BILL ANALYSIS �
Bill No: AB
1025
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Roderick D. Wright, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
Staff Analysis
AB 1025 Author: Skinner
As Amended: April 13, 2011
Hearing Date: June 28, 2011
Consultant: Art Terzakis
SUBJECT
Bays of Monterey, San Francisco, San Pablo & Suisun: bar
pilots
DESCRIPTION
AB 1025 makes the following substantive changes to existing
provisions of the Harbors and Navigation Code relating to
bar pilotage in Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco,
San Pablo and Suisun:
1. Modifies the definition of "inland pilot" to mean a
person holding an inland pilot license prior to
January 1, 2011 and deletes all references to inland
pilots.
2. Requires that the Board of Pilot Commissioner's
assistant director be appointed by the Secretary of
Business, Transportation and Housing (BT&H), instead
of the Governor, and serve at the pleasure of the
Secretary, as a "career executive."
3. Recasts certain provisions relating to violations
of safety standards to require the executive director
instead of an assigned commission investigator to
perform investigations, make findings and
recommendations and report to the Board of Pilot
Commissioners.
AB 1025 (Skinner) continued
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4. Authorizes the Board of Pilot Commissioners to
charge an examination fee, in an amount established by
the board and not to exceed the board's costs to
administer the exam, to each applicant to the pilot
trainee training program who participates in any
written or simulation examination for the purposes of
determining admission to the program.
5. Makes other minor, technical and code maintenance
changes.
EXISTING LAW
Existing law establishes in state government the Board of
Pilot Commissioners, with jurisdiction over Monterey Bay
and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun.
Existing law directs the Board to regulate pilotage and
provides for the licensing, regulation, and management of
pilots in these Bays. The Board consists of 7 members
appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate,
as follows: (1) two members must be licensed pilots; (2)
two members must represent the industry and be substantial
users of Monterey Bay and any of the waters of the Bays of
San Francisco, San Pablo, or Suisun; and, (3) three must be
"public" members. Additionally, the Secretary of Business,
Transportation & Housing Agency serves ex officio.
Existing law requires the Board to adopt a continuing
education program for pilots and inland pilots funded from
fees from the surcharge for each movement of a vessel using
pilot services. Existing law also requires the Board to
adopt training standards and a training program for pilot
trainees.
Existing law requires the executive director of the Board
to assign a commission investigator, if suspected equipment
safety standard violations are reported to the board, to
personally inspect the equipment for its compliance with
the relevant safety standards promulgated by the U.S. Coast
Guard and the International Maritime Organization.
Additionally, existing law requires the commission
investigator to report preliminary conclusions to the
executive director. Furthermore, existing law requires the
commission investigator to submit a report, required to
remain confidential, to an incident review committee and
the committee is required to report its findings, if any,
AB 1025 (Skinner) continued
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to the Board.
Existing law requires the Governor to appoint an assistant
director to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The law
also provides for an executive director (who is appointed
by the Board) and requires that the executive director
assign duties to the assistant director who is responsible
to the executive director for the performance of his/her
duties.
BACKGROUND
Brief Historical Perspective: Bar pilots have been guiding
ships into San Francisco Bay, one of the most treacherous
passages in the world, since at least 1835. The work that
bar pilots performed was so important that one of the first
legislative enactments by the newly formed California
Legislature that met in San Jose in 1850 was to address the
regulation of bar pilots.
California's history of piloting parallels to a large
extent the history of pilotage throughout the United
States. Prior to the American Revolution, pilotage was
regulated by colonial legislatures. They generally
provided for the commissioning of pilots, apprenticeship
requirements to become a pilot, specified the type and size
of pilot boats used in the service, and established fees to
be charged. When the United States Constitution was
adopted, it recognized that pilotage fell within the domain
of the federal government because it involved regulation of
instruments of foreign commerce. One of the first acts of
the newly formed Congress in 1789 was to recognize the
existing state laws regulating pilots and delegate to the
states the authority to continue to regulate pilotage
because of its unique character.
Bar pilots are responsible for steering an arriving vessel
through the Golden Gate of San Francisco Bay, the Bay
waters and adjoining navigable waters, which include San
Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay, the Sacramento River and its
tributaries. When a vessel approaches the "SF" buoy
several miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, a bar pilot
boards the ship and takes navigational control. (Pilots in
San Francisco are called "Bar Pilots" because they board
and disembark ships just beyond a treacherous sand bar
which provides a natural obstacle to shipping.) It becomes
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the pilot's responsibility to guide the ship to its berth.
