BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1025|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1025
Author: Skinner (D), et al.
Amended: 8/22/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMM. : 13-0, 6/28/11
AYES: Wright, Anderson, Berryhill, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, De Le�n, Evans, Hernandez, Padilla, Strickland,
Wyland, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 8/15/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley,
Price, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/12/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Harbors and ports: inland pilots
SOURCE : Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
San Francisco Bar Pilots
DIGEST : This bill 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 (Board) assistant
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director be appointed by the Secretary of Business,
Transportation and Housing, instead of the Governor, and
the assistant director to serve in a career executive
assignment at the pleasure of the Secretary, (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,
and (4) authorizes the Board 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.
ANALYSIS : 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
seven 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
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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,
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.
This bill 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 the assistant director serve in a
career executive assignment at the pleasure of the
Secretary.
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.
4. Authorizes the Board 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.
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5. Makes other minor, technical and code maintenance
changes.
Background
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
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.
Prior Legislation
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AB 1888 (Ma) Chapter 455, Statutes of 2010, revises 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 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, establishes 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. Specifically,
injects 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, directs the Bureau of State Audits to
conduct a comprehensive performance and financial audit of
the Board.
SB 1217 (Yee) Chapter 568, Statutes of 2008, requires the
Board to appoint a physician or physicians who are
qualified to determine the suitability of a person to
perform his/her duties as a pilot, an inland pilot, or a
pilot trainee in accordance with specified requirements.
Also, requires 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
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minor change to an existing provision of law relative to
representation on the Board 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.
SB 1353 (Perata) Chapter 765, Statutes of 2002.,
establishes 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, allows
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, makes
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, codifies
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
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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, changes the schedule
of pilotage fees for ship movements and internal
operations, as specified.
SB 2068 (Johnston) Chapter 385, Statutes of 1994, ncreases
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, increases
the rate of the additional pilotage charge from 60.56 mills
per high gross registered ton to 60.70 mills. Also,
includes 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, increases
pilotage rates and pension benefits, as specified.
AB 2027 (Felando) 1983 Session, 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)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/23/11)
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (co-source)
San Francisco Bar Pilots (co-source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
this bill 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 bill also proposes to change the appointing authority
from the Governor to the Secretary of 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 this bill believe it makes sense to have the
Secretary make the appointment rather than the appointment
coming from the Governor's Office.
Additionally, this bill 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 bill 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.
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/12/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Gatto, Gordon, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen,
Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Valadao, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bradford, Cedillo, Donnelly, Garrick,
Gorell, Grove, Halderman, Mansoor, Portantino, Torres
PQ:do 8/23/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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