BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 51|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 51
Author: Ducheny (D), et al
Amended: 8/20/09
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 10-0, 3/24/09
AYES: Pavley, Benoit, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Leno,
Padilla, Simitian, Wiggins, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cogdill
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/27/09
AYES: Simitian, Runner, Ashburn, Corbett, Hancock,
Lowenthal, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-2, 5/28/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Leno,
Oropeza, Runner, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Denham, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wolk
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 6/3/09
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Benoit, Calderon,
Cedillo, Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal,
Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Romero,
Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Wiggins, Wolk,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Walters, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
CONTINUED
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SUBJECT : Salton Sea Restoration Council
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Salton Sea Restoration
Council (Council) as a state agency in the Natural
Resources Agency to oversee restoration of the Salton Sea.
Assembly Amendments (1) require the Salton See Restoration
Council established by this bill to report to the Governor
and Legislature by June 30, 2013, with a recommended Salton
Sea restoration plan, (2) require the Council in conducting
its duties under this bill to act consistent with the
purposes of the Salton Sea Restoration Fund, and to work
collaboratively with local governments and interested
parties, (3) clarify that the lead scientist for the
Council shall be appointed by the Council executive
committee from candidates recommended by the United States
Geological Survey Salton Sea Science Office or another
scientific agency, and (4) clarify that the duties of the
Department of Fish and Game and the Department of Water
Resources under this bill include evaluation and
implementation of restoration alternatives necessary for
the Council to fulfill its duties under this bill related
to recommending a Salton Sea restoration plan.
ANALYSIS :
Under the Salton Sea Restoration Act, existing law:
1. Establishes the Salton Sea Restoration Fund to be
expended for certain purposes upon appropriation by the
Legislature (e.g., environmental and engineering
studies; implementation of conservation measures;
administrative, technical, and public outreach).
2. Requires funding from certain sources for acquisition,
grants, or other activities that directly restore the
Salton Sea and its transboundary watersheds.
3. Prohibits monies deposited in the Fund from being
expended for mitigation, except for mitigation
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undertaken by the state.
4. Authorizes the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to
contract with water suppliers to purchase and sell water
to achieve the goals of the Act, under certain
conditions.
This bill enacts requirements for a Salton Sea Restoration
Council that:
1. States legislative findings and declarations regarding
the values of the Salton Sea, and states the
Legislature's intent in restoring the Salton Sea to
permanently protect fish and wildlife dependent on the
Salton Sea ecosystem, restore aquatic and shoreline
habitat, eliminate air quality impacts, protect water
quality, maintain the sea as a vital link in the Pacific
flyway, preserve local tribal values, and minimize
noxious odors.
2. Establishes the Council as a state agency within the
Natural Resources Agency to oversee restoration of the
Salton Sea, including: early start habitat
demonstration projects; biological, water quality, air
quality, geotechnical, sedimentation and inflow
investigations; investigation of access and utility
agreements; and evaluation of restoration plans,
including but not limited to alternatives and program
components described in the Resource Agency's October
2006 Salton Sea Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact
Report.
3. Requires the Council to report to the Governor and the
Legislature by June 30, 2013, with a recommended
restoration plan. Requires the Council in recommending
a restoration plan, to consider the impacts of the plan
on air quality, fish and wildlife habitat, water
quality, and the technical and financial feasibility of
the restoration plan. Requires the Council, in
conducting its duties under this bill to act consistent
with the purposes of the Salton Sea Restoration Fund, as
specified under existing law, and to work
collaboratively with local governments and interested
parties.
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4. Provides that the Council shall consist of a 16 member
executive committee, a science committee, a local
government forum, and a stakeholder forum.
5. Provides that the executive committee shall serve as the
governing body of the Council and provide overall
guidance and oversight of the restoration program.
Provides that the executive committee shall make
decisions by a two-thirds majority vote, and that 12
voting members shall constitute a quorum. Provides for
election of officers.
6. Requires that the executive committee include the
director of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the
director of the DWR, the director of the Department of
Parks & Recreation (DPR), the chair of the State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB), the chair of the State
Air Resources Board, the State Treasurer, the director
of the Department of Finance, three public members
appointed one each by the Governor, Assembly and Senate,
one member from the Imperial County Board of
Supervisors, one member from the Riverside County Board
of Supervisors, one member from the Coachella Valley
Water District (CVWD), one member from the Imperial
Irrigation District (IID), and one member each from the
Torres Martinez Band of Desert Cahuilla Indians and the
Cabazon Band of Mission Indians. Nonvoting members of
the executive committee shall include the lead scientist
and representatives of specified federal agencies.
