BILL NUMBER: AB 299 CHAPTERED 08/23/00 CHAPTER 223 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 23, 2000 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 22, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 10, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE JULY 6, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 3, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 13, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 1999 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Thomson FEBRUARY 8, 1999 An act to add and repeal Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 2920) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code, relating to mosquito abatement, and making an appropriation therefor. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 299, Thomson. Suisun Marsh Wetlands Enhancement and Mosquito Abatement Demonstration Program. (1) Existing law authorizes mosquito and vector control districts to levy a service charge in connection with the abatement of mosquitos and vectors on property. This bill would establish the Suisun Marsh Wetlands Enhancement and Mosquito Abatement Program, until December 31, 2005, for the purpose of devising and evaluating methods by which wetland management techniques in the Suisun Marsh can be better integrated with mosquito abatement programs, and would require the Department of Fish and Game to award a grant of funds to the Suisun Resource Conservation District to administer the program, in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would require the Suisun Resource Conservation District and the Solano County Mosquito Abatement District to take specified actions relating to the implementation and administration of the program. By imposing new duties on local governments with regard to the implementation and administration of the program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would appropriate $140,000 from the General Fund to the department for allocation to the Suisun Resource Conservation District for purposes of the program, and would require that those funds be expended in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would prohibit the department from allocating any funds from the General Fund for purposes of the program after December 31, 2004. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The Suisun Marsh and its myriad endemic plant and wildlife species are natural resources of state and national significance, as declared in the Suisun Marsh Protection Act of 1977 (Division 19 (commencing with Section 29000) of the Public Resources Code), and should be protected from adverse environmental impacts and enhanced whenever possible. (b) The proximity of the Suisun Marsh to neighboring communities has elicited public concern regarding the potential health and nuisance issues associated with the production of mosquitos in the early fall when most of the marsh is being flooded for migratory waterfowl. (c) It is in the interest of the public to establish a demonstration program designed to develop and evaluate marsh management practices that will enhance the marsh for early migrating waterfowl and shorebirds while, at the same time, minimizing the need for the chemical control of mosquitos. SEC. 2. Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 2920) is added to Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code, to read: CHAPTER 12. SUISUN MARSH WETLANDS ENHANCEMENT AND MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM 2920. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Suisun Marsh Wetlands Enhancement and Mosquito Abatement Demonstration Program. 2921. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meaning: (a) "Conservation district" means the Suisun Resource Conservation District. (b) "Early flooding program" means the flooding of privately owned wetlands on which waterfowl ponds are located and that are initially flooded prior to October 1 of each year and that may remain flooded after that date. (c) "Late flooding program" means the flooding of privately owned wetlands on which waterfowl ponds are located and that are initially flooded on or after October 1 of each year. (d) "Mosquito district" means the Solano County Mosquito Abatement District. (e) "Program" means the Suisun Marsh Wetland Enhancement and Mosquito Abatement Demonstration Program. 2922. The program is hereby established for the purpose of devising and evaluating methods by which wetland management techniques in the Suisun Marsh can be better integrated with mosquito abatement programs. The department shall award grant funds for the program to the conservation district until December 31, 2004. The program shall be implemented and administered in accordance with the following procedures: (a) Not later than July 31, 2001, July 31, 2002, July 31, 2003, and July 31, 2004, the conservation district, the mosquito district, and the department shall confer for the purpose of selecting those lands on which the early flooding program may be conducted with the voluntary consent of the landowners, shall immediately notify the owners of those selected properties, and shall give the owners of those selected properties the option to participate in the program. Priority shall be given to those properties that have demonstrated, or for which it can be reasonably assumed, are the least likely to produce mosquitos at levels requiring extensive abatement efforts. (b) The mosquito district shall keep detailed records of each mosquito outbreak requiring the application of control measures, including the date of the outbreak and any posttreatment inspections, the species of mosquitos involved, approximate acreage sustaining the outbreak, the kind of control measure or measures employed, the type of chemical controls applied, if any, the application rate, and the total cost of the abatement procedure. (c) The mosquito district shall immediately notify the conservation district of any mosquito outbreaks requiring control measures, and provide the conservation district with the written record of those outbreaks together with any recommendations the mosquito district may have regarding wetland habitat management practices that could be employed to avert or minimize future outbreaks on the subject property in a timely fashion. (d) The conservation district shall conduct a weekly bird census of all