BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       SB 1172|
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                                UNFINISHED BUSINESS 


          Bill No:  SB 1172
          Author:   Hancock (D) 
          Amended:  8/9/16  
          Vote:     27 

           SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE:  9-0, 3/29/16
           AYES:  Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,  
            Monning, Vidak, Wolk

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  Senate Rule 28.8

           SENATE FLOOR:  38-0, 4/14/16 (Consent)
           AYES:  Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,  
            Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,  
            Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,  
            Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach,  
            Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Stone, Vidak,  
            Wieckowski, Wolk
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  McGuire, Runner

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  78-0, 8/15/16 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote
           
           SUBJECT:   Tidelands and submerged lands:  City of Albany


          SOURCE:    Author


          DIGEST:  This bill repeals the existing granting statute to the  
          City of Albany to eliminate the requirement that the trust lands  
          be used in a manner consistent with the obsolete Waterfront Plan  
          from 1977.  This bill replaces that outdated granting statute  
          with a new grant of public trust lands that is consistent with  
          city's current waterfront improvement plans.








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          Assembly Amendments clarify the definition of Public Trust  
          Doctrine to mean the common law doctrine as enunciated by the  
          court in Marks v. Whitney (1971) 6 Cal.3d 251 and National  
          Audubon Society v. Superior Court (1983) 33 Cal. 3d 419 and  
          other relevant judicial decisions.  These judicial decisions  
          specify the state's authority as sovereign to exercise a  
          continuous supervision and control over the navigable waters of  
          the state, the lands underlying those waters, and nonnavigable  
          tributaries to navigable waters, including the protection of  
          maritime or water dependent commerce, navigation, and fisheries,  
          and the preservation of lands in their natural state for  
          scientific study, open space, wildlife habitat, and  
          water-oriented recreation.


          ANALYSIS:   




          Existing law:


          1)Protects, pursuant to the common law doctrine of public trust  
            (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 (public trust lands)  
            are to be held in trust by the state for the benefit of the  
            people of California.  

          2)Establishes that the State Lands Commission (SLC) is the  
            steward and manager of the state's public trust lands.  SLC  
            has direct administrative control over the state's public  
            trust lands and oversight authority over public trust lands  
            granted by the Legislature to local public agencies (granted  
            lands).









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          3)Grants the City of Albany (city) three parcels of submerged  
            tidelands along the San Francisco Bay waterfront for the  
            establishment, improvement, and conduct of a harbor and other  
            structures and utilities necessary for the promotion of  
            commerce and navigation.

          4)Amends the original granting statute to require future  
            developments be consistent with the Albany Waterfront Plan of  
            1977, which permits recreation-oriented development, including  
            a small craft marina and retail complex.

          5)Authorizes the City to grant franchises and leases on the  
            granted land for up to 66 years.

          6)Allocates, excess revenue from the granted land as follows:   
            85% to the General Fund, and 15% to the City.


          This bill:


          1)Requires the city to submit a trust lands use plan to the SLC  
            for approval on or before January 1, 2022.  The plan must  
            describe (a) any proposed development, preservation, or other  
            use of the trust lands; (b) the projected statewide benefit;  
            (c) the proposed method of financing any development; (d) an  
            estimated timetable for implementing each phase of the plan;  
            and (e) how the city proposes to protect the resources and  
            facilities on the trust lands, particularly from the impacts  
            of sea level rise.

          2)Requires the city to submit a report to the SLC on or before  
            September 30, 2022, and every five years thereafter describing  
            how the trust lands have been used.

          3)Requires the city to establish an accounting system to track  
            revenue received from the trust lands and any associated  
            assets. Any revenue received must be kept separate from other  
            city money and can only be spent in a way that is consistent  
            with this bill.

          4)Requires the city to get approval from the SLC before spending  








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            trust revenues for any large capital improvement project  
            ($250,000 or greater).

