BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1656
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1656 (Fong)
As Amended July 3, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |51-25|(May 29, 2012) |SENATE: |23-13|(August 27, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY : Expands the jurisdiction of the East Bay representative on
the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority (Authority). This bill
also expands project eligibility under the San Francisco Bay
Restoration Authority Act (Act) to include the San Francisco Bay
Area (Bay Area).
The Senate amendments exclude the Delta primary zone from
eligibility for restoration projects under the Act and remove a
provision that extended the sunset on the Authority from 2029 to
2036.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Under the Act:
a) 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);"
b) 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;"
c) 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
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along its shoreline; specifies that its jurisdiction extends
throughout the Bay Area;
d) Establishes a governing board for the Authority composed of
seven members, to be appointed by the Association of Bay Area
Governments:
i) 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;
ii) One member who is an elected official of a bayside city
or county in the North Bay, as defined;
iii) One member who is an elected official of a bayside city
or county in the East Bay, as defined;
iv) One member who is an elected official of a bayside city
or county in the South Bay, as defined;
v) One member who is an elected official of a bayside city
or county in the West Bay, as defined; and,
vi) 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.
e) 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 must be repaid before January 1, 2029;
f) Specifies that an eligible project shall do at least one of
the following:
i) Restore, protect, or enhance tidal wetlands, managed
ponds, or natural habitats on the San Francisco Bay
shoreline;
ii) 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); or,
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iii) Provide or improve public access or recreational
amenities that are part of a project to restore, enhance, or
protect the lands in a).
g) Requires regular auditing of the Authority's accounts and
records. Requires the board to provide annual financial
reports; and,
h) Sunsets the Authority on January 1, 2029.
2)Defines "Delta primary zone" to mean the delta land and water area
of primary state concern and statewide significance that is
situated within the boundaries of the delta, but that is not
within either the urban limit line or sphere of influence line of
any local government's general plan or currently existing studies,
as of January 1, 1992. The precise boundary lines of the primary
zone includes the land and water areas as shown on the map titled
"Delta Protection Zones" on file with the State Lands Commission.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Expanded 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)Expanded project eligibility to include projects within all of the
Bay Area, rather than only the San Francisco Bay shoreline, as
defined.
3)Extended the sunset for the Authority to January 1, 2036.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
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% 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.
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The Authority was established by AB 2954 (Lieber), Chapter 690,
Statutes of 2008, 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 (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 led
or facilitated the restoration planning for four of the largest
restoration projects in the Bay totaling 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN:
0004447