BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2170
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 16, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    AB 2170 (Chesbro) - As Amended:  May 2, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              Natural 
          ResourcesVote:8-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection to 
          adopt, by January 1, 2014, regulations to provide an appeal 
          process when the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal 
          Fire) cancels a previously approved nonindustrial timber 
          management plan.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          One-time costs in the range of $40,000 to $100,000 to the board 
          during 2012-13 and 2013-14 to adopt regulations (General Fund 
          and special funds).

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  The author notes that Cal Fire lacks an 
            administrative appeals process for cancellation of a 
            previously approved nonindustrial timber management plan and 
            contends it should have one.

           2)Background  .  The Forest Practices Act of 1973 requires logging 
            operations to comply with an approved timber harvest plan 
            (THP)-a document that describes the proposed logging operation 
            and actions the logger will undertake to prevent environmental 
            damage or mitigation measures to compensate for such damage. A 
            THP must be approved by the Department of Forestry and Fire 
            Protection (Calfire) and reviewed by several other state 
            agencies-the Department of Conservation, the State Water 
            Resources Control Board and the Department of Fish and Game 
            (DFG). An approved THP is considered "functionally equivalent" 
            under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), meaning 








                                                                  AB 2170
                                                                  Page  2

            timber harvesting consistent with an approved THP is not 
            subject to an environmental impact report under CEQA. 

            A nonindustrial timber management plan is an alternative to a 
            THP that may be prepared by a landowner of no more than 2,500 
            acres to allow long-term approval of timber harvesting.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081