BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 656
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 27, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     AB 656 (Huber) - As Amended:  May 10, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              
          TransportationVote:14-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill sunsets, as of January 1, 2011, the Board of Pilot 
          Commissioners and transfers, as of that date, the board's duties 
          to Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible costs to transfer the board's duties to the 
          secretary, which will include fee authority to allow the 
          secretary to cover the costs of administering the board's 
          programs.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  The author intends the sunset created by this bill 
            to make the board eligible for review by the Joint Sunset 
            Review Committee.

           2)Background  .  AB 1659 (Huber, Chapter 666, Statutes of 2010) 
            established the Joint Sunset Review Committee to identify and 
            eliminate waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government 
            agencies and to conduct a comprehensive analysis of every 
            eligible agency, as defined, to determine if the agency is 
            still necessary and cost effective.  The commission is 
            authorized to review only those government agencies for which 
            statute has established a sunset date.

           3)Related Legislation.  AB 28 (Huber) 2011, would eliminate, 
            subject to commission review, the Reciprocity Commission and 
            replace it with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.  
            The bill is pending before this committee.  








                                                                  AB 656
                                                                  Page  2


           4)Support  .  This bill is supported by the Pacific Marine 
            Shipping Association.

           5)Opposition  .  This bill is opposed by the San Francisco Bar 
            Pilots Association, which opposes the elimination of the Board 
            of Pilot Commissioners, which, absent subsequent legislation, 
            this bill will bring about. 

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081