BILL NUMBER: AB 2387 CHAPTERED 09/19/00 CHAPTER 516 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 19, 2000 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 17, 2000 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2000 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 29, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 25, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 7, 2000 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 21, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2000 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2000 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Keeley (Coauthors: Assembly Members Aanestad, Dickerson, Frusetta, Kuehl, Machado, Margett, and Strom-Martin) FEBRUARY 24, 2000 An act to add Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 36970) to Division 27 of the Public Resources Code, relating to ocean resources. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2387, Keeley. California Ocean Resources Stewardship Act of 2000. Existing law provides for the protection and preservation of the California coast. This bill would enact the California Ocean Resources Stewardship Act of 2000. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the Resources Agency to enter into an agreement with an existing nonprofit corporation to establish a trust to be known as the California Ocean Trust to seek and provide funding for ocean resource science projects and to encourage coordinated, multiagency, multiinstitution approaches to ocean resource science. The bill would also require the Secretary of the Resources Agency to report on the steps taken to ensure the coordination of ocean resource management science. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 36970) is added to Division 27 of the Public Resources Code, to read: CHAPTER 8. THE CALIFORNIA OCEAN RESOURCES STEWARDSHIP ACT OF 2000 Article 1. General Provisions 36970. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Ocean Resources Stewardship Act of 2000 (CORSA). 36971. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The Pacific Ocean and its rich and varied resources provide great environmental, economic, aesthetic, recreational, educational, and scientific benefits to the people of California and the nation. The state's ocean resources contribute greatly to the economy and the quality of life of its residents, and California's growing population increasingly lives, works, and recreates on or near the coast. Ocean and coast-dependent industries contributed over $17 billion to the state's economy and supported over 500,000 jobs in 1999, and ocean and coastal tourism and recreational activities, which are increasing rapidly in popularity and economic value, contributed nearly $10 billion to the state's economy. Port activity and ship building also contributed an additional $6 billion, and recreational and commercial fishing and marine aquaculture added nearly $1 billion to the state's economy. In addition, activities of the United States Department of the Navy that depend on continued access to California's coastal resources add a direct annual economic contribution of more than $19 billion. (b) Much of the quality of life and economic vibrancy supported by the state's ocean resources depends on successful management of those resources, and successful management depends on an adequate understanding of the natural, ecological, oceanographic, and coastal processes and their interactions with varied human activities. (c) The state is working to maintain and increase the benefits of its ocean resources to the public; a goal that increases the need for sound management and greater practical understanding of the state's ocean and coastal resources. (d) Although California is making progress in ocean management efforts, unsolved existing challenges also point to the need for greater improvements in management and the basic information needed for sound management. Examples of existing challenges include depressed populations of many species that are the targets of state and federally managed fisheries, pollution that results in beach and fishery closures, dredging and dredge spoils disposal necessary to keep the state's ports competitive, and coastal erosion that threatens structures and reduces the quality of beaches. (e) State and federal agencies with ocean and coastal resource management responsibility often lack basic information on which to base decisions, and many management issues are broader than the mandates of individual agencies, and existing means for coordinating agency efforts need to be improved. The result can be ad hoc, short-term management decisions based on inadequate information. (f) California has a wealth of outstanding public and private marine science institutions that have increased their commitments to excellence in applied ocean resource science. Approximately one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) in current, recent, or planned marine science projects funded by the federal government, foundations, the University of California and California State University systems, and private institutions could be of great benefit to the state's coastal and ocean resource management agencies. (g) The obstacles to collaborative efforts involving those institutions and agencies include all of the following: (1) Inadequate coordination among marine science institutions. (2) Inadequate guidance from management agencies about information needs for management. (3) Important gaps in information, duplication of effort, missed opportunities, and unusable information due to the lack of standardized and coordinated information management techniques. The circumstances and needs identified in the findings in this section are among those recognized in this chapter and in the 1997 report prepared by the Resources Agency entitled "California's Ocean Resources: An Agenda for the Future." This chapter is intended to address some of the basic objectives of that report. 36972. The Legislature further finds that it is the policy of the state to do all of the following: (a) Ensure adequate coordination of ocean resources management science among state, regional, and federal agencies and marine science institutions. (b) Ensure the most efficient and effective use of state resources devoted to ocean resource management science and encourage the contribution of federal and nongovernmental resources. (c) Advance applied ocean science, graduate-level education, and technology development to meet current and future California ocean resource management needs. 36973. (a) No authority is established by this chapter, nor shall any of its purposes or provisions be used by any public or private agency or person, to delay or deny any existing or future project or activity. (b) No authority is established by this chapter to supersede current state agency statutory authority. Article 2. Definitions 36979. