BILL NUMBER: AB 2739	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 8, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Blakeslee

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

    An act to amend Section 8550 of the Government Code,
relating to emergencies.   An act to add Section 8670.15
to the Government Code, relating to oil spills. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2739, as amended, Blakeslee.  Emergencies. 
 Oil spill prevention and response.  
   The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act
generally requires the administrator for oil spill response, acting
at the direction of the Governor, to implement activities relating to
oil spill response, including emergency drills and preparedness, and
oil spill containment and cleanup, and to represent the state in any
coordinated response efforts with the federal government.  

   This bill would require the administrator to prepare a sunken
vessel imminent threat assessment and strategic response plan that
identifies any sunken vessel off the California coast that meets
certain criteria and outlines a strategic plan regarding the threat
of a release of oil from the vessel. The bill requires the
administrator to report his or her findings to the Legislature by
June 1, 2011.  
   The California Emergency Services Act confers emergency powers on
the Governor and specified state officers and entities to mitigate
the effects of natural, manmade, or war-caused emergencies that
result in conditions of disaster or extreme peril to life and
property.  
   This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these
provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 8670.15 is added to the 
 Government Code  , to read:  
   8670.15.  (a) The administrator shall prepare a sunken vessel
imminent threat assessment and strategic response plan that does both
of the following:
   (1) Identifies any sunken vessel off the coast of California that
meets all of the following criteria:
   (A) The vessel is within eight miles of the California coast.
   (B) The vessel is within 20 miles of a national marine sanctuary.
   (C) There is no party responsible for the vessel.
   (D) At the time the vessel sank, it contained more than one
million gallons of oil.
   (E) A release of oil from the vessel is likely to pose a threat to
California waters and shorelines, archaeological sites, wildlife,
and the habitat on which the wildlife depends.
   (F) The vessel has not yet been classified as posing an imminent
threat.
   (2) Outlines a strategic plan to do both of the following:
   (A) Identify studies that should be performed to determine whether
there exists an imminent threat of a release of oil from the vessel,
noting preferred and alternative methods of study with corresponding
cost estimates.
   (B) In the event that it is determined that a threat exists, but
the threat is not imminent, identify the recommended course of action
to monitor the vessel, noting preferred and alternative methods of
monitoring with corresponding cost estimates.
   (b) By June 1, 2011, the administrator shall report his or her
findings to the Legislature.
   (c) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
subdivision (b) is inoperative on June 1, 2015, pursuant to Section
10231.5.
   (2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795.  
  SECTION 1.   Section 8550 of the Government Code
is amended to read:
   8550.  The state has long recognized its responsibility to
mitigate the effects of natural, manmade, or war-caused emergencies
that result in conditions of disaster or in extreme peril to life,
property, and the resources of the state, and generally to protect
the health and safety and preserve the lives and property of the
people of the state. To ensure that preparations within the state
will be adequate to deal with such emergencies, it is hereby found
and declared to be necessary:
   (a) To confer upon the Governor and upon the chief executives and
governing bodies of political subdivisions of this state the
emergency powers provided herein; and to provide for state assistance
in the organization and maintenance of the emergency programs of
such political subdivisions.
   (b) To provide for a state agency to be known and referred to as
the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA), within the
office of the Governor, and to prescribe the powers and duties of the
secretary of that agency.
   (c) To provide for the assignment of functions to state agencies
to be performed during an emergency and for the coordination and
direction of the emergency actions of such agencies.
   (d) To provide for the rendering of mutual aid by the state
government and all its departments and agencies and by the political
subdivisions of this state in carrying out the purposes of this
chapter.
   (e) To authorize the establishment of such organizations and the
taking of such actions as are necessary and proper to carry out the
provisions of this chapter.
   It is further declared to be the purpose of this chapter and the
policy of this state that all emergency services functions of this
state be coordinated as far as possible with the comparable functions
of its political subdivisions, of the federal government including
its various departments and agencies, of other states, and of private
agencies of every type, to the end that the most effective use may
be made of all manpower, resources, and facilities for dealing with
any emergency that may occur.