          5)Requires 20 percent of trust revenue be transmitted to the  
            SLC. Of this amount transmitted, 80 percent will be put in the  
            General Fund and the remaining 20 percent will be deposited in  
            the Land Bank Fund pursuant to Division 7 (commencing with  
            Section 8600) of the Public Resources Code.  Money in the Land  
            Bank Fund is used to manage the SLC's granted lands program. 

          6)Permits the city to lease the land, under specified  
            conditions, for less than 50 years.

          Background


          Since 1850, the California Legislature has periodically granted  
          public trust lands to local jurisdictions to hold and manage  
          according to various terms and conditions.  These lands remain  
          subject to the Public Trust Doctrine and the SLC oversees the  
          grants to ensure the use and management of the trust lands is  
          consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine and granting statutes.  


          Chapter 211, Statutes of 1919 granted the city three parcels of  
          submerged tidelands along the San Francisco Bay waterfront.   
          These lands include what is now known as the Albany Neck and  
          Bulb portion of the waterfront. The Neck and Bulb are located at  
          the base of Buchanan Street and protrude into the bay. That  
          granting statute was later amended (Chapter 1223, Statutes of  
          1977) to require future development is consistent with the  
          Albany Waterfront Plan.  The Albany Waterfront Plan reflected  
          the city's plans at that time for recreation-oriented  
          development, including constructing a small craft marina and  
          retail complex. However, the plan was never implemented.

          Since 1977, policy at the local, regional, and state levels has  
          shifted away from commercial waterfront development on the  
          publically-owned portion of the Albany waterfront. The city is  
          currently in the process of developing a new plan for improving  
          the Albany Neck and Bulb area and transitioning the area to  
          become part of the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.  The  








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          McLaughlin Eastshore State Park includes tidelands and upland  
          property along 8.5 miles of shoreline extending from the City of  
          Richmond in the north to Emeryville and Oakland in the south.  
          The Albany Bulb and Neck is currently open to the public for  
          recreational uses.

          At its December 7, 2015 city council meeting, the city  
          authorized city staff to work with the SLC and the Legislature  
          to draft legislation updating the terms of the tidelands grant  
          on the city-owned portion of the Albany waterfront.  This bill  
          is the result of those efforts.

          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    Yes         Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   Yes

          According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:

          1)Potential minor revenue increase.  Existing law requires 85%  
            of excess trust revenues to be deposited in the GF. This bill  
            requires 20% of annual gross revenue to be transmitted to the  
            state. Of that amount, 20% is deposited into the Land Bank  
            Fund for use by SLC and the remaining 80% is deposited into  
            the GF.  

            Historically, granted lands rarely generate excess revenue.  
            The change from a percentage of excess trust revenues to  
            annual gross revenue could increase revenue to the state, both  
            to the GF and SLC. However, this area is currently used as  
            public open space and does not generate revenue. It is  
            unlikely that this bill will result in a significant change to  
            state revenue.

          2)SLC costs are absorbable within existing resources.


          SUPPORT:   (Verified 8/15/16)


          City of Albany
          State Lands Commission










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          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/15/16)


          None received

          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author stated that this bill is  
          designed to assist the "City of Albany with managing and  
          improving its waterfront."


          According to the State Lands Commission, "?the city is in the  
          process of developing a new plan to improve its waterfront and  
          transition the Neck and Bulb area to become part of the  
          McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.  The city's legislative  
          granting statute, however, is inconsistent with the city's  
          current waterfront improvement plans. SB 1172 eliminates the  
          requirement that the trust lands are used in a manner that is  
          consistent with the obsolete Waterfront Plan.  The bill requires  
          the city to submit a new land use plan and sea-level rise  
          analysis to the commission for approval.  The bill also  
          modernizes non-discrimination language in the granting statute  
          to reflect current law, aligns the city's financial reporting  
          requirements with current law, and deletes various obsolete  
          provisions."

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  78-0, 8/15/16
           AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,  
            Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,  
            Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,  
            Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth  
            Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,  
            Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,  
            Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,  
            Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,  
            Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,  
            Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,  
            Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,  
            Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Roger Hernández, Olsen


          Prepared by:Matthew Dumlao / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116








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          8/19/16 19:54:01


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