BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair


          SB 1410 (Wolk and Nielsen) - Wildlife management areas:  
          payments.
          
          Amended: April 21, 2014         Policy Vote: NR&W 9-0
          Urgency: Yes                    Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: May 5, 2014       Consultant: Marie Liu
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: SB 1410 would make a one-time appropriation of $19  
          million from the General Fund to the Department of Fish and  
          Wildlife (DFW) to pay for outstanding obligations for "payments  
          in-lieu of taxes" to counties and would make a continuous annual  
          appropriation of $2 million for future obligations. 

          Fiscal Impact: 
              One-time appropriation of $19 million (General Fund) for  
              outstanding obligations to counties for payments in-lieu of  
              taxes.
              Ongoing annual appropriation of $2 million (General Fund)  
              for annual obligations to counties for payments in-lieu of  
              taxes.

          Background: DFW operates wildlife management areas throughout  
          the state. Existing law (Fish and Game Code �1504) requires the  
          DFW to compensate counties for loss property taxes and  
          assessments as a result of the establishment of a wildlife  
          management area. These "payments in-lieu of taxes" (PILT) are  
          equal to the county taxes levied upon the property at the time  
          the state acquired the property plus any assessments levied upon  
          the property by any irrigation, drainage, or reclamation  
          district.

          State PILT payments have been suspended for approximately 10  
          years, resulting in an outstanding obligation to cities and  
          counties. 

          Proposed Law: This bill would make a one-time appropriation of  
          $19 million to fulfill the state's outstanding obligations of  
          PILT to counties and would make a continuous appropriation of $2  
          million annually to fund current obligations.








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          This bill is an urgency measure.

          Staff Comments: The issue of outstanding PILT payments was  
          discussed by the Senate Budget Subcommittee 2 on March 27, 2014.  
          DFW testified that currently $17,130,473 is unpaid to the  
          counties and that the approximate annual dollar amount owed is  
          $1,600,000. The subcommittee held this issue open for future  
          discussion.

          Staff notes that this bill makes a continuous appropriation.  
          Continuous appropriations eliminate the Legislature's ability to  
          provide oversight of expenditures and its ability to prioritize  
          state spending - both of which are key constitutional  
          responsibilities.