BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
2598 (Brownley)
Hearing Date: 08/12/2010 Amended: 07/15/2010
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: NR&W 5-3
AB 2598 (Brownley), Page 2
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 2598 requires local government agencies that
have been granted public trust lands to develop a sea level
action plan.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
State Lands Commission Minor and absorbable General
review of plans
Development of plans Unknown, likely in the millions
Local *
by local governments
Cost pressure on Ocean Unknown, potentially in the millionsBond
**
Protection Council funds
* Non-reimbursable costs.
** Proposition 84.
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
Under current law, the public trust doctrine holds that tide and
submerged lands and the beds of lakes, streams, and other
navigable waterways are "public trust lands" held by the state
for the benefit of the people of California. These lands are
held to promote the public's interest in water or
water-dependent activities such as commerce, navigation,
fisheries, environmental preservation, and recreation. The State
Lands Commission is the steward of the state's public trust
lands. With Legislative approval, the Commission may grant
public trust lands to local government agencies, provided that
the local government agency manages the lands for public
benefit. The state has made more than 85 grants of public trust
land to local government agencies, including public trust lands
in and around some of the state's major ports.
AB 2598 requires local government agencies that have been
granted public trust lands to develop a sea level action plan.
AB 2598 (Brownley), Page 2
The plans must be submitted to the state by July 1, 2012. The
plans must consider the impact of sea level rise on granted
public trust lands, the financial impact of sea level rise on
those lands, and strategies to prevent or mitigate impacts from
sea level rise.
The State Lands Commission is authorized to exempt a local
government agency from preparing the report if the Commission
finds that none of the agency's public trust lands are subject
to sea level rise or the cost to prepare the plan outweighs the
benefits that the plan would have in preventing economic or
environmental harm.
The bill also authorizes the Commission to grant a deadline
extension or exempt a local government agency from the reporting
requirements if revenues derived from the public trust land or
funding made available to the local government agency from other
sources (including the Ocean Protection Council) are
insufficient to pay for the cost of developing the plan.
The State Lands Commission indicates that any costs to review
requests for exemptions would be absorbable within existing
resources.
The costs to local government agencies to develop the required
plans are unknown. Given the large number of grants the state
has made, the aggregate costs to develop the plans may be in the
millions. Because local government agencies have voluntarily
accepted the grant of those lands and because the bill
authorizes the Commission to delay or waive the requirement to
prepare the report, the bill does not impose a reimbursable
state mandate.
To the extent that local government agencies do not have
sufficient revenues from granted public trust lands to prepare
the reports, it is likely that some local governments will apply
for funding from the Ocean Protection Council, which makes
grants for various projects relating to marine resources. The
extent of the resulting cost pressure on Ocean Protection
Council Funding is unknown, but could easily be in the millions
given the large number of grants of public lands made by the
state. Staff notes that the Ocean Protection Council's grant
program is largely supported from $90 million in general
obligation bonds authorized by Proposition 84. Of this amount,
about $25 million remains available for expenditure.
AB 2598 (Brownley), Page 2
AB 2125 (Ruskin) requires the Ocean Protection Council to
support other state agencies' use of geospatial information for
coastal- and ocean-related decision making and authorizes the
Ocean Protection Council to award grants to support this effort.
AB 2125 will be heard in this Committee.