BILL ANALYSIS
AB 166
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 23, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 166 (Lieu) - As Introduced: January 28, 2009
SUBJECT : Surrendered recreational vessels
SUMMARY : This bill establishes a pilot program that authorizes
the sale of surrendered vessels prior to their potential or
eventual abandonment. Authorizes local agencies to accept title
of vessels from willing owners for the purposes of disposal.
Specifically, this bill :
1) Establishes a new class of vessels called "surrendered
vessels" and would authorize the sale of them to local law
enforcement or harbor departments prior to them being
abandoned. As defined, "surrendered vessels" means a vessel
that the verified title holder has willingly surrendered to a
willing public agency under both following conditions:
a) The public agency has determined, in its sole
discretion, that the vessel is in danger of being
abandoned, and therefore has a likelihood of causing
environmental degradation or becoming a hazard to
navigation; and,
b) The decision to accept a vessel is based solely on the
potential of the vessel to likely be abandoned and cause
environmental degradation or become a hazard to
navigation.
1) Increases the current fine amount for vessel abandonments
from $500 to $1,000.
2) Allows the use by local entities of grant funds from the
existing Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund (AWAF) to
dispose of the surrendered vessels.
3) Authorizes surrendered vessels to be disposed of immediately
upon acceptance by a public agency and exempts them from the
provisions of transfer that must be followed by abandoned
vessels.
4) Requires the Department of Boating and Waterways (DBW) to
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track the number of surrendered vessels accepted by a public
agency for disposal under AWAF grant funding over a two-year
period from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2012. Requires DBW
to report the information, along with any recommendations to
revise or continue the pilot program, to the Assembly
Transportation Committee and the Senate Transportation and
Housing Committee by July 1, 2012.
5) Sunsets the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2013.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Holds the registered owner of an abandoned vehicle responsible
for the costs of abating and disposing of the vehicle, and any
other past due fees and penalties.
2)Authorizes the sale of a hulk, derelict, wreck, or parts of a
ship, vessel, or other watercraft sunk, beached, or allowed to
remain in an unseaworthy or dilapidated condition upon
publicly owned submerged lands, salt marsh, or tidelands
within corporate limits of a municipal corporation or other
public corporation or entity having jurisdiction or control
over those lands, without its consent, for a period longer
than 30 days without a watchman or other person in charge of
the property.
3)Makes it an infraction with a minimum $500 fine and maximum
$3,000 fine for a person to abandon a vessel upon a public
waterway or public or private property without the express or
implied consent of the owner or person in lawful possession or
control of the property, except for the urgent and immediate
concern for the safety of those aboard the vessel. Provides
that 80% of the money collected as fines shall be deposited in
the AWAF. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, money in
AWAF may be used for grants to be awarded by the DBW to local
agencies for the abatement and removal of abandoned, wrecked,
and dismantled vessels or parts of those vessels. Grant funds
are prohibited for use on commercial vessels.
4)Authorizes wrecked property that is an unseaworthy derelict or
hulk, or abandoned property removed from a navigable waterway,
to be sold or otherwise disposed of by the public agency that
removed or caused the removal of the property, subject to
certain conditions, including that the property has been
appraised by disinterested persons, and has an estimated value
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of less than $2,000.
5)States the Legislature's intent that a maximum $1 million be
appropriated from the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund to
AWAF in each fiscal year and that grantees provide a 10% match
for use of AWAF grant funds.
6)Requires DBW to establish an Abandoned Vessel Advisory
Committee to study ways to prevent the abandonment of boats.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriation
Committee's fiscal analysis of last years AB 1950 (Lieu) of
2008, $300,000 reallocation annually, starting in 2008-09
through 2011-12, of DBW grant funds to local agencies operating
surrendered vessel programs. Further, the author's office
contends that the AWAF traditionally receives $500,000 annually
from the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund. These AWAF
grant funds are generally fully allocated (not necessarily
expended) to local public entity grant recipients.