waterfowl, shorebirds, and wading birds for the properties participating in the early flooding program, and shall maintain complete records of the census for each property. Prior to the initiation of the census effort, the conservation district and the department shall develop an appropriate census protocol. The census period shall extend from the time of initial flooding of any property until October 1 of each year. (e) The conservation district shall submit to the department an annual report by March 1 of each year that summarizes the program-related events of the previous season's early flooding program. The report shall contain, at a minimum, for each property participating in the program all of the following: (1) The name, identification number, date of initial flooding, and acreage flooded prior to October 1 of the year covered in the annual report. (2) A summary of the results of the bird census, and any pertinent aerial waterfowl census data that may have been collected by the department. (3) A detailed summary of all mosquito abatement events and the costs thereof. The annual report prepared pursuant to this subdivision shall also include recommendations regarding how current marsh management practices or mosquito abatement operations can be improved to better integrate the two interests with the intent of enhancing wetland habitat, thereby reducing the cost of vector control measures and limiting the need for the application of chemical control agents. (f) The conservation district shall submit a final report to the department by March 1, 2005, which summarizes the results of the entire demonstration program and shall include a summary of those matters described in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (e). In addition, the final report shall emphasize and describe the benefits of the early flooding program, marsh management practices demonstrated to be effective at reducing the frequency or duration of major mosquito outbreaks, improved or modified mosquito control measures, and how any or all of the foregoing may be applied elsewhere in the state. 2923. This chapter shall remain in effect only until December 31, 2005, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before December 31, 2005, deletes or extends that date. SEC. 3. (a) The sum of one hundred forty thousand dollars ($140,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Fish and Game for allocation to the Suisun Resource Conservation District for the purpose of implementing the Suisun Marsh Wetlands Enhancement and Mosquito Abatement Demonstration Program established pursuant to Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 2920) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code. (b) The department shall allocate the sum of thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) to the conservation district in each of the 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, and 2003-04 fiscal years, as follows: (1) Up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) shall be expended by the conservation district each year for the following purposes: (A) From July 1 until September 30 of each year, the conservation district shall pay 75 percent of the cost incurred by the mosquito district for any necessary mosquito abatement activities undertaken by the mosquito district on lands previously authorized to participate in the current year's early flooding program. The remaining 25 percent of those costs shall be borne by the owner or owners of the affected property, and they shall pay that amount to the conservation district within 30 days after receipt of an invoice for those costs from the conservation district. If the owner or owners do not pay the full 25 percent copayment amount within that 30-day period, the owner or owners shall pay the mosquito district the full 100 percent of the costs incurred by the mosquito district for mosquito abatement activities on the affected property, and the conservation district shall be relieved of the obligation to pay any portion of the cost of those activities on that property. (B) After October 1 of each year, all private wetlands in the Suisun Marsh are eligible to receive program funds, to the extent available, to defray the costs of mosquito abatement incurred during the late flooding program. The mosquito district shall continue its policy in effect on January 1, 1999, of only charging one-half of the abatement costs it incurs during the late flooding program in the Suisun Marsh. The conservation district shall pay 75 percent of those costs and the owner or owners of the affected property shall pay the remaining 25 percent of those costs to the conservation district within 30 days after receipt of an invoice for those costs from the conservation district. If the owner or owners do not pay the full 25 percent copayment amount within that 30-day period, the owner or owners shall pay the mosquito district the full 100 percent of the costs incurred by the mosquito district for mosquito abatement activities on the affected property, and the conservation district shall be relieved of the obligation to pay any portion of the cost of those activities on that property. (C) Any funds not expended by December 31 of each year pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) may be used by the conservation district for the purposes specified in paragraph (2). (2) Not less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) of the amount allocated each year shall be used for the purpose of reimbursing the conservation district for expenses it incurs implementing the program. (c) The department may not allocate any funds from the General Fund for purposes of the program after December 31, 2004. (d) All payments made to the conservation district shall be in arrears. The conservation district shall submit invoices to the Department of Fish and Game for reimbursement of its program related costs quarterly. Each invoice shall be accompanied by an itemized accounting of its costs, and shall include any invoices the conservation district has received from the mosquito district. (e) As used in this section, the terms "conservation district," "early flooding programs," "late flooding program," "mosquito district," and "program" have the same meaning as defined by Section 2921 of the Fish and Game Code. SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.