BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 152
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Date of Hearing: June 27, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 152 (Pavley) - As Amended: May 25, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 24-15
SUBJECT : Public lands: general leasing law: littoral
landowners
SUMMARY : Repeals a law that prohibits the State Lands
Commission (SLC) from charging rent for private recreational
piers constructed on state lands and requires SLC to charge fair
annual rent for such piers.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that SLC has exclusive jurisdiction and leasing
authority over all public trust lands owned by the state.
Public trust lands generally consist of tide and submerged
lands and beds of navigable channels, streams, rivers, creeks,
lakes, bays, and inlets.
2)Protects the public's right to use California's public trust
lands for commerce, navigation, fishing, boating, natural
habitat protection, and other water oriented activities.
3)Establishes that SLC is not required to issue a private
recreational pier lease constructed on state lands for the use
of a littoral landowner, but if it does, it is prohibited from
charging rent for the lease.
4)Defines "littoral landowner" as:
a) Any natural person or persons who own littoral land
improved with, and solely for, a single-family dwelling; or
b) Any association of, or any nonprofit corporation
consisting of, natural persons who own parcels of land,
each of which is zoned or used solely for a single-family
dwelling, and who are entitled to the use of a private
recreational pier on littoral land that is owned by the
association or nonprofit corporation and is not more than
one mile from any such parcel owned by a member thereof.
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5)Defines "recreational pier" as any fixed facility for the
docking or mooring of boats that is constructed for the use of
the littoral landowner.
6)Declares that private recreational piers on public trust lands
provide a public benefit by providing a safe harbor for
vessels that become disabled upon the waterways of the state,
a safe anchorage for vessels that become distressed in times
of severe weather conditions, the protection of the public
from navigational hazards often found adjacent to shorelines
along the waterways of this state, the elimination or
retardation of erosion along the shoreline of rivers and
streams, and the provision of navigational aide to members of
the public utilizing the waterways of the state.
7)Declares that it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage
members of the public to construct private piers on the
navigable lakes, rivers, and streams of the state by providing
for rent-free private recreational piers.
8)Prohibits the Legislature from making any gift or authorizing
the making of any gift, of any public money or thing of value
to any individual, municipal, or other corporation.
THIS BILL :
1)Repeals the rent-free recreational pier statute and the
associated legislative findings and declarations that support
the policy.
2)Requires SLC to charge rent for a private recreational pier
constructed on state lands and that rent shall be based on
local conditions and local fair annual rental values.
3)Provides that the rent requirement does not apply to:
a) A lease in effect on July 1, 2011, for the term of that
lease.
b) A lease for which the application and application fees
were submitted to the commission prior to March 31, 2011.
4)Defines "recreational pier" to include a fixed facility for
the docking or mooring of boats.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Background. In 1976, the Attorney General wrote an opinion
concluding that the issuance of a rent-free lease to a
littoral landowner for a private recreational pier on state
land constitutes a gift of public property, which is
prohibited by the California Constitution's gift clause. There
is an exception, however, if the rent-free lease provides a
public benefit. The Attorney General found no such public
benefit, especially since the public is excluded from these
piers.
The state Legislature passed SB 349, Chapter 431, Statutes of
1977, and declared that there is a substantial public benefit
from the construction and maintenance of private recreational
piers on waterways in the state that justifies rent-free
leases. These benefits included the provision of safe harbor
for distressed or disabled vessels, protection of the public
from navigational hazards located near shorelines, elimination
or deceleration of erosion along shorelines, and the provision
of navigational aids to members of the public using waterways.
With SB 349, the Legislature intended to encourage members of
the public to construct private recreational piers on state
lands.
SLC, the sponsor of this bill, asserts that the current law
only benefits an arbitrary group of people. For example, the
rent-free recreational pier statute does not apply when the
littoral land is owned jointly by more than one family or when
the recreational pier is located on granted lands. "There
seems to be no rationale justifying why these people �i.e.
rent-free lessees] deserve private exclusive use of state
lands without providing compensation to the state while others
pay fair market value for the same use of state property."
Opponents of the bill argue that property values of littoral
landowners that have built docks will diminish as a result of
the bill. They also argue that the individual homeowners
absorbed the cost of constructing and maintaining the piers
under the assumption that they would be rent-free.
Numerous attempts have been made in the legislature to repeal
or limit the rent-free provisions. Bills were proposed in
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1968, 1981, and 1991, but never made it out of the
Legislature.
2)Related Legislation .
AB 693 (Badham, 1968) proposed a repeal of the rent-free
requirement and the definition of a littoral land owner.
Passed on consent in the Assembly, no hearing set in Senate
Governmental Efficiency Committee.
SB 349 (Nejedly), Chapter 431, Statutes of 1977, adopted
legislative finding and declaration that establish public
benefits derived from rent-free recreational piers.
SB 1017 (Sieroty, 1981) proposed to limit the rent-free
provisions to piers constructed prior to January 1, 1982 and
to sunset the rent-free provisions for all piers after January
1, 1985. Failed passage out of the Senate Governmental
Organization Committee.
AB 1490 (Speier, 1991) would have repealed the rent-free
provisions and would have (1) required the Commission to
establish an annual rental fee for private recreational piers
and buoys on state land, (2) required public access on private
piers that do not pay a rental fee, (3) prohibited the
subleasing, rental, or selling of a private pier or buoy on
state land without a new lease agreement with the state, (4)
required that revenues be deposited in the General Fund, (5)
required the commission to develop a management plan that
identifies the appropriate number of piers and buoys to be
constructed and leased on state lands. Passed Assembly with
only some provisions, assigned to the Senate Governmental
Organization Committee but was never heard.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Lands Commission (sponsor)
Opposition
40 Individuals
SB 152
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Analysis Prepared by : Lynn Kirshbaum / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092