BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2082
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Date of Hearing: May 9, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2082 (Atkins) - As Amended: April 19, 2012
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:6-2
Judiciary 8-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the State Lands Commission (SLC) to impose
penalties against a person who builds or places a structure on
land under SLC jurisdiction without first obtaining all
necessary approvals from the commission. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Authorizes the commission to impose a penalty, not to exceed
$1,000 a day or an amount that is not more than 60% higher
than the full fair market rental for each month that a
violation occurs, against a person who constructs, places,
maintains, owns, uses, or possesses a structure or facility on
land that is under the commission's jurisdiction and that is
owned by the state without first obtaining all necessary
easements, leases, or permits from the commission.
2)Authorizes the commission to enjoin a person from continuing a
violation described above and to order such a person to remove
the violating structure at the owner's expense.
3)Requires the commission, before it issues a penalty described
above, to first provide written notice to the person against
whom the commission seeks to impose the penalty, sent at least
30 days before the date set for conducting a hearing to set a
penalty for the violation.
4)Excuses from penalty a person who remedies the violation
before July 1, 2013, or who sends notice to the commission of
a potential violation and remedies the violation or submits to
the commission a completed lease application, including the
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payment of all fees and costs.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor costs to the commission to assess and levy penalties,
likely more than offset by a reduction in commission staff
time spent preparing civil action requests to the Attorney
General (AG) and in staff time of the AG in carrying out such
requests. In recent years, SLC has estimated these cases to
have required 3,500 hours of the AG's time at a cost of
$585,000.
2)Potential revenue of an unknown amount from increased lease
revenue on land under SLC jurisdiction resulting from improved
enforcement and deterrence brought about by this bill (GF).
3)Potential savings of an unknown amount to SLC and AG resulting
from reduced violations and ensuing enforcement actions (GF).
COMMENTS
1)Rationale. The author intends this bill to provide a more
effective and less costly means for the commission to enforce
restrictions on use of state lands.
2)Background. The public trust doctrine holds that tide and
submerged lands and the beds of lakes, streams, and other
navigable waterways are "public trust lands" held by the state
for the benefit of the people of California. These lands are
to promote the public's interest in water or water-dependent
activities such as commerce, navigation, fisheries,
environmental preservation and recreation. SLC, within the
Natural Resources Agency, is the steward of the state's public
trust lands.
SLC frequently encounters occurrences of trespass on state
lands, which typically involve construction, placement,
maintenance, ownership, use or possession of a structure on
state lands without proper authorization from the commission.
Existing law limits SLC options in such cases to asking
assistance from the AG in filing a civil action against the
trespasser to seek compensation for the use of state lands, or
an order for a structure to be removed, or both. Existing law
provides no monetary penalties for such violations and
potential damages are limited to an amount roughly equal to
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the cost of compliance, such as paying back rent.
SLC reports that its remedies to trespass violations are
costly and often ineffective.
3)Related Legislation. AB 2664 (Chesbro, 2012) contained
provisions similar to this bill and was vetoed. The governor
expressed due process concerns.
4)Support . This bill is supported by the State Lands Commission
(sponsor).
5)There is no opposition formally registered to this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081