Bill Text: CA AB1888 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Harbors and ports: Monterey Bay and the Bays of San

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 455, Statutes of 2010. [AB1888 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB1888-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1888	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 14, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 5, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 15, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ma

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2010

    An act to amend Sections 1127, 1137, 1190, and 1190.1 of
the   An act to amend Sections 1127, 1137, and 1150 of,
and to add Section 1193 to, the  Harbors and Navigation Code,
relating to harbors and ports.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1888, as amended, Ma. Harbors and ports: Monterey Bay and the
Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun: pilotage.
   Existing law provides for the regulation and licensing of pilots
for Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun
 . Existing   by the Board of Pilot
Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun.
The board consists of 7 members, appointed by the Governor, with the
consent of the Senate, with specified staggered terms.  
   This bill would revise the terms for members of the board who are
licensed pilots and members who represent the industry. 
    Existing  law specifies the rates of bar pilotage for
vessels inward or outward bound through the Golden Gate and into or
out of the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun and also
imposes certain movement fees and  training 
surcharges.
   This bill would exempt from those pilotage fees and surcharges
noncommercial vessels that are maritime academy training vessels and
vessels owned and  exhibited   operated  by
nonprofit museums or foundations.  These vessels would be
subject to the board operations surcharge. 
   Existing law exempts from pilotage fees a vessel sailing under a
coastwise license or appropriately endorsed registry and engaged in
the coasting trade, as described, unless a pilot or inland pilot is
actually used. A foreign vessel, a vessel bound to or from a foreign
port, or a vessel sailing under a register is required to use a pilot
or inland pilot. These provisions do not apply to a vessel that is
less than 300 gross tons and is manufactured and used for private
recreation.
   This bill would instead state that those provisions do not apply
to a vessel that is less than 750 gross tons and is manufactured and
used for private recreation.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 1127 of the Harbors and Navigation Code is
amended to read:
   1127.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is the
policy of the state to ensure the safety of persons, property, and
vessels using the waters of Monterey Bay and the Bays of San
Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun and to avoid damage to those waters
and surrounding ecosystems as a result of vessel collision or damage
by providing competent, efficient, and regulated pilotage for vessels
required by this division to secure pilotage services.
   (b) This section does not supersede, modify, or otherwise alter
pilot practices that are not safety related, including, but not
limited to, the determination of rates charged for pilot services or
employer-employee relationships for individuals, agencies, or
organizations involved in providing pilotage services between any
port of Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and
Suisun and any other port of the United States that is in existence
on December 31, 1995, or otherwise abridge the authority of local
port or harbor districts relating to pilotage in effect on December
31, 1995.
   (c) The board shall regulate pilotage on waters of the state as
provided in this division.
   (d) A vessel sailing under a coastwise license or appropriately
endorsed registry and engaged in the coasting trade between a port of
Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun
and another port of the United States is exempt from all pilotage
charges unless a pilot or inland pilot is actually employed. A
foreign vessel and a vessel bound between a foreign port and a port
of Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun,
and a vessel sailing under a register between a port of Monterey Bay
and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun and another
port of the United States, shall use a pilot or inland pilot holding
a license issued pursuant to this division, except as otherwise
provided by law.
   (e) Subdivision (d) does not apply to a vessel that is less than
750 gross tons and is manufactured and used for private recreation.
  SEC. 2.  Section 1137 of the Harbors and Navigation Code is amended
to read:
   1137.  (a) The account required pursuant to Section 1136 shall
show all of the following:
   (1) The name of each vessel piloted.
   (2) The name of each vessel for which pilotage has been charged or
collected.
   (3) The amount charged to or collected for each vessel.
   (4) Any rebates made and allowed and for what amounts.
   (5) The amount of the fees and surcharges not collected pursuant
to  subdivision (c) of Section 1190   Section
1193  .
   (6) The depth of each vessel's draft and its highest gross
tonnage.
   (7) Whether the vessel was inward or outward bound.
   (b) The board shall record the accounts in full detail in a book
prepared for that purpose. The account book is a public record.
   SEC. 3.    Section 1150 of the   Harbors and
Navigation Code   is amended to read: 
   1150.  (a) There is in the Business, Transportation and Housing
Agency a Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco,
San Pablo, and Suisun, consisting of seven members appointed by the
Governor, with the consent of the Senate, as follows:
   (1) Two members shall be pilots licensed pursuant to this
division.
   (2) Two members shall represent the industry and shall be persons
currently engaged as owners, officers, directors, employees, or
representatives of a firm or association of firms that is a
substantial user of pilotage service in the Bay of San Francisco, San
Pablo, Suisun, or Monterey, one of whom shall be engaged in the
field of tanker company operations, and one of whom shall be engaged
in dry cargo operations. The board of directors of a regional
maritime trade association controlled by West Coast vessel operators
that specifically represents the owners and operators of vessels or
barges engaged in transportation by water of cargo or passengers from
or to the Pacific area of the United States shall nominate, rank,
and submit to the Governor the names of three persons for each
category of industry member to be appointed.
   (3) Three members shall be public members. Any person may serve as
a public member unless otherwise prohibited by law, except that
during his or her term of office or within the two years preceding
his or her appointment, no public member appointed may have (A) any
financial or proprietary interest in the ownership, operation, or
management of tugs, cargo, or passenger vessels, (B) sailed under the
authority of a federal or state pilot license in waters under the
jurisdiction of the board, (C) been employed by a company that is a
substantial user of pilot services, or (D) been a consultant or other
person providing professional services who had received more than 20
percent in the aggregate of his or her income from a company that is
a substantial user of pilot services or an association of companies
that are substantial users of pilot services. Ownership of less than
one-tenth of 1 percent of the stock of a publicly traded corporation
is not a financial or proprietary interest in the ownership of tugs,
cargo, or passenger vessels.
   (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, this chapter does
not prohibit the Governor from notifying the nominating authority
identified in paragraph (2) that persons nominated are unacceptable
for appointment. Following that notification, the nominating
authority shall submit a new list of nominees to the Governor, naming
three persons, none of whom were previously nominated, from which
the Governor may make the appointment. This process shall be
continued until a person nominated by the nominating authority and
satisfactory to the Governor has been appointed.
   (b)  Members appointed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
appointed with staggered terms as follows: 
    (1)    Each of the members appointed pursuant
to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) shall be appointed for a
four-year term,  and may not be appointed for more than two
terms. Members   except that the first member appointed
after December 31, 2012, to an initial term pursuant to paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a) shall be appointed to a term expiring on December
31, 2014, and the first member appointed after December 31, 2012, to
an initial term purs   uant to paragraph (2) of subdivision
(a) shall be appointed to a term expiring on December 31, 2014.

