BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 288
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 288 (Levine)
As Amended January 9, 2014
Majority vote
NATURAL RESOURCES 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 15-0
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Bigelow, Garcia, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Muratsuchi, Patterson, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Stone, Williams | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| | | |Gomez, Holden, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
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SUMMARY : Requires the California Coastal Commission
(Commission) to make the notice of any public meeting or hearing
of the Commission available in both English and Spanish, and may
also make the notice available in any other language.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the Commission, which makes permit decisions regarding
development in the coastal zone, reviews local coastal
programs prepared by local governments and submitted for
Commission approval, and reviews federal activities that
affect the coastal zone.
2)Prior to a Commission hearing at which a permit application
will be heard, requires the Commission's executive director to
provide at least 10 days' notice to all affected cities and
counties; to all public agencies which have jurisdiction, by
law, with respect to a proposed development; to all persons
who have requested notice; and to all persons known by the
executive director to have a particular interest in the
application.
3)Requires the Commission hearing notice to contain the
following elements: a) the number assigned to the permit
application; b) a description of the application's proposed
development and location; c) the date, time and place at which
the application will be heard by the Commission; d) the
general procedure of the Commission concerning hearings and
AB 288
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action on applications; e) the direction to persons wishing to
participate in the public hearing that testimony should be
related to the regional and statewide issues addressed by the
Coastal Act; and f) a statement regarding the distribution of
staff reports.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor, likely absorbable costs, of less than $30,000
to provide notices in Spanish.
The Commission meets 12 times per year. On average, the meeting
notice/hearing agenda ranges between 4,000 and 6,000 words.
Assuming current translation services charge between $0.12 and
$0.40 per word, the cost of translating the notice in Spanish
would range between approximately $480 and $2,400 per meeting.
COMMENTS : The purpose of this bill is to provide Spanish
speakers with access to information pertaining to Coastal
Commission meetings and help ensure greater participation by
non-English speaking communities.
According to the author, "[i]n the interest of environmental
justice, active participation by all affected Californians (not
just English speakers) should be solicited in decision-making on
Coastal issues. Therefore, it is important that the Legislature
craft policies and take steps to reach out to the
Spanish-speaking community."
The state's diverse population has already given rise to several
statutory requirements for translating important consumer and
government services documents to popular foreign languages, like
Spanish. One recent example is SB 965 (Wright), Chapter 551,
Statutes of 2012, of which the bill at hand is modeled off. SB
965 requires the State Water Resources Control Board and the
California regional water quality control boards (water boards)
to make their agenda notices available in both English and
Spanish. SB 965 also authorizes these water boards to make the
agenda notices available in other languages. According to the
Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, the
additional cost of providing agenda notices in Spanish would be
minor and absorbable by the water boards. SB 965 passed with
overwhelming bi-partisan support-it received only seven "no"
votes on the Assembly and Senate floors combined.
It seems logical to apply SB 965's agenda notice requirements to
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the Commission. Based on the recent census, coastal cities,
such as Los Angeles and San Diego, have large numbers of
residents who speak a language other than English at home. In
Los Angeles, 2,118,000 residents speak a language other than
English at home, with 1,541,000 who speak Spanish, and 1,083,000
who "speak English less than 'very well.'" In San Diego,
452,000 residents speak a language other than English at home,
with 255,000 who speak Spanish, and 190,000 who "speak English
less than 'very well.'" The Commission's agenda generally
contains several items that affect these coastal areas as well
as other areas with Spanish speaking residents.
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0003004