall give preference to grant applications that do
not duplicate existing framework data bases.
   (3) The grant program shall be open to all public agencies and
private organizations located in California.
   (4) Grants shall be made to partnerships, to include at least one
public agency.  The partnership shall demonstrate in its application
that each partner shares responsibility for development and
maintenance of the geographic information and that each partner uses
and participates materially in the geographic information developed
or maintained.
   (5) The maximum dollar amount for a grant shall be determined
annually by the panel.
   (6) The panel may require all grants to have a matching
requirement.  The panel shall develop criteria for determining the
levels of a matching requirement for any application.  The panel may
permit a matching requirement be met through the provision of goods
and services by an applicant.
   (7) The panel shall require that any recipient of a grant make
data developed or maintained with grant funds available to disclosure
under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 6250) of Division 7) and require that the electronic
data shall be placed in the public domain free of any restriction on
use or copy.
   (b) In administering the grant program, the panel shall promote,
facilitate, and coordinate liaison among municipal, county, regional,
state, and federal agencies as well as utilities and private
companies involved with the creation and maintenance of geographic
information.
   (c) Notwithstanding Section 7550.5, the agency shall report
annually to the Legislature on the status of the grant program, the
success of the program in achieving the development of framework data
bases, and the status and success of each grant.
   8307.  The agency shall create a geographic information systems
registry listing all geographic information systems projects in which
the agency participates pursuant to this chapter.
   8308.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the funding
for this chapter be provided through the annual Budget Act.
   (b) State funding provided pursuant to this chapter shall only be
used to fund projects in which a state agency is a participating
partner, as described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section
8306.