BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1656
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Date of Hearing: March 26, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 1656 (Fong) - As Introduced: February 13, 2012
SUBJECT : San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority
SUMMARY : Expands the jurisdiction of the East Bay
representative on the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority
(Authority); expands project eligibility to include the San
Francisco Bay Area (Bay Area); extends the sunset date for the
Authority from 2029 to 2036.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines "San Francisco Bay" as "all areas that are subject to
tidal action from the south end of the bay to the Golden Gate
(Point Bonita-Point Lobos) and to the Sacramento River line (a
line between Stake Point and Simmons Point, extended
northeasterly to the mouth of Marshall Cut), including all
sloughs, and specifically, the marshlands lying between mean
high tide and five feet above mean sea level; tidelands (land
lying below mean low tide)."
2)Defines "San Francisco Bay Area" as "the area within the State
Coastal Conservancy's San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy
Program," as specified, and "includes the Counties of Alameda,
Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa
Clara, Solano, and Sonoma."
3)Establishes the Authority to raise and allocate resources for
the restoration, enhancement, protection, and enjoyment of
wetlands and wildlife habitats in the San Francisco Bay and
along its shoreline; specifies that its jurisdiction extends
throughout the Bay Area.
4)Establishes a governing board for the Authority composed of
seven members, to be appointed by the Association of Bay Area
Governments:
a) One member, who serves as chair, must be a resident of
the Bay Area with expertise in the implementation of the
San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program;
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b) One member who is an elected official of a bayside city
or county in the North Bay, as defined;
c) One member who is an elected official of a bayside city
or county in the East Bay, as defined;
d) One member who is an elected official of a bayside city
or county in the South Bay, as defined;
e) One member who is an elected official of a bayside city
or county in the West Bay, as defined;
f) Two members who are elected officials of a bayside city
or county or regional park district, regional open-space
district, or regional park and open-space district, as
specified.
5)Authorizes the Authority to raise funding through a broad
array of measures, including levying a special tax, benefit
assessment, or property-related fee; pursuing grant funding;
issuing revenue bonds; and incurring bond indebtedness.
Specifies that the principal and interest of any bond
indebtedness be repaid before January 1, 2029.
6)Specifies that an eligible project shall do at least one of
the following:
a) Restore, protect, or enhance tidal wetlands, managed
ponds, or natural habitats on the San Francisco Bay
shoreline;
b) Build or enhance shoreline levees or other flood
management features that are part of a project to restore,
enhance, or protect the lands in (a);
c) Provide or improve public access or recreational
amenities that are part of a project to restore, enhance,
or protect the lands in (a);
7)Requires regular auditing of the Authority's accounts and
records. Requires the board to provide annual financial
reports.
8)Sunsets the Authority on January 1, 2029.
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THIS BILL :
1)Expands the jurisdiction of the board member from the East Bay
to include all of Contra Costa County (currently limited to
the area west of the City of Pittsburg).
2)Expands project eligibility to include projects within all of
the Bay Area, rather than only the San Francisco Bay
shoreline, as defined.
3)Extends the sunset for the Authority to January 1, 2036.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The San Francisco Bay is the second largest in the
nation and perhaps the most biologically significant estuary on
the Pacific Coast. Approximately 500 species of fish and
wildlife call it home, 128 of them threatened or endangered like
the California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse. The
Bay has also suffered what is likely the most extensive
degradation of any estuary in the U.S. Many years of filling,
pollution, and alien species invasions have taken a great toll
on the ecosystem. Today, only 20 percent of the Bay's original
tidal marshes and wetlands remain. Despite these losses,
however--or perhaps because of them--the Bay is now a major
center for a vibrant habitat restoration movement.
The Authority was established by Chapter 690, Statutes of 2008,
AB 2954 (Lieber) to restore shoreline wetland habitat around the
San Francisco Bay. In 2007, Save the Bay released a report
proposing a broad framework to achieve a goal of 100,000
cumulative acres of wetlands in the Bay. The report estimated
costs of about $1.43 billion over 50 years to restore, monitor,
and maintain approximately 36,000 acres of wetlands that have
already been acquired, not including the costs of acquiring and
restoring an additional 22,912 acres. AB 2954 implemented this
recommendation.
Previously, the Legislature created the San Francisco Bay Area
Conservancy Program in 1997 within the State Coastal
Conservancy. Since then, it has helped develop and fund over
425 restoration and other projects, urban and rural, large and
small, in Bay and Delta waters, in streams and on land. The
Program has lead or facilitated the restoration planning for
four of the largest restoration projects in the Bay totaling
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over 26,000 acres and at a cost of over $1.2 billion.
According to the sponsor, current statute specifies that the
Authority's jurisdiction includes the entire San Francisco Bay
Area, including Contra Costa County. However, the East Bay seat
on the governing board excludes the eastern portion of the
county. This bill expands the jurisdiction of the East Bay
board member to include all of Contra Costa County.
This bill also expands the eastern boundary for eligible
projects to include all of the Bay-related shoreline in Solano
and Contra Costa counties. The author states that important Bay
restoration opportunities have been identified on the eastern
Solano and Contra Costa county shorelines. The committee may
wish to amend a related provision for consistency, to read:
66704.5 (a) The authority may raise funds and award grants
to public and private entities, including, but not limited
to, owners or operators of San Francisco Bay shoreline
parcels in the San Francisco Bay Area , for eligible
projects in the counties within the authority's
jurisdiction.
Additionally, this bill extends the sunset date for the
Authority from 2029 to 2036. The sponsor indicates that revenue
for restoration project is not expected prior to 2015, and
possibly as late as 2017, depending on when a ballot measure
passes. Funding from a ballot measure would continue to come in
for 10 years. The committee may wish to consider if extending
the sunset is premature, as the current sunset is 17 years in
the future and it is impossible to predict when, or if, a ballot
measure will provide funding.
This bill is dual referred and will be heard in the Local
Government Committee should it pass out of Natural Resources.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority (sponsor)
Save Mount Diablo
Save the Bay
Opposition
AB 1656
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None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092