BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1916
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared Huffman, Chair
AB 1916 (Buchanan) - As Amended: April 9, 2012
SUBJECT : State Parks; Mount Diablo State Park
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR)
to enter into an operating agreement with a nonprofit
organization for the restoration of the beacon on top of the
summit building in Mount Diablo State Park. Specifically, this
bill :
1)States legislative findings and declarations regarding the
historical significance of Mt. Diablo State Park, in
particular the role of the beacon at the summit in the history
of aerial navigation and in commemorating the attack on Pearl
Harbor.
2)Authorizes DPR to enter into an operating agreement with Save
Mount Diablo, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving
Mount Diablo, for the restoration of the Mount Diablo Beacon
on top of the Summit Building in Mount Diablo State Park.
3)Requires that the operating agreement include specified
provisions, including a requirement for DPR to provide a
person to serve as a liaison with DPR, Save Mount Diablo and
the public; a requirement that the restoration follow
specified standards for rehabilitation and preservation of
historical properties; and a requirement that the plans and
work be audited by a conservator company. Requires that Save
Mount Diablo submit a draft of the operating agreement to the
Diablo Vista District Superintendent for comment, amendment
and approval, and that the operating agreement be signed by
DPR and Save Mount Diablo.
4)Requires that all costs of restoration of the beacon shall be
the responsibility of Save Mount Diablo.
5)Provides that the operating agreement DPR is authorized to
enter into with Save Mount Diablo is intended to cover work
performed primarily by volunteers, but that nothing in this
bill shall preclude Save Mount Diablo from contracting for
work performed by an individual or entity on a paid or
AB 1916
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for-profit basis.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes DPR to enter into operating agreements with
nonprofit organizations to operate a unit or units of the
state park system if the agreement will enable the state to
keep open a state park that would otherwise be subject to
closure.
2)Authorizes DPR to accept funds from any person or organization
for maintenance and operation, on a nonprofit basis, of a
state park unit or facility. Authorizes DPR to enter into
agreements to accept services for the repair or enhancement of
a state park unit or facility.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill authorizes DPR to enter into an operating
agreement with a nonprofit group called Save Mount Diablo which
is interested in paying for the restoration of an historical
beacon at the summit of Mount Diablo inside the state park. As
the legislative findings in this bill explain, the Mount Diablo
beacon has an interesting history, including the fact that it
was lit remotely by Charles Lindbergh in 1928, and was turned
off on December 8, 1941, 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 California
Coast. The beacon is now relit just once a year on Pearl Harbor
Day. Save Mount Diablo is a cosponsor of the annual lighting
ceremony and is interested in paying for the costs of
restoration.
While this is a worthy project, it is not clear that authority
to enter into an operating agreement is necessary for this
project to move forward, or that an operating agreement is
necessarily the right vehicle. Based on the information
provided by the author it appears that the nonprofit group in
this instance is not interested in operating the state park but
in paying for the cost of restoring the historic beacon.
Further, it is unclear whether it is necessary that all of the
specific details regarding what is required to be included in
the agreement be specified in statute. The Committee and the
author therefore may wish to consider amendments to this bill
that would rewrite Section 2 of the bill to read as follows:
AB 1916
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"5080.36.2 . (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
article, the department may enter into a an operating
restoration agreement with Save Mount Diablo (SMD) , a nonprofit
organization, for the purpose of restoring 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 (1) A requirement that the operating restoration
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.
(c) (2) A requirement that t he 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.
(d) 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 ) (3) All costs of the restoration of the Mount Diablo
Beacon shall be incurred under the authority of, and by the
responsibility of, SMD Save Mount Diablo ."
( d b ) The operating restoration agreement that the
department is authorized to enter into with SMD Save Mount
Diablo pursuant to subdivision (a) is intended to cover
restoration work performed primarily by volunteers.
However, nothing in this section shall preclude SMD Save
Mount Diablo from contracting for work performed by an
individual or entity on a paid for or for-profit basis.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AB 1916
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Bob Simmons, Mayor, City of Walnut Creek
Contra Costa County Historical Society
East Bay Regional Park District
Honorary Members of Pearl Harbor Survivors
Karen Mitchoff, Member, Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Mary Nejedly Piepho, Chair, Contra Costa County Board of
Supervisors
Pearl Harbor Survivors
Phil O'Lane, Member, San Ramon City Council
Save Mount Diablo
Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors
Susan Bonilla, Assemblywoman, Eleventh Assembly District
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096