BILL NUMBER: AB 1916	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 9, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Buchanan

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2012

   An act to add Section 5080.36.2 to the Public Resources Code,
relating to state parks.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1916, as amended, Buchanan. State parks: operating agreements:
 Mt.   Mount  Diablo State Park.
   Existing law vests with the Department of Parks and Recreation
control of the state park system. Existing law authorizes the
department to enter into an agreement with an agency of the United
States, including a city, county, district, or other public agency,
or any combination thereof, for the care, maintenance,
administration, and control of lands of the state park system.
   This bill would authorize the department to enter into an
operating agreement with Save Mount Diablo (SMD), a nonprofit
organization, for the restoration of the beacon on top of the Summit
Building in Mount Diablo State Park, and would require that the
agreement comply with specified requirements.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The California state park system was created for the purposes
of preserving outstanding natural, scenic, and cultural values,
including the historic significance of units of the state park
system.
   (b)  Mt.   Mount  Diablo State Park is
one of the oldest parks in the state park system. The park was
created by legislation and dedicated in 1921, and rededicated again
in 1931, at the time the park's first parcels of land were acquired.
   (c) The annual budget for the state park system, as a whole, has
been inadequate to maintain the existing units of the system, and the
ongoing shortfall has caused a backlog of deferred maintenance at
the parks.
   (d) The "Eye of Diablo" Beacon sits atop Mount Diablo. It was
originally installed in 1928 by Standard Oil of California on a steel
tower, approximately 75 feet west of its current location. The "Eye
of Diablo" Beacon was originally intended to serve as an aid to
aerial navigation. Using a remote switch from Denver, Colorado,
Colonel Charles Lindbergh simultaneously lit the "Eye of Diablo"
Beacon and a similar beacon located near Los Angeles on October 14,
1928.
   (e) The Visitor's Center Building at  Mt.  
Mount  Diablo State Park was constructed from 1939 to 1942,
inclusive, by the Diablo Conservation Corps, a part of the Civilian
Conservation Corps. The building was designed specifically to
accommodate the beacon atop the tower of the building, and the beacon
was relocated to that location. The beacon was turned off on
December 8, 1941, on the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, in
observance of the West Coast blackout and in recognition of the fear
of Japan's attack on the United States coast. In 1964, a group of
local engineers restored the beacon to operating condition, and on
December 7, 1964, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz pressed the switch to
relight the beacon to commemorate the survivors of the bombing of
Pearl Harbor. The beacon is only lighted on December 7th (Pearl
Harbor Day) for this purpose.
   (f) In 1971, Save Mount Diablo (SMD) was incorporated as a
nonprofit 501(c) organization, dedicated to preserving Mount Diablo's
peaks, and the surrounding foothills and watersheds, through land
acquisition and preservation strategies designed to protect the
mountain's natural beauty, biological diversity, and historic and
agricultural heritage, to enhance the area's quality of life, and to
provide recreational opportunities consistent with protection of
natural resources.
   (g) Save Mount Diablo is a cosponsor for the annual lighting of
the beacon each Pearl Harbor Day.
   (h) The annual lighting of the Mount Diablo Beacon is an important
reminder of a significant time in our history, and should be
restored and kept operational.
  SEC. 2.  Section 5080.36.2 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:
   5080.36.2.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,
the department may enter into an operating agreement with Save Mount
Diablo (SMD), a nonprofit organization, for the restoration of the
Mount Diablo Beacon on top of the Summit Building in Mount Diablo
State Park. The agreement shall include, but is not limited to, all
of the following:
   (a) The Diablo Vista District Superintendent for the department
shall provide or appoint a person to liaison with the department, the
SMD, and  the  public.
   (b) The operating agreement shall follow the United States
Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic
Properties guidelines and the guidelines set forth by the American
Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. The
operating agreement shall also comply with any applicable code of
ethics or Guidelines for Practice governing the rehabilitation and
preservation of historical sites and buildings. All plans for the
work, the work in process, and the finished work shall be audited by
a conservator company pursuant to a contract with the company.
   (c) Save Mount Diablo shall submit a draft of the operating
agreement to the Diablo Vista District Superintendent for comment,
amendment, and approval. Representatives of both the department and
SMD shall be signatories to the agreement.
   (4) All costs of the restoration of the Mount Diablo Beacon shall
be incurred under the authority of, and be the responsibility of,
SMD. 
   (d) The operating agreement that the department is authorized to
enter into with SMD pursuant to subdivision (a) is intended to cover
restoration work performed primarily by volunteers. However, nothing
in this section shall preclude SMD from contracting for work
performed by an individual or entity on a paid or for-profit basis.

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