AB 2620

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law grants to various local entities the right, title, and interest of the state in and to certain tidelands and submerged lands in trust generally for purposes of commerce, navigation, and fisheries, and for other public trust purposes. Existing law vests the State Lands Commission with all jurisdiction and authority remaining in the state as to tidelands and submerged lands as to which grants have been or may be made. This bill would make various legislative declarations and findings regarding granted public trust lands, the duties of a trustee of state lands, and the prohibition against common trust principles nullifying an act of the Legislature or modifying its duty under the California Constitution to do all things necessary to execute and administer the public trust. The bill would declare that those findings and declarations are declaratory of existing law. (2) Existing law confers upon counties and cities certain powers granted to the commission with regard to the leasing or granting of rights or privileges with relation to the lands owned by the state. This bill would instead confer these powers upon the local trustee of granted public trust lands, as defined. (3) Existing law requires local and state agencies that have been granted sovereign trust lands to provide accurate records of all revenues received from the trust lands and trust assets and of all expenditures of those revenues and requires all revenues received or generated from trust lands to be expended only for those uses and purposes, consistent with the public trust for commerce, navigation, and fisheries, and the applicable statutory grant. Existing law requires a trustee to annually file a detailed statement of revenues and expenditures with the commission. This bill would instead require the local trustee of granted public trust lands to undertake those duties and would require all funds received or generated from trust lands or trust assets to be segregated in separate accounts from nontrust received or generated funds. The bill would require the annual statement required to be filed with the commission to include a standardized reporting form, and would provide that the information in the statement and form is a public record, to be made available on the commission's Internet Web site. The bill would provide that all costs incurred by a local trustee of granted public trust lands to implement the bill be paid from the revenues derived from its granted public trust lands and assets. The bill would require the commission to exempt a local trustee of granted public trust land from the duties imposed by the bill if the revenues derived from its granted public trust lands and assets are not sufficient to pay for those costs, as specified. The bill would create a state-mandated local program by imposing new duties with regard to the duties that the bill would impose upon local agencies that are local trustees of granted public trust lands. (4) The bill would require the commission to prepare a workload analysis and implementation plan by September 1, 2013, and to submit the plan to specified committees of the Legislature and the Department of Finance. The bill would make the report provision inoperative September 1, 2017, and would repeal it on January 1, 2018. (5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.