BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 904
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Vidak
VERSION: 4/7/14
Analysis by: Eric Thronson FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: April 22, 2014 URGENCY: YES
SUBJECT:
Entering private property for performing land surveys
DESCRIPTION:
This urgency bill requires any employee or contractor of the
High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA), prior to entering onto any
privately owned property, to identify himself and obtain the
property owner's consent to enter.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law created the California HSRA in 1996 to direct
development and implementation of intercity high-speed rail
service that is fully coordinated with other public
transportation services. In 2008, voters approved Proposition
1A (Prop 1A) authorizing $9.95 billion in general obligation
bonds for a proposed high-speed rail project. Prop 1A
authorizes HSRA to use bond funds for, among other things,
acquisition of interests in real property and rights-of-way. In
order to effectively identify and appraise properties to acquire
for the project, HSRA needs to access potential right-of-way
properties and conduct surveys.
Existing law grants legally authorized land surveyors access to
private property to perform surveys. This right of entry is not
contingent on prior notice to the owner or tenant of the
property. While not required by law, the California Department
of Transportation requires employees to notify owners and
tenants of their intent to perform a survey through mailing
notification letters and/or placing door hangers on the target
property.
This urgency bill requires any employee or contractor of HSRA,
prior to entering onto any privately owned property, to do both
of the following:
SB 904 (VIDAK) Page 2
Identify himself to the property owner as an employee or
contractor of HSRA working on the high-speed rail project;
Obtain the property owner's consent to enter the
property.
This bill is an urgency measure.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . According to the author, land owners should be made
aware of what happens on their properties, particularly if it
is an activity that may profoundly affect the property. HSRA
employees and contractors are entering private property to
conduct surveys that will inform the future path of the
high-speed rail project. The author contends that this bill
will protect property owners by requiring HSRA to obtain
permission before entering any private property.
2.Why only HSRA employees and contractors ? As noted, existing
law grants licensed land surveyors access to private property
without consent in order to conduct land surveys, and has done
so since 1974. This legal authority is arguably very
important in order to ensure an effective real estate
marketplace, as accurate surveys are requisite for the
purchase and sale of land. This bill could severely impact
the progress of the high-speed rail project, particularly if
landowners in the Central Valley refuse access for the legal
survey of their land. If the intent of this bill is to
protect property owners and not to just impede the high-speed
rail project, then it seems only reasonable to expand the
scope of the project to require all land surveyors to identify
themselves and seek permission before entering private
property.
3.Opposition comments . The California Land Surveyors
Association (CLSA) opposes this bill and claims that it would
undermine the long-standing statutory authority for land
surveyors to enter property in their professional capacity.
CLSA believes there is no justification for singling out a
specific project and subjecting it to a different standard
than is currently provided in law. In fact, CLSA suggests
that this would eventually erode the ability for land
surveyors to perform their lawful duties.
4.Double-referral . The Rules Committee has referred this bill
to both this committee and the Judiciary Committee.
SB 904 (VIDAK) Page 3
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, April 16,
2014.)
SUPPORT: Citizens for California High-Speed Rail
Accountability
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Kings County Board of Supervisors
Tos Farms, Inc.
OPPOSED: California Labor Federation
California Land Surveyors Association
State Building and Construction Trades Council,
AFL-CIO