The bar pilots provide service to all types of vessels,
from 100-foot tugs to 1000-foot supertankers.
Purpose of AB 1025: According to the author's office, this
measure has been introduced to increase the efficiency of
the board's operations. Specifically, the author's office
points out that the board has expressed its frustration
that individuals complete the board's examination process,
which includes navigation simulation and which is free of
charge, in order to gain navigation experience, with no
intention of ever becoming San Francisco Bay pilots. The
board claims that allowing it to charge a fee will not only
discourage disingenuous exam takers but also ensure the
board can cover expenses resulting from administering the
exam.
This measure also proposes to change the appointing
authority from the Governor to the Secretary of the
Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (BT&H) for the
assistant director of the Board. On January 1, 2009, the
Board was moved from an independent entity existing in
state government to be a part of BT&H. The Secretary of
BT&H was added as a non-voting Member of the Board.
Because the Board is now under the aegis of BT&H, the
Secretary is much closer to the administration of the
Board, and thus, for consistency purposes, the author and
co-sponsors of AB 1025 believe it makes sense to have the
Secretary make the appointment rather than the appointment
coming from the Governor's Office.
Additionally, AB 1025 modifies the investigation and
reporting procedure for safety equipment to put the
executive director in the lead position, rather than the
commission investigator.
Furthermore, this measure removes references to "inland
pilot." The author's office states that the last inland
pilot has retired and there is no longer a distinction
between "inland pilot" and "pilot." Accordingly, the term
is now obsolete and unnecessary.
Staff Comments: Prior to 1984, in addition to the bar
pilots, another group of pilots known as "inland pilots"
were employed to moor vessels and guide them through the
narrow channels inside the Bay. At the time, inland pilots
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were not licensed by the state but acted as independent
contractors. Also, there was no requirement that inland
pilots be used. A third group of pilots employed by
company-owned vessels performed the same duties as inland
pilots.
AB 1768 (Papan) Chapter 1653 of 1984 established a unified
system of state regulated bar and inland pilotage for the
Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun. Specifically,
AB 1768 provided that only pilots licensed by the Board of
Pilot Commissioners who are not the master or owner of the
piloted vessel have the right of pilotage between and
within the ports of the bays. At the time, a group of
approximately 10 independent pilots were initially opposed
to AB 1768 on the basis that it would abolish the existing
system of "preferred pilots" in favor of a rotational,
pooling system that would make it more expensive to use
them. AB 1768 granted the inland pilots the opportunity to
be licensed as bar pilots or be grandfathered as inland
pilots with the additional requirement that they seek
license renewal each year and hold an active and proper
license to pilot vessels on the waters on which the pilot
operates - a handful of inland pilots chose to remain
inland pilots. The last of the "inland pilots" recently
retired, thus there is no need for the term "inland pilot"
in statute.
PRIOR/RELATED LEGISLATION
AB 907 (Ma) 2011-12 Session. Would make specified changes
to various provisions of the Harbors and Navigation Code
relating to bar pilotage rates for Monterey Bay and the
Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun. (Pending in
this Committee)
AB 656 (Huber) 2011-12 Session. Would sunset, as of
January 1, 2011, the Board of Pilot Commissioners and
transfer, as of that date, the board's duties to the
Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing.
(Pending in this Committee)
AB 1888 (Ma) Chapter 455, Statutes of 2010. Among other
things, revised the terms for members of the board who are
licensed pilots and members who represent the industry and
exempted from those pilotage fees and surcharges
noncommercial vessels that are maritime academy training
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vessels and vessels owned and operated by nonprofit museums
or foundations. These vessels would be subject to the board
operations surcharge.
SB 300 (Yee) Chapter 497, Statutes of 2009. Established a
surcharge for payment of navigational aids for bar pilots
and revised the pilotage rate based upon the current number
of bar pilots.
SB 1627 (Wiggins) Chapter 567, Statutes of 2008. Made
numerous substantive, clarifying and technical changes to
the body of law relating to the Board of Pilot
Commissioners. Specifically, injected ongoing and
continuous legislative oversight and administrative
responsibility within the existing pilot licensing
framework, without altering the Board, its charge, or
composition and without changing current pilotage rates,
pilot pension benefits, or duties and responsibilities of
current, past or future licensed pilots. Also, directed
the Bureau of State Audits to conduct a comprehensive
performance and financial audit of the Board.
