BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 595
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 27, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 595 (Wolk) - As Amended: May 3, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 39-0
SUBJECT : Tidelands and submerged lands: removal of vessels
SUMMARY : Provides the State Lands Commission (Commission) with
administrative authority to dispose of abandoned vessels located
on state waterways.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Protects, pursuant to the common law Public Trust
Doctrine, the public's right to use California's waterways
for commerce, navigation, fishing, boating, natural habitat
protection, and other water oriented activities. The
Public Trust Doctrine provides that filled and unfilled
tide and submerged lands and the beds of lakes, streams,
and other navigable waterways (i.e. public trust lands) are
to be held in trust by the state for the benefit of the
people of California.
2) Establishes that the Commission is the steward and
manager of the state's public trust lands. The Commission
has direct administrative control over the state's public
trust lands and oversight authority over public trust lands
granted by the Legislature to local governments.
3)Authorizes the Commission to remove from areas under its
jurisdiction any vessel, boat, raft, or watercraft that
either:
a) Is left unattended and is moored, docked, beached, or
made fast to land and in a position as to obstruct the
normal movement of traffic, or to create a hazard to other
vessels, to public safety, or to the property of another.
b) Seriously interferes with, or otherwise poses a critical
and immediate danger to navigation or to the public health,
safety, or welfare.
SB 595
Page 2
4)Authorizes the Commission, through court action, to remove or
destroy any vessel, boat, watercraft, raft, or other similar
obstruction which hinders navigation or otherwise creates a
public nuisance. The Commission may recover its costs to
remove a vessel or obstruction through appropriate court
action.
5)Creates the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund, administered
by the Department of Boating and Waterways, to provide grants
to local agencies to remove, store, and dispose of abandoned,
wrecked, or dismantled recreational vessels which pose a
substantial hazard to navigation.
SB 595
Page 3
6)Creates a pilot project that allows local agencies to use
Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund monies to accept a
surrendered recreational vessel if the vessel is in danger of
being abandoned and has a likelihood of causing environmental
degradation or becoming a hazard to navigation.
THIS BILL:
1)Clarifies that the Commission may take immediate action,
without notice, when it removes a vessel from an area in its
jurisdiction that is a hazard to navigation or poses a
significant threat to the public health, safety, or welfare,
or to the environment. Classifies a vessel as "abandoned" if,
after removal and the expiration of a 30 day notice mailed to
all known owners and lienholders, the vessel remains
unclaimed.
2)Authorizes the Commission to remove a vessel, regardless of
its effect on navigation, the public, or environment, if it
has been placed on state lands without the Commission's
permission. Requires the Commission to attach a 30 day notice
to remove on the vessel and mail a 15 day notice to any owner
and lienholder that can be located before removal may occur.
Classifies a vessel as "abandoned" if, after a notice to
remove the vessel has expired, the vessel remains unclaimed.
3)Authorizes the Commission, at a properly noticed hearing, to
take title to an abandoned vessel for the sole purpose of
abatement and may cause the property to be sold, destroyed, or
otherwise disposed of in any manner it determines expedient or
convenient. Requires the Commission to give notice of the
hearing to the known owner and known lienholders, who must
also be given the right to appear and be heard prior to
disposition of the property. Prohibits the Commission from
implementing a decision to dispose of a vessel for 30 days
after the decision to allow the owner to pursue any other
legal action.
4)Authorizes the Commission, at its discretion, to take action
to remove and dispose of an abandoned or derelict vessel on a
navigable waterway in the state that is not under the
Commission's jurisdiction if requested to do so by another
public entity that has regulatory authority over the area
where the vessel is located.
SB 595
Page 4
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS :
1)Background. The Commission has been entrusted with the
responsibility of managing lands underlying the state's
navigable and tidal waterways, known as "sovereign lands,"
including those underlying state waters in the Pacific Ocean.
These lands, acquired at statehood in 1850, cover nearly four
million acres and include more than 120 navigable river and
streams and about 40 lakes. The Commission holds these
sovereign lands in public trust and can only be used for
purposes consistent with the trust (e.g., commerce,
navigation, fisheries, recreation, preservation).
According to the Commission, "boat owners in increasing
numbers are abandoning both recreational and commercial
vessels in areas within the Commission's jurisdiction. Our
state waterways are becoming clogged with hulks that break up,
leak, sink and add pollutants to our waterways and marine
habitat." Recent press has documented how this problem has
been exacerbated by the deteriorating economy as boat owners
chose to abandon their boats instead of maintaining them.
Currently, the Commission has authority to sue a vessel owner
to remove his/her abandoned boat. To litigate a case like
this can cost the state well over $100,000, not to mention
hundreds if not thousands of hours of staff time. The
Department of Boating and Waterways has a program that grants
about $500,000 annually to local governments to remove
abandoned vessels. This program, however, is limited to
recreational boats and requires a proactive local government
that is willing to apply for grants and provide ten percent
matching funds. If a local government does not apply for
funding or have the ability to provide matching funds, it does
not receive state aid to remove abandoned vessels.
Through this bill, the Commission has proposed an
administrative adjudication process that will provide a more
cost effective and streamlined process to remove abandoned
vessels from state waters. The Commission may take title and
sell or dispose of a vessel only after exhausting due process
SB 595
Page 5
and notice requirements specified in the bill. The Commission
has and continues to deal with salvors and scrap metal dealers
for the purpose of vessel disposal; however, such dealers
require clear title to scrap vessels. This bill will allow
the Commission to provide clear title to these dealers.
2)Suggested Amendments. The bill allows the Commission to take
administrative action if the vessel at issue is "abandoned."
The bill considers a vessel abandoned if, after a notice to
remove the vessel has expired, the vessel remains unclaimed.
The bill does not define the term "unclaimed." Is a vessel
claimed or unclaimed if a person admits ownership but refuses
to remove the vessel? Since the intent of the bill is to
clear the state's waterways of derelict vessels, the author
and committee may wish to consider amendments clarifying that
the bill can apply to a vessel with an owner who, after
receiving notice from the Commission, does not make adequate
arrangements to remove the vessel. The author and committee
may also wish to consider an amendment suggested by the
Recreational Boaters of California that deletes a provision
that expressly preempts the Harbors and Navigation Code if a
conflict of law exists. This suggested amendment seems
reasonable since the consequence of the preemption provision
is unclear at this point.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092