BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2125
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2125 (Ruskin) - As Amended: April 15, 2010
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:6-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to support
the state's use and sharing of scientific and geospatial
information for coastal and ocean-relevant decision making.
Specifically, and subject to the availability of funding, this
bill requires OPC to:
1)Support state agencies' use and sharing of scientific and
geospatial information for coastal- and ocean-relevant
decision making.
2)Report to the Legislature, no later than 12 months following
the receipt of sufficient funding, on advantages and
disadvantages of marine spatial planning with respect to
coastal and ocean management.
FISCAL EFFECT
This bill conditions all of its requirements upon receipt of
sufficient funding and, therefore, has no direct costs. In
addition, the bill encourages OPC to perform actions that OPC
reports it already undertakes or is planning to undertake.
However, the intent of the bill is to require OPC to coordinate
and assess state agencies' use of scientific and geospatial
information and to report to the Legislature on those topics,
actions currently not directly required by law. As a result,
the bill creates cost pressures of an unknown amount, but likely
in the range of tens of thousands of dollars to several hundreds
of thousands of dollars, for OPC to perform the work anticipated
by this bill. (Fund source unknown, but likely special funds or
bond funds.)
AB 2125
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COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends management and conservation of
the world's oceans require synthesis of scientific spatial
data on the distribution and intensity of human activities as
well as the overlap of those impacts on marine ecosystems.
However, despite existing laws and efforts, ocean managers and
decision-makers often do not have access to the latest
technology or scientific information that can support their
public trust responsibilities. The author believes that,
without OPC actively coordinating the use of scientific and
geospatial information, as called for in this bill, permitting
and long-term planning will not be as effective as is
necessary.
2)Background . Geospatial data maps layers of information atop
one another. In a marine context, data layers may include
bathymetry or topography of the ocean floor, coastal aerial
imagery, marine habitat, and jurisdictional boundaries of
protected areas. For geospatial mapping to be effect, various
types of data must be coordinated and integrated, typically
through the use of compatible electronic data formats.
The federal government has a policy of encouraging use of
geospatial mapping for management of marine and ocean
resources. The federal Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force
divides the nation into regional governance structures and
proposes a planning process wherein regions would adopt marine
spatial plans consistent with national goals and objectives
and subject to certification by the National Ocean Council.
California, Oregon, and Washington constitute the West Coast
region.
3)Support . This bill is supported by the Ocean Conservancy, who
is also the bill's sponsor and who sees a need for state
agencies managing the state's marine environments to be able
to use and share, in compatible electronic formats, scientific
and geospatial data.
4)There is no registered opposition to this bill on file .
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
AB 2125
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