BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2761
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2761 (Natural Resources Committee)
As Amended June 3, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(May 13, 2010) |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 27, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT RES.
SUMMARY : Clarifies that the State Geologist may enter into
certain technical geologic contracts with school districts,
among other entities; deletes the requirement that the Attorney
General (AG) must be the legal advisor for the Division of Oil,
Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR).
The Senate amendments update the Urban Forestry Act by modifying
the definition of "urban forestry" to include non-tree
vegetation, and by facilitating equipment loans to aid local or
regional urban forestry projects including green waste
utilization.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the State Mining and Geology Board (Board) and
authorizes the Board to nominate, and the Director of the
Department of Conservation (Department) to appoint a State
Geologist, who is required to advise the Director regarding
technical, scientific, and engineering issues, including the
scientific quality of the division's products and activities.
2)Creates the California Geological Survey (CGS) as the primary
state agency responsible for geologic hazard review and
investigation, including investigation of seismological,
geological, and strong motion aspects of earthquakes and other
geologic hazards.
3)Requires the AG to be the legal advisor for the DOGGR in the
Department and to perform necessary legal services.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Clarified that the State Geologist may enter into grant or
AB 2761
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cooperative agreements and contracts with governmental
entities, including school districts, and nongovernmental
entities to provide technical, analytic, and research services
related to geologic hazards directly to those entities.
2)Deleted the requirement that the AG must be the legal advisor
for DOGGR.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, this bill has
negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : The CGS routinely contracts with state and federal
governmental entities for a variety of geological services.
However, because of a technical drafting error, the current
mechanism that allows CGS to contract with some governmental
organizations must be clarified to provide the flexibility
needed to accommodate a variety of governmental needs related to
the study and assessment of geologic and seismic hazards. Of
particular concern are contracts with school districts for
geologic hazard assessment. Although the Department has implied
authority for such contracts, the absence of express statutory
language may invite unwarranted challenges and subject CGS to
unnecessary costs.
Since 1990, the Department of General Services (DGS), Division
of the State Architect (DSA) has contracted with CGS to provide
the required independent, technical reviews of geologic hazard
reports and proposed mitigations for school construction plans.
DSA has historically secured CGS' assistance for these reviews
through interagency agreements, and has provided direct
reimbursement to CGS. Funding for CGS review has traditionally
been provided from the fees paid by school districts directly to
DSA for the entire review of district construction plans.
Due to a recent policy change made by DSA regarding the review
of school construction plans, CGS must work directly with, and
seek funding from school districts for reviews of geologic
hazard reports and proposed mitigations associated with proposed
school construction projects. This requires the execution of
individual contracts with school districts for each such review.
Most agencies, with the exception of the DOGGR, rely on the AG
for litigation services only. However, existing law, a relic of
1939, requires the AG to perform all legal services for DOGGR,
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including review of permits, proposed regulations, environmental
impact reports, and communications associated with public
records requests; advising DOGGR management on policy or
regulatory changes; and coordinating response to subpoenas,
among other things. These services are more appropriate for the
Department's in-house counsel to perform. By deleting Public
Resources Code Section 3102, DOGGR would be represented by the
AG in litigation matters pursuant to section 11040 et seq. of
the Government Code.
Analysis Prepared by : Jessica Westbrook / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0006816