BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 982
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 982 (Skinner)
As Amended August 30, 2011
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 31, 2011) |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 31, |
| | | | | |2011) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY : Requires the State Lands Commission (SLC) to enter into a
memorandum of agreement (MOA) by April 1, 2012, with the United
States Secretary of the Interior to facilitate land exchanges that
consolidate state "school lands" in the California desert into
contiguous holdings that are suitable for large-scale renewable
energy-related projects. Requires SLC to submit a land exchange
proposal within 240 days of the execution of the MOA.
The Senate amendments :
1) Delete the word "commercial" wherever "large scale commercial
renewable energy projects" is referenced in the bill.
2) Delete the word "all" from the requirement that SLC "prepare and
submit to the United States Secretary of the Interior a proposal
for land exchanges that consolidate all school land parcels in
the California Desert?"
3) Authorize SLC to propose a value-for-value exchange if the
federal government is not authorized to enter into an
acre-for-acre exchange.
4) Delete the requirement that SLC consult with the State Energy
Resources Conservation and Development Commission to identify
areas that are best suited for renewable energy projects.
5) Delete the provisions regarding the Department of Fish and Game,
and instead require SLC to consult with the Department of Fish
and Game to identify areas in the California desert that would be
consistent with the proposed or adopted provisions of the Desert
Renewable Energy Conservation Plan and are either of the
following:
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a) Suitable for renewable energy projects because the
identified areas do not support habitat or habitat corridor
values for species listed as threatened, endangered, or
candidate species pursuant to the California Endangered Species
Act or the federal Endangered Species Act, that, in the
judgment of the Department of Fish and Game, are sufficient to
warrant consideration of their designation as a mitigation or
conservation area for these species; or,
b) Suitable as potential mitigation areas to mitigate the
impacts that renewable energy-related projects may have on the
environment.
6) Require a portion of the revenue generated from renewable energy
leases be made available to SLC, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to cover SLC's costs attributable to the land
exchange process.
7) Clarify that the existing exemptions in the School Land Bank Act
regarding the California Environmental Quality Act, Subdivision
Map Act, and Property Acquisition Law do not apply to the
provisions regarding land exchanges for renewable energy-related
projects.
8) Make minor, technical changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Grants administrative control of school lands to SLC. School
lands are lands granted to the state from the federal government
and held in trust to generate revenues that benefit public
schools.
2)Authorizes SLC to take all action necessary to fully develop
school lands into a permanent and productive resource base for the
benefit of the California State Teachers' Retirement System
(CalSTRS).
3)Declares that the consolidation of school land parcels into
contiguous holdings is essential to sound and effective management
of school lands.
4)Establishes the School Land Bank Fund (SLBF), which SLC may use to
invest in real property with the objective of facilitating
management of school lands for the purpose of generating revenue.
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SLC may also use the SLBF to pay for costs and expenses
attributable to land acquisitions.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Required SLC to make best efforts to enter into a MOA by April 1,
2012, with the United States (U.S.) Secretary of the Interior to
facilitate land exchanges that consolidate school land parcels
into contiguous holdings that are suitable for renewable
energy-related projects. The MOA shall be tailored, to the extent
feasible, to prioritize; and, exchanges that are best suited for
large-scale commercial renewable energy projects.
2)Required that within 240 days of the execution of the MOA, SLC
shall prepare and submit to the United States Secretary of the
Interior a proposal for land exchanges that consolidate all school
land parcels in the California desert into contiguous holdings
that are suitable for renewable energy-related projects.
3)Required SLC, in developing the land exchange proposal, to give
priority to land exchanges that will facilitate the development of
large-scale commercial renewable energy projects.
4)Required the land exchange proposal to be based on an
acre-for-acre exchange with the U.S. unless SLC reasonably
believes, based on existing and reliable information, that an
acre-for-acre exchange would not provide the state with
compensation that is equal to or greater than fair market value.
5)Required SLC to consult with the California Energy Commission
(CEC) to identify areas that are best suited for renewable energy
projects.
6)Required SLC to consult with the Department of Fish and Game (DFG)
to obtain information regarding sensitive environmental habitat
and potential mitigation areas in the California desert.
7)Required SLC to report to the Legislature by January 1st of each
year on the status of the MOA and school land consolidation
efforts in the California desert.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
1)Land exchange negotiating costs of $450,000 in 2011-12 and
$900,000 in 2012-13 from the School Land Bank Fund.
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2)Unknown lease revenues, potentially up to $10 million per year to
the State Treasury to the credit of the Teachers' Retirement Fund.