SB 1217 (Yee) Chapter 568, Statutes of 2008. Required the
Board of Pilot Commissioners to appoint a physician or
physicians who are qualified to determine the suitability
of a person to perform his or her duties as a pilot, an
inland pilot, or a pilot trainee in accordance with
specified requirements. Also, required the Board to
terminate a pilot trainee or suspend or revoke the license
of a pilot or an inland pilot who fails to submit the
prescribed medication information required by these
provisions.
AB 852 (Leno) Chapter 129, Statutes of 2005. Among other
things, authorized revenue generated by the pilot boat
surcharge to be used to pay for pilot boat design and
engineering modifications intended to extend the service
life of existing boats, in addition to the existing purpose
of purchasing new pilot boats.
SB 1303 (Torlakson) Chapter 560, Statutes of 2004. Made a
minor change to an existing provision of law relative to
representation on the Board of Pilot Commissioners by
clarifying that the Board's two industry members must be
substantial users of any of the waters of the Bays of San
Francisco, San Pablo, Suisun, or Monterey.
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SB 1353 (Perata) Chapter 765, Statutes of 2002.
Established a schedule of incremental changes (through
January 1, 2006) to the rates and special surcharges that
bar pilots may impose on vessels that move in and out of
the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun.
SB 637 (McPherson) Chapter 177, Statutes of 2001. Allowed
San Francisco bar pilots to pilot commercial vessels
calling on ports in "Monterey Bay" by including Monterey
Bay within the system of state regulated pilotage for the
Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun.
SB 2177 (McPherson) 1999-2000 Session. Would have applied
existing provisions of law relative to the regulation,
licensing, and management of pilots for the Bays of San
Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun to persons who pilot
vessels into or out of the waters of Monterey Bay. (Held
in Assembly policy committee at author's request)
SB 2144 (Perata) Chapter 394, Statutes of 2000. Made
various modifications to provisions of law governing the
licensing of bar pilots.
SB 1109 (Burton) Chapter 786, Statutes of 2000. Among
other things, required a vessel owner and its operators to
defend, indemnify, and hold harmless, a bar pilot from any
liability and expenses in connection with any civil claim
suit as action arising out of the pilot's performance of
the pilotage services, except for acts of willful
misconduct.
AB 951 (Wiggins) Chapter 261, Statutes of 1999. Codified
the agreement on bar pilot rate increases reached between
the San Francisco Bar Pilots and the Pacific Merchant
Shipping Association.
SB 1741 (Johnston) Chapter 1115, Statutes of 1996. Among
other things, established a schedule of bar pilotage rate
increases that were phased in over a three-year period
(1997-99).
SB 496 (M. Thompson) Chapter 711, Statutes of 1995.
Revised the formula the fiduciary uses to calculate the
quarterly adjustment for pilotage rates. Also, changed the
schedule of pilotage fees for ship movements and internal
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operations, as specified.
SB 2068 (Johnston) Chapter 385, Statutes of 1994.
Increased the pilotage rate from 60.70 mills to 64.88 mills
and required the board to temporarily reduce the additional
charge, as specified, if maintenance and repair costs of
two pilot boats are less than $200,000.
SB 238 (Lockyer) Chapter 1192, Statutes of 1993. Increased
the rate of the additional pilotage charge from 60.56 mills
per high gross registered ton to 60.70 mills. Also,
included inland pilots, as defined, in the pension benefit
program.
AB 1768 (Papan) Chapter 1653, Statutes of 1984. Among
other things, established a unified system of state
regulated pilotage whereby inland pilots became members of
the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association and the combined
group assumed joint responsibility for all pilotage moves
on the pilotage grounds (e.g., San Francisco, San Pablo,
and Suisun Bays and all other ports included therein.)
AB 1061 (Agnos) Chapter 1306, Statutes of 1983. Increased
pilotage rates and pension benefits, as specified.
AB 2027 (Felando) 1983 Session. Among other things, would
have created three classes of pilots (pilots, inland
pilots, and company pilots) and would have repealed
existing law relative to the Legislature establishing
pilotage rates. (Held in this Committee at author's
request)
AB 3603 (Brown, W.) 1982 Session. Would have provided a
unified system of state regulated bar and inland pilotage.
(Dropped at author's request in Senate Finance Committee)
SUPPORT: As of June 24, 2011:
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (co-sponsor)
San Francisco Bar Pilots (co-sponsor)
OPPOSE: None on file as of June 24, 2011.
FISCAL COMMITTEE: Senate Appropriations Committee
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