BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2664
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Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2664 (Chesbro) - As Amended: April 14, 2010
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:9-0
Judiciary 10-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits a person from placing a structure on public
trust land without first obtaining proper permissions and
permits and provides tools, including administrative procedure
and monetary penalty, to the State Lands Commission (SLC) to
enforce the prohibition. Specifically, this bill:
1)Prohibits a person from placing a structure on lands under SLC
jurisdiction without first obtaining all necessary permissions
and permits.
2)Provides tools, to be exercised administratively by SLC or by
civil action by the Attorney General (AG), including:
a) Penalties of up to $1,000 a day or a monthly use and
occupancy assessment that is not more than 60% more than
the full fair market rental for each day of the violation.
b) Enjoinder from continuing the violation.
c) Taking ownership of the structure.
3)Provides due process procedures SLC must follow if seeking
administrative remedies to violations.
4)Allows a six-month window following enactment of this bill
during which a person may remedy a violation without being
penalized.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor absorbable costs to SLC to adopt regulations and seek
AB 2664
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administrative remedies authorized by this bill.
2)Potential revenue of an unknown amount from increased lease
revenue on land under SLC jurisdiction resulting from improved
enforcement and deterrence brought about by this bill (GF).
3)Potential savings of an unknown amount to SLC and AG resulting
from reduced violations and ensuing enforcement actions (GF).
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The sponsor-SLC-states this bill creates an
effective deterrent against encroachment on state sovereign
and school lands. Such encroachments are unfair to those with
leases and deprive the state of revenue it would have received
if the trespassers obtained leases and paid rent. SLC
contends it currently lacks effective enforcement because SLC
must seek the enforcement assistance from the AG, which is
timely and costly, and available remedies are roughly
equivalent to the cost of compliance only (meaning back
payment of lease).
2)Background .
a) The Public Trust Doctrine and the State Lands
Commission . 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 to promote the public's interest in water or
water-dependent activities such as commerce, navigation,
fisheries, environmental preservation and recreation. SLC,
within the Natural Resources Agency, is the steward of the
state's public trust lands.
b) Trespass on Public Trust Lands a Problem With
Ineffective Remedies, Says SLC . According to policy
committee analyses of this bill, SLC provided 10 examples
of past or pending trespass cases since 2001. These
trespasses include construction of an illegal recreational
pier, illegal discharge of sewage into the Sacramento
River, and unauthorized use of a pier for commercial
purposes. SLC estimates these cases to have required 3,500
hours of the AG's time at a cost of $585,000.
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SLC reports that it lacks effective remedies to such
violations. This is because existing law limits SLC
options in such cases to asking the assistance from the AG
in filing a civil action against the trespasser to seeking
compensation for the use of state lands, or an order for a
structure to be removed, or both. Existing law provides
for no monetary penalties for such violations, and
potential damages are limited to an amount roughly equal to
the cost of compliance, such as paying back rent.
3)Support . This bill is supported by the State Land Commission
(sponsor).
4)There is no registered opposition to this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081