COMMENTS :
Background: Prior to 1998, abandoned vessels were removed
primarily by peace officers if the vessel was left unattended on
a public waterway and if the vessel created a hazard to other
vessels, public safety, or other property, or was moored,
docked, beached, or made fast in such a way that it obstructed
the normal movement of traffic. In 1997, in response to the
high cost to local governments of removing vessels and abating
any associated hazards, such as oil leaks, the state enacted SB
172 (Rainey), Chapter 930, Statutes of 1997. SB 172 extended
the authorization for the removal and storage of vessels to
include incidences when the unattended vessel poses a threat to
adjacent wetlands, levees, sensitive habitat, any protected
wildlife species, or water quality. That bill also expedited
the sale and disposal of abandoned boats valued under $300,
increased penalties to owners abandoning boats from $50 to
$500-$1500, and created AWAF to grant local governments monies
needed for removal of abandoned vessels.
Currently, DBW grants funds to local agencies for storage and/or
disposal of the abandoned vessels posing navigational or
environmental hazards. Local agencies are required to provide a
10% match and show the DBW the average annual cost of handling
these abandoned vessels. According to DBW, many local agencies
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use the grant monies to contract with specialists who dredge up
the sunken boats and remedy any hazardous substance the boat has
released into the water.
It is the author's contention that this bill could save
thousands of dollars by allowing the surrendering of a
dilapidated vessel. A vessel that is surrendered "costs much
less to dispose of compared to the cost of raising a sunken
vessel, expending the resources to determine if there is a
responsible owner, and then disposing of that vessel."
Abandoned Vessel Advisory Committee Report : Current law
requires the creation of an advisory committee to recommend how
to abate vessels abandoned along our state's waterways. The
advisory committee's report issued by DBW in January 2005
suggested, among its many other recommendations, that a pilot
vessel turn-in program be initiated in three selected counties
that would encourage boat owners to voluntarily turn in their
old and dilapidated boat prior to abandonment. This bill
basically implements the recommendation of the advisory
committee to retrieve and dispose of boats before they are
abandoned.
Prior legislation : AB 1950 (Lieu) of 2008, a similar bill that
was vetoed by the Governor due to the delay in passing the
2008-2009 State Budget. The Governor vetoed hundreds of bills
and only signed bills "that are the highest priority for
California." Unfortunately, AB 1950 did not meet the Governor's
priority standards and, thus, was not signed.
AB 1014 (Canciamilla), Chapter 357, Statutes of 2004, was a
similar bill that was eventually amended to only require the
establishment of an Abandoned Vessel Advisory Committee to
assist DBW in submitting recommendations on strategies to
prevent recreational vessels from being abandoned.
Arguments in Support : According to this bill's sponsors, "there
is a large problem with older vessels being abandoned when they
reach their useful life. The state already has a program to
fund the abatement of these vessels after they are abandoned .
This bill attempts to stretch the grant dollars available by
abating these vessels before they are abandoned and, therefore,
less expensive to dispose of."
Arguments in Opposition : This bill would allow a willing public
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agency to accept a surrendered vessel that, in its sole
discretion, is in danger of being abandoned. However, this bill
could allow boat owners to be absolved of responsibility to
properly retrieve and dispose of their vessel, regardless of
their ability to pay. Further, without any funding limits
placed upon AWAF to fund surrendered vessels, the impact upon
the removal of abandoned vessels is undetermined but should be
documented in DBW's report. Lastly, should AWAF become
oversubscribed and unable to fully fund surrendered vessels as
well as abandoned vessels, this could lead to cost pressures to
increase fund transfers to the AWAF from the Harbors and
Watercraft Revolving Fund.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Harbor Masters and Port Captains
(co-sponsor)
California Marine Parks and Harbors Association (co-sponsor)
California Peach Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Sheriff's Association
California Yacht Brokers Association (co-sponsor)
City of Santa Barbara
Marine Recreation Association (co-sponsor)
Northern California Marine Association (co-sponsor)
Recreational Boaters of California
Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
San Francisco Baykeepers Association (co-sponsor)
Southern California Marine Association
Western Boaters Safety Group (co-sponsor)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093