BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2125
Author: Ruskin (D)
Amended: 8/17/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 6-3, 6/29/10
AYES: Pavley, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Padilla, Simitian, Wolk
NOES: Cogdill, Hollingsworth, Huff
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-4, 8/12/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Emmerson, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 51-24, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Coastal resources: marine spatial planning
SOURCE : Ocean Conservancy
DIGEST : This bill requires the Ocean Protection Council
(OPC) to support other state agencies use of geospatial
information for coastal- and ocean-related decision making.
This bill requires the OPC to report to the Legislature on
issues related to marine spatial planning. This bill
requires all other state agencies with coastal management
or regulatory responsibilities to assist the OPC in these
activities. This bill authorizes the OPC to award grants
and provide other assistance to support this effort.
ANALYSIS : Existing law declares it is the policy of the
CONTINUED
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state to assess the long-term values and benefits of the
conservation and development of ocean resources and uses
with the objective of restoring or maintaining the health
of the ocean ecosystem and ensuring the proper management
of renewable and nonrenewable resources.
Existing law requires the OPC to coordinate activities of
state agencies that are related to the protection and
conservation of coastal waters and ocean ecosystems to
improve the effectiveness of state efforts to protect ocean
resources within existing fiscal limitations, to establish
policies to coordinate the collection, evaluation, and
sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean
resources among agencies, and to identify and recommend to
the Legislature changes in law needed to achieve these
goals.
This bill, consistent with the above goals and subject to
the availability of funding, requires the OPC, to support
state agencies' use and sharing of scientific and
geospatial information for coastal- and ocean-relevant
decisionmaking, including marine spatial planning, by
taking specified actions, to assess the needs of
California's public agencies with respect to their
abilities to gather, manage, use, and share information and
decision-support tools relevant to ecosystem-based
management in the coastal and ocean environment.
This bill requires each state agency, board, department, or
commission with ocean or coastal management interests or
regulatory authority to cooperate with the OPC to achieve
all of the specified goals, subject to available funding
and consistent with each entity's individual mandate. This
bill authorizes the OPC to award grants, enter into
interagency agreements, and provide assistance to public
agencies and nonprofit organizations to support the
achievement of these goals and would require the council to
give preference to public agencies that are meeting these
goals.
Background
Management and conservation of the world's oceans require
synthesis of spatial data on the distribution and intensity
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of human activities as well as the overlap of those impacts
on marine ecosystems. Therefore, scientific and geospatial
information that is both relevant and accessible is
critical to advance the health of ocean and coastal
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. This includes
making permitting decisions and conducting long-term ocean
planning.
Increased coordination between agencies, geospatial data
sharing and new information technology for state planners
and managers with ocean and coastal-related jurisdiction is
required to enable these entities to best evaluate
ecosystem threats to our state's coastal and marine
environments. Without OPC actively coordinating these
functions, permitting and long term planning will not be as
effective as is necessary.
Geospatial data can be displayed in a format as a simple as
a street map or as complex as a geographic information
system interface. In a marine context, the data types can
include bathymetry or topography of the ocean floor,
coastal aerial imagery, marine habitat, and jurisdictional
boundaries of a protected area. As part of their
regulatory or planning responsibilities, agencies such as
the California Coastal Commission, State Lands Commission,
and Department of Fish and Game have been collecting these
data in various formats for decades. However, most of this
data is not digitized, standardized or centralized in a
format easily accessible to other agencies or the public,
nor is some of it of high value for broader planning
purposes. (This applies to most data or documentation
produced in compliance with environmental laws or
regulations.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
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Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
Report development Up to $100 Bond*
Cost pressure for Unknown, potentially in
the millions Bond*
additional grants
* Proposition 84
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/7/10)
Ocean Conservancy (source)
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Natural Resources Defense Council
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, potential
conflicts among present and future uses of the ocean can be
minimized if scientific and geospatial information is
collected and analyzed on an ongoing basis such that
economic activities and ecosystem functions can be
integrated.
The OPC adopted a resolution in 2009 that endorsed
interagency collaboration and management of geospatial
information in the ocean and the resolution further
directed its staff to make recommendations on marine
spatial planning for future approval of the OPC. However,
the author believes that this bill is necessary to
establish that the OPC is the state's lead agency for
increasing the amount of scientific and geospatial
information as well as coordinating information and data
sharing between agencies. The author points to the fact
that data sharing among state agencies for land-based needs
has been assigned to the Chief Information Officer, but
that no similar arrangement has been made for ocean data
and agencies. He also contends if the OPC is not assigned
this coordination function in the ocean, then future
permitting actions and long-term planning will not be as
effective as is necessary.
The Ocean Conservancy, as sponsor, stated that the bill is
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needed to improve information, coordination, geospatial
data sharing, and new information technology for state
planners and managers with ocean and coastal-related
jurisdiction.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Natural Resources Defense
Council separately stated that the lack of information
provided to ocean managers and decision-makers will be
overcome, in part, by this bill which would result in
improvements to ocean governance. They contend that the
bill is necessary to further improve the efficient
collection and sharing of information from state agencies
that contribute to the management of coastal and ocean
resources.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La
Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez,
Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Monning, Nava, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook,
DeVore, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Norby, Audra
Strickland, Vacancy
CTW:mw 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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