COMMENTS : On March 3, 1853, Congress granted the 16th and 36th
section of each township in California to the state for public
school purposes. These lands are referred to as "school lands."
For lands that were already reserved for public use or taken by
private land claims in 1853, the state was given the opportunity to
select replacement lands. Overall, the state received almost 5.5
million acres of school lands as a result of this congressional
action.
A township is 36 square miles, containing 36 sections. Each section
within a township is one square mile or 640 acres. Because Congress
granted the 16th and 36th section of each township to the state,
school lands are generally scattered throughout the state in a
checkerboard pattern.
Over time, the state sold several millions of acres of school lands.
The revenue from these lands should have been reinvested to provide
fiscal support for the public school system, but much of it remained
unused in the SLBF. In 1984, through the School Land Bank Act
(commencing with Public Resources Code Section 8700), the
Legislature put an end to school land sales and declared that "it is
essential that all remaining school lands and attendant interests be
managed and enhanced to provide an economic base for support of the
public school system." Unfortunately, most of the state's valuable
school lands were already sold. The school lands that remained were
mostly desert and forest lands with little value for revenue
generating purposes. 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 generally landlocked, remote, and non-revenue generating.
Under the School Land Bank Act, the Legislature directed SLC to take
all action necessary to fully develop school lands into a permanent
and productive revenue source. Revenues generated from school lands
(i.e. rent and royalties) are deposited in the State Treasury to the
credit of the Teachers' Retirement Fund. The money collected from
the Pre-1984 sale of school lands was deposited into the SLBF. SLC
is required to use SLBF money to make investments that produce
revenue for CalSTRS. In 2008, the state borrowed $59 million from
the SLBF to deal with the state's budget issues. The loan is
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technically scheduled to be paid back into the fund by fiscal year
2012-2013.
On October 31, 1994, Senator Diane Feinstein's California Desert
Protection Act (CDPA) was signed into law (Public Law 103-433). The
CDPA designated 3.6 million acres in southern California as
wilderness to be administered primarily by the Bureau of Land
Management (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. Four hundred forty-two parcels
(approximately 251,000 acres) of fee-owned school lands and more
than 100 parcels encumbered by the state's reservation of mineral
interests were initially identified to be within the boundaries of
the CDPA.
The CDPA authorizes BLM to enter into land exchanges with SLC. The
CDPA envisioned BLM acquiring school lands located within federal
protection areas in exchange for other federal lands located outside
of these areas. BLM and SLC entered into several MOAs during the
1990s to facilitate these land exchanges. To date, there have been
five CDPA land exchange transactions that have resulted in the
transfer of more than 66,000 acres of school lands to the BLM. Two
major reasons why more land exchanges have not taken place are (1)
the appraisal process is time consuming, contentious, and expensive,
and (2) BLM has generally not been willing to offer lands that have
revenue generating potential.
There are large sections of the desert that are optimal for
large-scale renewable energy related projects. Renewable energy
developers are interested in leasing desert school lands for their
projects, but school lands are generally scattered across the desert
in 640 acre sections-large-scale renewable energy projects generally
require thousands of acres. Several school land parcels are
surrounded by BLM lands that are not protected by the CDPA. Land
exchanges with BLM could consolidate school land parcels into large
contiguous holdings that would be useful for substantial renewable
energy development.
This bill requires SLC to enter into an MOA with the Secretary of
the Interior-contingent on the cooperation of the Secretary-to
facilitate land exchanges that consolidate school land parcels into
contiguous holdings that are suitable for renewable energy related
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projects. The Secretary of the Interior is currently authorized to
enter into an MOA with SLC pursuant to the CDPA; however, there is
no current MOA between the parties that focuses on renewable energy
related projects. If an MOA is entered into for purposes related to
this bill, SLC will be required to prepare and submit a proposal to
consolidate school land parcels in the California desert into
contiguous holdings for renewable energy related projects. To avoid
the issues associated with appraisals, the bill authorizes an
acre-for-acre exchange unless SLC reasonably believes, based on
existing and reliable information, that an acre-for-acre exchange
would not provide the state with compensation that is equal to or
greater than the fair market value of a parcel . Additionally, SLC
will be required to work DFG to establish a state coordinated effort
to obtain desert lands that are optimal for renewable energy
projects without significantly impacting the environment.
This bill requires the federal government's cooperation. Senator
Diane Feinstein has introduced the California Desert Protection Act
of 2011 that includes provisions to facilitate land exchanges
between SLC and BLM for renewable energy related projects.
Additionally, there appears to be an increased willingness on the
part of BLM to engage in a land exchange process with SLC that will
help achieve the goals of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN: 0002591