BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
291 (Saldana)
Hearing Date: 08/17/2009 Amended: 08/17/2009
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: NR&W 6-4
AB 291 (Saldana)
Page 2
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: This bill prohibits the Coastal Commission from
approving a coastal development permit if there are any
violations of the Coastal Act associated with the property,
unless the Commission finds that the permit resolves the issue
or the violations are de minimis.
_________________________________________________________________
____
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Enforcement activity Unknown potential savings General
_________________________________________________________________
____
STAFF COMMENTS:
Under current law, any person seeking to develop lands in the
coastal zone must obtain a coastal development permit from the
Coastal Commission. The Commission has the authority to enforce
the provisions of existing coastal development permits and may
pursue a cease and desist order if it finds that unpermitted
development has occurred. In order to assess fines or penalties
on projects that either do not comply with an existing permit or
took place without the proper permit, the Commission, in
cooperation with the Attorney General, pursues civil penalties
through the court system. Under current law, permitting and
enforcement processes are separate. If an individual is in
violation of the Coastal Act on part of a property and has an
application for a coastal development permit on another part of
the property, the Commission can not require remediation of the
existing violation as part of the permitting process.
Several other state agencies, such as the Department of Fish and
Game, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Department of
Consumer Affairs, as well as several counties, have the
authority to require permit applicants to resolve outstanding
violations before submitting an application.
AB 291 prohibits the Commission from approving a coastal
development permit application until any violation associated
with the property has been resolved or the Commission determines
AB 291 (Saldana)
Page 2
that the permit will remedy the violation. The prohibition will
not apply to de minimis violations. The bill's provisions will
not apply to actions by local agencies relating to local coastal
programs or public works plans.
According to the Commission, this bill will impact about two
dozen applications per year. While there may be some minor
additional costs associated with the review of permit
applications, those costs are likely to be offset by
significantly reduced enforcement costs to the Commission.
AB 226 (Ruskin) imposes minimum penalties and increases the
maximum penalty for violations of the Coastal Act and authorizes
the Coastal Commission to impose administrative penalties for
violations. The bill also ends the current practice of
transferring penalty revenues from the Coastal Commission to the
Coastal Conservancy. That bill will be heard in this committee.