BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2360
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Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2360 (Chesbro) - As Amended: April 12, 2010
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill dedicates funds in the Forest Resources Improvement
Fund (FRIF) to forest uses and ends the requirement that
excesses be deposited in the General Fund (GF). Specifically,
this bill:
1)Deletes the requirement that money in excess of the amount
needed to support operations of state demonstration forests be
deposited in the GF.
2)Expands allowable uses of FRIF to include:
a. Implementation of approved forest management plans
of demonstration state forests.
b. Public education, research, and monitoring
activities related to demonstration state forests.
c. Cost for California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection (CDF) administration of state demonstration
forests.
3)Adds several revenue sources-leases, rent, fees, firewood, and
permits-to those providing funding to the FRIF. Current law
lists only two specific sources of revenue to the FRIF:
repayment of loans and the sale of forest products produced in
state demonstration forests.
4)Allows the director of CDF to accept funds, to be deposited in
the FRIF, received from any source, including mitigation funds
from a party responsible for illegal ignition of a wildfire
that caused adverse environmental effects.
AB 2360
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5)Authorizes a reserve to occur in the FRIF when balances exceed
appropriated expenditures.
6)Provides that if the GF does not provide CDF funding for pest
management, state nurseries and seed banks, forest
improvement, urban forestry, vegetation management, and fire
and resource assessment programs at the same level or higher
than the previous budget year, the program funding shortfall
may be made whole with money from the FRIF reserve, upon
appropriation by the Legislature through the annual Budget
Act.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential GF revenue loss from excess FRIF funds no longer
being deposited in the GF. CDF reports there has never been
an excess balance in the FRIF, however, excess FRIF balances
may develop in future years as harvesting resumes in Jackson
Forest, the largest state demonstration forest.
2)Potential funding stability to CDF's forestry programs, which
will be able to offset future GF program cuts with FRIF
balances, should any come to exist.
3)Absorbable costs to CDF administer FRIF revenues and collect
fees.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author intends this bill to provide CDF a more
reliable funding source for existing programs without
increasing General Fund costs.
2)Background . CDF manages eight demonstration forests that,
together, cover 71,000 acres. The purpose of the forests is
to demonstrate sustainable forest practices. Activities in
the forests include management, watershed protection and
restoration, and harvesting techniques.
The state's demonstration forests are financially self
sufficient. This is because CDF is authorized to sell timber
and related products generated by the state forests. Revenue
from such sales is deposited in the Forest Resources
Improvement Trust Fund and is available, upon appropriation,
to pay for the costs of managing the demonstration forests.
AB 2360
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Historically, revenues from timber sales at Jackson State
Forest, the largest state forest, comprised the majority of
funds in the FRIF. Revenues in the FRIF supported CDF's
forest resource programs such as pest management, state
nurseries, urban forestry, forest and rangeland assessment,
and vegetation management. Because excess FRIF funds would be
placed in the GF to fund programs other than forestry, some
became concerned that CDF was accelerating harvesting in the
Jackson Forest to pay for those non-forestry programs.
In 2000, the Campaign to Restore Jackson State Redwood Forest
sued CDF. The suit asserted that the forest's 1984 management
plan had expired and any logging under it was illegal. A
judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. As a result,
harvesting in Jackson State Forest was barred for eight years.
CDF reports that, last year, harvesting began again in Jackson
State Forest. Resulting annual revenue to the FRIF should
total in the millions of dollars, providing potential funding
for CDF forestry programs.
3)AB 2351 (Chesbro, 2010) authorizes CDF to charge a user fee
for overnight camping and group activities in a state
demonstration forest. The bill passed this committee on a
vote of 11 to three.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081