BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
166 (Lieu)
Hearing Date: 08/27/2009 Amended: 08/17/2009
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: NR&W 11-0, Jud 5-0
AB 166 (Lieu)
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BILL SUMMARY: This bill creates a pilot project to allow local
agencies to use grant funds to accept surrendered vessels for
disposal. The bill also increases the minimum fine for
abandoning a vessel in the state.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Cost pressure for grant funds $150 $250
$250Special *
* Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund, from the Harbors and
Watercraft Revolving Fund.
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STAFF COMMENTS: Suspense file.
Current law prohibits the abandonment of vessels on public
waterways, public lands, or private lands, except in
emergencies. Abandonment of a vessel is an infraction,
punishable by a fine between $500 and $3,000 plus the cost of
removing the vessel. Eighty percent of fine revenues from these
violations are deposited in the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement
Fund, within the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund.
Under current law, the Department of Boating and Waterways
provides grant funds to local governments for the abatement and
removal of abandoned vessels, in order to prevent hazards to
navigation and threats to the environment. Statute allows up to
$1,000,000 per year to be transferred to the Account to support
the grant program. In the last few years, the Budget Act has
provided $500,000 per year in grant funds to local agencies,
although the Department indicates that demand for these funds
exceeds the funding available.
Under current law, local agencies are authorized to sell
abandoned vessels, provided certain conditions regarding
notification are met.
This bill increases the maximum fine for abandoning a vessel to
AB 166 (Lieu)
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$1,000.
This bill defines a "surrendered vessel" as a vessel that is
voluntarily surrendered to a willing public agency by the
titleholder, provided that the public agency determines that the
vessel is in danger of being abandoned and that the potential
abandonment of the vessel would cause environmental degradation
or pose a hazard to navigation. The bill authorizes local
agencies to use grant funding from the Department to abate and
dispose of surrendered vessels as well as abandoned vessels. The
bill authorizes the Department to develop rules and regulations
to administer the requirements of the bill. The pilot project
would sunset on January 1, 2014.
The bill provides that the state shall not assume any liability
due to the disposal of a surrendered vessel.
The bill requires the Department to track the number of
surrendered vessels disposed of using grant funds and to report
that information to the Legislature.
According to the author and proponents of the bill, there are a
large number of abandoned vessels in the state's waterways. The
abatement and removal of an abandoned vessel can be very costly
and often the vessel has little residual sale value. By allowing
local agencies to accept surrendered vessels before they are
abandoned, the bill intends to reduce the costs of abating and
disposing of these vessels.
The Department indicates that the costs to implement the bill
and report to the Legislature should be minor. However, because
of the large number of abandoned vessels and the potential for a
significant number of surrendered vessels, the bill will put
cost pressure on the grant program.
SB 459 (Wolk) gives the State Lands Commission authority to
remove abandoned vessels on state lands through an
administrative proceeding. That bill is located in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
AB 1950 (Lieu, 2008) was substantially similar to this bill. AB
1950 was vetoed by the Governor due to the late adoption of the
Budget Act.