BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2169
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 9, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                AB 2169 (Chesbro) - As Introduced:  February 23, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Business and 
          Professions  Vote:                            7-1
                        Natural Resources                     5-3

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill exempts land acquisitions made under the California 
          Forest Legacy Program (FLP) from the requirement that all land 
          and real property, with certain specified exceptions, be 
          acquired by the State Public Works Board (PWB).

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor administrative cost savings. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background  .  SB 1832 (Chesbro) of 2000 established the FLP, 
            which is intended to protect environmentally important 
            forestland threatened with conversion to non-forest uses, such 
            as subdivision for residential or commercial development. The 
            program is entirely voluntary.  Landowners wishing to 
            participate may sell or transfer particular rights, such as 
            the right to develop the property or to allow public access, 
            while retaining ownership of the property and the right to use 
            it in any way consistent with the terms of the easement. The 
            agency or organization holding the easement is responsible for 
            managing the rights it acquires and for monitoring compliance 
            by the landowner.  

           2)Purpose  . The FLP authorizes the Wildlife Conservation Board 
            (WCB) to administer the purchase of conservation easements on 
            behalf of CalFire. Up until 2011, the FLP was executed without 
            requiring the PWB's review.  Last year, however, a question 
            arose as to whether the Property Acquisition Law (PAL) should 








                                                                  AB 2169
                                                                  Page  2

            apply to FLP, thus requiring the PWB to acquire property.  
            (The WCB is expressly exempted from the PAL, but CalFire is 
            not.)  Since CalFire is the agency receiving the conservation 
            easements under the FLP, the PWB started to review FLP 
            transactions following the WCB's review, thus adding time and 
            costs to the FLP process. AB 2169 exempts any FLP land 
            acquisitions from the PWB process.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081