BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 982
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Date of Hearing: May 18, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 982 (Skinner) - As Amended: May 10, 2011
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires the State Lands Commission to arrange with
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the exchange of state
school lands for federal lands in order to facilitate renewable
energy projects. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires SLC to make best efforts to enter into a memorandum
of agreement (MOA), by January 1, 2012, with the United States
Secretary of the Interior for the exchange of state school
lands for federal lands so as to consolidate state lands in
order to facilitate renewable energy projects.
2)Requires SLC, within 240 days of execution of the MLA, to
submit to the secretary a proposal for such land exchanges,
giving priority to land exchanges that will facilitate
large-scale commercial renewable energy projects.
3)Provides that land exchanges shall be on an acre-for-acre
basis, unless SLC believes that such an exchange would not
provide the state with compensation equal to or greater than
fair market value.
4)Directs SLC to consult with the California Energy Commission
(CEC) to identify lands most appropriate for renewable energy
projects and with the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) on
sensitive habitat and potential mitigation areas.
5)Requires SLC to report to the Legislature by January 1 of each
year on the MOA and school land consolidation efforts.
FISCAL EFFECT
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1)One-time costs to SLC in 2011-12 in the range of $250,000 to
$500,000 to coordinate with the federal government to develop
and enter into an MOA and to process land exchanges. (School
Land Bank Fund (SLBF).) These costs would be reimbursed by
applicants to develop the land, should such applicants come
forward.
2)Absorbable costs to CEC and DFG to consult with SLC.
3)Potential ongoing revenue of an unknown amount, but possibly
in the millions of dollars, from fees and royalties on
developed lands, which would be used to benefit the California
State Teacher Retirement System. (SLBF.)
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. The author intends this bill to lead to an
exchange of school lands with the federal government to
consolidate lands appropriate for large-scale renewable energy
projects.
2)Background .
a) School Lands . In 1853, the state received from the
federal government around 5.5 million acres of
noncontiguous lands, known as school lands, to be used for
the benefit of public schools. Over the decades, much of
the most valuable school lands was sold, leaving a
patchwork of economically nonproductive lands in remote
areas of the state. In 1984, the Legislature passed the
School Land Bank Act, which prohibited the sale of the
remaining school lands and directed SLC to manage the
remaining lands to be managed and enhanced to the economic
benefit of the public school system. Today, the state
retains surface and mineral ownership to approximately
468,600 acres of school lands and retains the mineral
rights to an additional 790,000 acres. Approximately
370,000 acres of school lands are located in the California
desert and are landlocked, remote, and non-revenue
generating.
b) California Desert Protection Act. On October 31, 1994,
the federal California Desert Protection Act (CDPA) became
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law. The CDPA designated 3.6 million acres in southern
California as wilderness to be administered primarily by
the BLM within the United States Department of the Interior
and designated an additional four million acres in southern
California to be included in the national park system. The
purpose of the CDPA is to preserve areas in the California
desert to protect its natural, cultural, scenic and
historical values and to provide for public enjoyment.
The boundaries of the CDPA encompass over 200,000 acres of
school lands. Although the CDPA authorizes BLM to exchange
school land within the CDPA area for federal lands outside
the CDPA area, little land has been exchanged. Some
observers believe the main impediments to exchange are the
land appraisal process (the School Land Bank Act requires
SLC to exchange school land only for land that that is
equal to or greater than the fair market value of the
school land) and a reluctance by BLM to offer for exchange
lands that may generate revenue.
3)Support . This bill is supported by Bright Source Energy
(sponsor), a designer, developer and seller of thermal solar
energy systems.
4)There is no formal opposition registered to this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081