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (a) "Ocean resources" means all living and nonliving resources found in the Pacific Ocean and its contiguous saline or brackish bays and estuaries. (b) "Trust" means the California Ocean Trust authorized by Section 36990. (c) "Trustees" means the trustees of the trust. Article 3. Ocean Science Coordination 36980. The Secretary of the Resources Agency shall report to the Legislature on or before September 1, 2002, on the steps taken to ensure adequate coordination of ocean resource management science among state, regional, and federal agencies and marine science institutions. The purposes of this coordination shall be to provide adequate information to marine science institutions about the information needs of agencies and to maximize the usefulness of ongoing and proposed ocean science projects to ocean resource management agencies. Article 4. California Ocean Trust 36990. (a) The Secretary of the Resources Agency may enter into an agreement with an existing nonprofit corporation with broad experience as the trustee of public funds, court-ordered mitigation funds, or other funds used to assist public agencies in carrying out their responsibilities to establish a nongovernmental trust, to be known as the California Ocean Trust. (b) The purposes of the trust shall be all of the following: (1) To seek funds for California ocean resource science projects, emphasizing the development of new funding sources. (2) To fund California ocean resource science projects that help fulfill the missions of the state's ocean resource management agencies. (3) To encourage coordinated, multiagency, multiinstitution approaches to ocean resource science. (4) To encourage graduate education programs in management-oriented ocean resource science in public and private universities and colleges in California. (5) To encourage new technologies that reduce the cost, increase the amount, or improve the quality of ocean resource management information. (6) To promote more effective coordination of California ocean resource science useful to management agencies. 36991. The trust shall be subject to the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law, Part 2 (commencing with Section 5110) of Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code. To the extent of any conflict between this chapter and the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law, this division shall prevail. 36992. The trust shall have 10 trustees, who shall be appointed as follows: (a) The Secretary of the Resources Agency shall appoint the following trustees, who shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary: (1) One trustee who shall represent the Resources Agency and the departments and commissions within the Resources Agency with ocean resource management responsibilities and who may be an employee of the state. (2) Three trustees from a list of candidates submitted jointly by the President of the University of California and the Chancellor of the California State University, who shall be chosen for their broad knowledge of ocean resource management and science. At least one of the three trustees shall not be an employee or on the faculty of the University of California or California State University. (3) Two trustees who shall be representatives of the public selected primarily for their experience as trustees or directors of for-profit or nonprofit corporations. (4) Two trustees from nominees submitted by coast and ocean interest groups including, but not limited to, interest groups representing sport fishing, commercial fishing, coast and ocean recreation and tourism, marine conservation, and ocean-dependent industries. In making the appointments pursuant to this paragraph, the factors to be considered shall include the nominees' acceptability to a range of coast and ocean interests, and their experience as trustees or directors of for profit or nonprofit corporations. (b) The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall appoint one trustee, who shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary, and who shall have broad knowledge of water quality concerns as they relate to ocean resource management. (c) The Director of Finance shall appoint one trustee, who shall serve at the pleasure of the director. (d) To the extent feasible, the trustees appointed to the trust pursuant to subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) shall balance, and reflect the breadth of, public interests concerned with ocean resources. 36993. (a) Any person who might reasonably be expected at some time to derive a direct financial benefit from the activities of the trust shall be ineligible to serve as a trustee. (b) Subject to the approval of the Secretary for Resources, the trustees shall adopt definitions and rules for the trust with respect to indirect conflicts of interest. (c) All trustees shall serve without compensation. However, trustees may be reimbursed by the trust for reasonable expenses. 36994. (a) The trust shall do all of the following: (1) Expend funds only for the purposes of the trust enumerated in Section 36990 and as further restricted by the sources of the trust's funding. (2) Make written findings for funds committed for projects, indicating how the projects further the purposes of the trust enumerated in Section 36990. (3) Require the recipient of funds to keep records necessary to disclose whether the funds were used for the purposes specified by the trust. (4) Invest and manage the funds of the trust in accordance with the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law (Part 2 (commencing with Section 5110) of Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code). (5) The trust shall report in writing annually to the Legislature and to the Chair of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture. The annual report shall include the most recent financial audit of the trust and the written findings required pursuant to paragraph (2). The activities of the trust for any financial year may be audited by the Bureau of State Audits. (b) The trustees shall ensure that the trust, individual trustees acting on behalf of the trust and employees or agents of the trust do not engage in lobbying or contribute to, or otherwise support, any political party, candidate, or ballot issue. (c) This chapter does not expand the authority of the trust to contract for professional services beyond the authority to contract for those services in Section 19130 of the Government Code. 36995. (a) The trust may seek the assistance of advisers, form advisory committees, or otherwise consult with knowledgeable individuals in regard to the business of the trust. (b) Advisers shall serve without compensation. However, advisers may be reimbursed by the trust for reasonable expenses.