BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 584 (Evans)
Hearing Date: 05/02/2011 Amended: As introduced
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: NR&W 8-0
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: SB 584 authorizes the use of funds in the Oil
Spill Prevention and Administration Fund to be used to support
all the activities of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.
_________________________________________________________________
____
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Support for Oiled Wildlife Up to $2,000 per year Special
*
Care Network
* Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund.
_________________________________________________________________
____
STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Under current law, the Office of Oil Spill Prevention and
Response (the Office) is responsible for regulating the
prevention, response, removal, and cleanup of oil spills in
state waters. Under this authority, the Office requires vessel
operators to take certain precautions and to undertake specific
containment and cleanup actions in response to an oil spill.
Current law requires the Office to establish an Oiled Wildlife
Care Network, to be available to respond to wildlife that have
been impacted by oil spills.
Current law authorizes the Office to impose a fee on imported
oil up to $0.05 per barrel, to pay for the Office's costs to
prevent and respond to oil spills in state waters. Fee revenues
are deposited in the Oil Spill Prevention and Administration
Fund (Administration Fund). Those funds support the activities
of the Office and pay for some minor costs of the Oiled Wildlife
Care Network (about $40,000 per year).
In addition, current law authorizes a fee of up to $0.25 per
barrel of imported oil, to be deposited in the Oil Spill
Response Trust Fund (Trust Fund). Those fees are only collected
until the balance in the Trust Fund reaches $55 million.
Generally, monies in the Trust Fund are held to pay for the
costs of responding to an oil spill when the responsible party
SB 584 (Evans)
Page 3
cannot be identified or is unable to pay for the response costs.
In addition, up to $2 million per year in interest earnings from
the Trust Fund can be used to support activities of the Oiled
Wildlife Care Network. In recent years, the full $2 million has
been provided to the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.
Due to the current economic downturn, interest earnings on the
Trust Fund have declined significantly in the last several
years, from more than $2 million in 2007-08 to about $365,000 in
2009-10.
SB 584 authorizes the Administration Fund to provide funding for
all activities of the Oiled Care Wildlife Network, upon
appropriation of the Legislature.
Due to low interest earnings on the Trust Fund and a recently
enacted loan from the Trust Fund to the General Fund, it is
likely that almost all of the costs of the Oiled Care Wildlife
Network will be supported from the Administration Fund in the
next few years.
Staff notes that the Administration Fund has a structural
deficit of $3 million in the budget year. This bill will
increase cost pressures on the Administration Fund.
The bill also deletes an obsolete code section.
AB 1112 (Huffman) makes several changes to statutes regarding
oil spill prevention and responses, including raising the
maximum per barrel fee that supports the Administration fund
from $0.05 to $0.08. That bill is in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.