Provides that members of the executive committee shall
serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for
expenses.
7. Requires the science committee to include a lead
scientist, to be appointed by the Council executive
committee from candidates recommended by the United
States Geological Survey Salton Sea Science Office or
another scientific agency, or if no recommendations are
made then by the executive committee. The scientists
shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed
for expenses. Responsibilities of the science committee
include providing best available science and engineering
oversight, to provide periodic review of local technical
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investigations, to consult with and advise the
stakeholder forum, and provide guidance on ongoing
short-term planning.
8. Requires the local government forum to include elected
representatives from within the Salton Sea Watershed and
authorizes the forum to include local air pollution
control officials. Requires the Council to request the
Salton Sea Authority to assist with the forum.
Responsibilities of the local government forum include
facilitating communication between local governments and
landowners, the executive committee and the stakeholder
forum.
9. Requires the stakeholder forum to consist of interested
persons, as determined by the executive committee,
representing ten specified categories of persons.
Responsibilities of the stakeholder forum include to
provide ongoing, public input to the executive
committee, and to assist the executive committee in
understanding public and interest group perspectives.
Requires the stakeholder forum to provide focused review
and discussion, and to seek to achieve consensus on
specified elements.
10.Requires DFG to be responsible for implementation of
early start habitat demonstration projects, biological
investigations relating to restoration, and evaluation
of restoration plan alternatives.
11.Requires DWR to be responsible for implementation of
investigations of water quality, sedimentation, inflows,
air quality, geotechnical, and access and utility
agreements relating to restoration, and for evaluation
of restoration plan alternatives.
12.Authorizes the Council to sue and be sued and to enter
into contracts and agreements.
13.Provides that only funds deposited in the Salton Sea
Restoration Fund or nonstate funds may be expended to
carry out this article. Requires that the status of the
Salton Sea Restoration Fund shall be included in the
Governor's proposed annual budget. Requires the Council
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to advise DFG with regard to expenditure of funds from
the Salton Sea Restoration Fund.
14.Provides that the secretary of the State Natural
Resources Agency shall select, in consultation with the
executive committee, the executive director of the
Council, who shall be exempt from civil service and
serve at the pleasure of the executive committee.
15.Requires DFG and DWR to provide staff services for the
Council, using staff currently dedicated to Salton Sea
activities or other staff provided by legislative
action, as specified. Provides that the director of DFG
and the director of DWR shall enter into interagency
agreements with other state agencies to provide staff
services.
16.Clarifies that the Council's jurisdiction is limited to
the Salton Sea watershed within California, and that
this bill does not grant to the Council any regulatory
authority or any authority over land use, water rights
or air quality.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, annual
costs to DFG and DWR, ranging from approximately $300,000
to approximately $1,000,000, to staff the council and to
reimburse council members for necessary expenses (Salton
Sea Restoration Fund, nonstate funds), and (2) potential
costs to DFG and DWR of an unknown amount, but possibly in
the millions of dollars, to conduct demonstration projects
and investigations related to restoration, habitat, water
quality, and other topics (Salton Sea Restoration Fund,
nonstate funds). It is conceivable that the council's
investigative and analytical work pursuant to this bill
might cost as much as $15 million, which was the cost of
producing the environmental impact report of the
administration's preferred alternative
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/24/10)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
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Employees, AFL-CIO
Audubon California
Cal Energy
California Outdoor Heritage Alliance
Defenders of Wildlife
Imperial County
Imperial Irrigation District
Indio Chamber of Commerce
Pacific Institute
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/24/10)
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"In 2003 the implementing legislation for the
Quantification Settlement Agreement called on the state to
develop a Salton Sea restoration plan. The legislation
required the Secretary of Resources, through an intense
public process, to prepare a restoration plan by the end of
2006. The Resources Agency presented the Preferred
Restoration Plan and Funding Report to the Legislature in
May 2007. This bill develops the governance structure
which would oversee project implementation and restoration
of the Salton Sea."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Department of Finance is
opposed to this bill because it would "be premature to
begin implementation of the Preferred Alternative until a
long-term funding plan to pay for future Salton Sea
restoration efforts has been developed."
CTW:do 8/30/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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