BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 5|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SJR 5
Author: Wiggins (D), et al
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE FLOOR : 20-10, 6/8/09 (FAIL)
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, DeSaulnier,
Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Pavley, Vacancy, Romero, Steinberg, Wiggins,
Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Benoit, Cogdill, Cox, Denham,
Dutton, Harman, Hollingsworth, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa, Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Huff,
Oropeza, Runner, Simitian, Strickland, Wyland
SUBJECT : Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank
National Marine
Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and
Protection Act
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution calls upon the Congress of the
United States to quickly pass the federal Gulf of the
Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries
Boundary Modification and Protection Act and the President
of the United States to expeditiously sign it into law.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following
legislative findings:
CONTINUED
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1. Inclusion in the National Marine Sanctuary System offers
comprehensive and permanent protection to important
marine resources, large scale ecosystem management, and
vital oceanic research investments, while allowing for
recreational, shipping, and fishing activities.
2. Sonoma and Marin Counties' coastal waters just south of
Bodega Head are within the boundaries of the Gulf of the
Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries
and enjoy the protections and benefits of the National
Marine Sanctuary System.
3. The Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National
Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection
Act (H.R. 223 and
S. 212), authored by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and
sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer, would adjust the
boundaries of those two marine sanctuaries north and
westward to add deeper and biologically important
waters, and would extend the boundaries of the Gulf of
the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary just past Point
Arena, thus including the entire Sonoma Coast and the
southern Mendocino Coast.
4. The area encompassed by the Sonoma Coast and southern
Mendocino Coast is one of the most biologically rich
regions in the world. These waters are within one of
the four coastal upwelling zones on the planet,
comprising only one percent of the ocean, but producing
20 percent of the world's fish. Additionally, the
coastal estuaries of that area are important passages
for endangered salmon and steelhead, essential haul
sites places for seals and sea lions, migration
corridors for the California Gray Whale and other whale
species, and prolific nurseries for hundreds of aquatic
species.
5. These important marine resources, among the richest on
the planet, must be protected from oil spills and other
forms of pollution.
6. By expanding the boundaries of the Gulf of the
Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries,
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the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National
Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection
Act (H.R. 223 and S. 212) will protect the University of
California, Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory's investment
in marine research, regional jobs that are dependent on
commercial and recreational fishing, tourism,
recreational uses, and indefinable aesthetic benefits.
7. A congressional and executive moratorium on offshore oil
exploration and exploitation was removed in 2008,
leaving these waters of special biological significance
unprotected.
This resolution calls upon the Congress of the United
States to quickly pass the federal Gulf of the Farallones
and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary
Modification and Protection Act and the President of the
United States to expeditiously sign it into law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
CTW:mw 6/11/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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