BILL ANALYSIS
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2009-2010 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AB 166 HEARING DATE: June 23, 2009
AUTHOR: Lieu URGENCY: No
VERSION: As Introduced CONSULTANT: Marie Liu
DUAL REFERRAL: Judiciary FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Vessels: abandonment: abatement.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
The Department of Boating and Waterways (DBW) administers the
Abandoned Watercraft Removal Program to provide grants to local
agencies to help pay the costs of abatement, removal, storage,
and disposal of abandoned, wrecked, and dismantled vessels or
parts of those vessels that pose navigational hazards on the
public waterways. This program is funded by the Abandoned
Watercraft Abatement Fund (AWAF).
Section 525 of the Harbors and Navigation Code prohibits a
vessel from being abandoned, except in emergencies, on public
waterways, public land, or private land. Abandoned vessels are
an infraction and subject to a fine between $500 and $3,000 plus
the cost of removing and disposing of the vessel. Eighty percent
of these fines are deposited in the AWAF.
Section 526 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 conditions on
notification and property value.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would allow a public agency to accept and sell or
dispose of a vessel in danger of being abandoned. Specifically
this bill would:
Define a "surrendered vessel" as a vessel that is
voluntarily surrendered to a willing public agency. The
vessel must be in danger of being abandoned and therefore
is likely to become a hazard to navigation or cause
environmental degradation.
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Allow a public agency to immediately sell or dispose a
surrendered vessel without being subject to the
notification and property value conditions that apply to
abandoned property.
Expand the Abandoned Watercraft Removal Program to
include grants for the disposal of surrendered vessels.
Increase the minimum fine of abandoning a vessel from
$500 to $1,000.
Release the state from liability for any injuries or
damages associated with the processing or disposal of a
surrendered vessel.
Require the DBW to track the number of surrendered
vessels whose disposal is funded by grants from the AWAF as
well as the total expenditures for surrendered vessel
abatement in 2010-2011. The DBW would be required to report
this information to the Legislature by July 1, 2012.
Sunset the surrendered vessel provisions in 2013.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
The author states, "There is an overwhelming problem with
abandoned vessels in California and this bill will have a
significant impact on that problem by allowing more vessels to
be disposed of with fewer dollars by truncating the process and
allowing vessels to be destroyed before they are abandoned.
Abandoned vessels are usually doing harm to the environment due
to the leakage of oil and fuel into the water and can become a
hazard to navigation, making them a safety hazard. Furthermore,
once a vessel is abandoned, it is very [expensive] to remove
because they can be sunk or in some other difficult
circumstance."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
None received.
COMMENTS
Surrendered Vessel Program: In 2004, AB 1014 (Canciamilla)
resulted in a 2005 report by DBW in which it recommended
strategies to prevent vessels from being abandoned. A turn-in
program was one of those recommendations.
A second attempt at establishing a surrendered vessel program :
This bill is substantially similar to AB 1950 (Lieu, 2008) that
was unanimously passed by this committee. Despite receiving no
"no" votes on either the Senate or Assembly Floor, AB 1950 was
vetoed by the Governor as a casualty of the late passage of the
2008-2009 budget. The Governor's veto message simply stated that
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this bill was not seen as a priority for his consideration given
his abbreviated opportunity to review bills.
Where should the report be sent? : This bill requires the
surrendered vessel report to be sent to the Assembly and Senate
Transportation Committees. Given that this bill and the issue of
abandoned and surrendered vessels has been in the jurisdiction
of this committee, the committee may wish to amend the bill so
that the report is sent to the Senate Natural Resources and
Water Committee instead of the Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee. [See amendment 1]
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENT 1
On page 7, line 3, delete "Transportation and Housing" and
insert "Natural Resources and Water"
SUPPORT
California State Sheriffs' Association (Co-Sponsor)
California Association of Harbor Masters and Port Captains
California Marine Parks and Harbors Association
California Peace Officers' Association
California Yacht Brokers Association
City of Newport Beach
Contra Costa County
Harbor Association of Industry and Commerce
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Marina Recreation Association
Northern California Marine Association
Recreational Boaters of California
Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
San Francisco Baykeeper
Western Boaters Safety Group
OPPOSITION
None Received
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