BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1488|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 1488
Author: Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 27
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/13/10
AYES: Pavley, Cogdill, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe,
Lowenthal, Padilla, Simitian, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : State lands: tidelands and submerged lands
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill modifies the Public Resources Code to
require a survey of the trust lands granted to the City of
Pittsburg in 2006 be completed by January 1, 2013, and
exclude Browns Island from the same grant, and allows the
Land Bank Fund to be used to create access to public trust
lands.
ANALYSIS : The State Lands Commission (SLC) exercises the
state's ongoing oversight authority over all of the state's
public trust lands. These include filled and unfilled tide
and other submerged lands as well as the beds of navigable
rivers, lakes and streams. These lands cannot be bought or
sold but the state's administrative authority to manage
them may be granted by the Legislature to local agencies,
subject to the public trust, for specific uses of statewide
CONTINUED
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benefit. The public trust is a set of guiding principles
that direct the state to hold its title to public trust
lands in a manner to protect the public's interest in
activities that are typically water dependent or related.
While continually evolving to meet changing public needs,
these activities include, for example, navigation,
commerce, fishing, recreation and environmental protection.
The Legislature has been making grants of these lands
since the state's inception.
In 2006, the City of Pittsburg sponsored AB 2324
(Canciamilla), Chapter 275, Statutes of 2006, which
replaced several existing legislative grants of tide and
other submerged lands to the city with a single grant
subject to the public trust and certain other provisions.
Pittsburg sought the legislation in order to simplify the
development plans of its port, speed clean-up of
contaminated industrial areas, boost its economic growth
and create jobs.
The SLC is also the trustee of the Land Bank Fund (LBF)
created pursuant to the Kapiloff Land Bank Act of 1982.
There are certain restrictions on the LBF's operation. The
LBF may receive funds from:
1. Title settlements which may be used to purchase specific
LBF parcels and the conveyance of those interests to the
state.
2. Project applicants for the purposes of mitigation.
3. Any party for projects to provide for the management and
improvement of real property held by the SLC to provide
open space, habitat and public access.
This bill modifies the Public Resources Code to require a
survey of the trust lands granted to the City of Pittsburg
in 2006 be completed by January 1, 2013, and exclude
Brown's Island from the same grant, and allows the LBF to
be used to create access to public trust lands.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 4/26/10)
City of Pittsburg
State Lands Commission
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The proposed bill addresses two
items of concern to the SLC which, if passed, will improve
its ability to meet its public land management and resource
protection goals.
CTW:mw 4/27/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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