BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 2443 (Williams) - Vessels: registration fee: Quagga and Zebra
Mussel Infestation Prevention Program.
Amended: July 6, 2012 Policy Vote: NR&W 6-1 T&H 6-2
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 6, 2012 Consultant:
Bob Franzoia
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 2443 would impose a vessel registration fee, as
set forth in statute and determined by the Department of Boating
and Waterways. This bill would require funds from the fee to be
used to administer quagga and zebra mussel monitoring,
inspection, and infestation prevention programs.
Fiscal Impact: Estimated revenues of $5.1 million annually to
the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund from new vessel
registration fee.
$75,000 to $150,000 one-time to the Harbors and Watercraft
Revolving Fund to adopt regulations and establish a grant
program, similar annual costs to administer the grant
program.
$271,000 in 2012-13, $113,000 in 2013-14, and $47,000 in
2014-15 from the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund for
the Department of Motor Vehicles to revise vessel
registration fee collection systems.
$410,000 annually from the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving
Fund to the Department of Fish and Game to implement a
quagga and zebra mussel prevention plan.
Up to $4.2 million annually from the Harbors and Watercraft
Revolving Fund to the department for local grants to fund
infestation prevention programs.
Background: As noted by the Natural Resources and Water
Committee, quagga and zebra mussels are prolific breeders, can
spread rapidly, and can adapt to a wide variety of aquatic
environments. The mussels can move downstream with the flow of
water, and attach to any hard object. Transport by people is
the primary method the mussels are spread to unconnected waters;
mussels can attach to recreational equipment such as boats and
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can survive for a week or longer out of water. Currently quagga
and zebra mussels have been identified in 25 bodies of
freshwater in California, primarily in Southern California. It
is suspected the mussels were brought to the western US on the
hull of a recreational boat. According to the Department of
Fish and Game, eradication of quagga and zebra mussels is
possible if they are in low density, but it is very expensive.
Eradication of an established population of mussels is not
currently possible and controlling an established population is
also very expensive. The Metropolitan Water District has spent
$30 million in the last five years on staffing costs to wash and
scrape mussels from pipes and water grates. Preventing the
further spread of quagga and zebra mussels in California is much
more cost effective than controlling an established population.
State and federal agencies have initiated a unified response in
California by increasing watercraft inspections at Department of
Food and Agriculture border inspection stations, developing and
implementing monitoring plans for high risk water bodies,
training state, federal and local agency staff to conduct
watercraft inspections and monitoring, and conducting public
outreach and education.
The problem is that many water bodies are managed by local
governments or authorities who are covering the cost of
inspection and monitoring programs on their own or with small
grants. For example, Monterey County Parks Department
implemented a mussel prevention program in 2010 from an initial
grant of $100,000 from the Department of Fish and Game. This
money was used to hire vessel screeners at all of the public
boat ramps at two lakes. After the initial funding was
depleted, the parks department was able to obtain a one-time
revenue allotment from the Monterey County Agricultural
Commissioner's Office to continue the program. According to the
county parks department they have no way of sustaining the
mussel prevention program once the revenue allotment runs out,
unless a long-term funding solution is established.
Proposed Law: The additional prevention fee would be no more
than $10 or no more than $20 depending on vessel registration
dates.
Staff Comments: This analysis estimates that if the full amount
of the authorized $10 (annual) or $20 (biennial) fee is enacted,
maximum gross revenues from the collection of the increased fees
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could average approximately $5.1 million annually. This
estimate assumes that 60 percent, or 510,000, of the state's
850,000 registered vessels are not exclusively used in marine
waters. Forty percent of vessels are registered in 13 counties
which are on or near marine waters. This estimate also assumes
that all fresh water boaters will pay the fee even if there is
no process in place to enforce or verify the marine water
exemption.
This bill would limit the department's funding to three percent
of total revenues to the fund. It is unclear if "total
revenues" means before or after deduction of the Department of
Motor Vehicles' administrative costs, as the current bill
language would allow the Department of Motor Vehicles to deduct
its costs prior to depositing the fee revenues into the fund.
In any event, three percent of revenues (a maximum of $153,000)
would not cover the department's estimated costs. This bill
would limit the Department of Fish and Game to no more than 15
percent of remaining revenues, or likely less than $750,000
annually, which also may not be enough to cover its costs.
Based on this estimate, the amount available for grants would be
less than $4.2 million annually, or about $72,000 per county,
statewide.
Recommended Amendments: Given the uncertainty of actual
revenues, a fixed administrative or program percentages may
underfund the department. Staff recommends amending this bill
to strike out the three percent cap and instead allow the
department to recover its reasonable costs.