    (2)     Members  appointed pursuant to
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) shall be appointed with staggered
four-year terms with the initial four-year terms expiring on December
31 of the years 1988, 1990, and 1991, respectively  , and a
  . 
    (3)     A  person may not be appointed
for more than two terms.  Vacancies 
    (4)     Vacancies  on the board for
both expired and unexpired terms shall be filled by the appointing
power in the manner prescribed by subdivision (a).
   (c) A quorum of the board members consists of four members. All
actions of the board shall require the vote of four members, a quorum
being present.
   (d) The Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing
Agency shall serve as an ex officio member of the board who, without
vote, may exercise all other privileges of a member of the board.
   SEC. 4.    Section 1193 is added to the  
Harbors and Navigation Code   , to read:  
   1193.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 1120, only the following
noncommercial vessels that use pilotage services are exempt from the
pilotage fees and surcharges established pursuant to this division,
except for the board operations surcharge as established and
calculated pursuant to Section 1159.1:
   (1) Maritime academy training vessels, whether foreign or
domestic.
   (2) Vessels owned and operated by a nonprofit museum or
foundation.
   (b) The vessels specified in subdivision (a) are subject to
Section 1198.  
  SEC. 3.    Section 1190 of the Harbors and
Navigation Code is amended to read:
   1190.  (a) A vessel spoken inward or outward bound shall pay the
following rate of bar pilotage through the Golden Gate and into or
out of the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun:
   (1) Eight dollars and eleven cents ($8.11) per draft foot of the
vessel's deepest draft and fractions of a foot pro rata, and an
additional charge of 73.01 mills per high gross registered ton as
changed pursuant to law in effect on December 31, 1999. The mill
rates established by this paragraph may be changed as follows:
   (A) (i) On and after January 1, 2010, if the number of pilots
licensed by the board is 58 or 59 pilots, the mill rate in effect on
December 31, 2006, shall be decreased by an incremental amount that
is proportionate to one-half of the last audited annual average net
income per pilot for each pilot licensed by the board below 60
pilots.
   (ii) On and after January 1, 2010, if the number of pilots
licensed by the board is fewer than 58 pilots, the mill rate in
effect on December 31, 2006, shall be adjusted in accordance with the
method described in clause (i) as though there are 58 pilots
licensed by the board.
   (iii) The incremental mill rate adjustment authorized by this
subparagraph shall be calculated using the data reported to the board
for the number of gross registered tons handled by pilots licensed
under this division during the same 12-month period as the audited
annual average net income per pilot. The incremental mill rate
adjustment shall become effective at the beginning of the immediately
following quarter, commencing January 1, April 1, July 1, or October
1, as directed by the board.
   (iv) On and after January 1, 2010, if, during any quarter
described in this paragraph, the number of pilots licensed by the
board is equal to or greater than 60, clauses (i) to (iii),
inclusive, shall become inoperative on the first day of the
immediately following quarter.
   (B) There shall be an incremental rate of additional mills per
high gross registered ton as is necessary and authorized by the board
to recover the pilots' costs of obtaining new pilot boats and of
funding design and engineering modifications for the purposes of
extending the service life of existing pilot boats, excluding costs
for repair or maintenance. The incremental mill rate charge
authorized by this subparagraph shall be identified as a pilot boat
surcharge on the pilots' invoices and separately accounted for in the
accounting required by Section 1136. Net proceeds from the sale of
existing pilot boats shall be used to reduce the debt on the new
pilot boats and any debt associated with the modification of pilot
boats under this subparagraph. The board may adjust a pilot boat
surcharge to reflect any associated operational savings resulting
from the modification of pilot boats under this subparagraph,
including, but not limited to, reduced repair and maintenance
expenses.
   (C) In addition to the incremental rate specified in subparagraph
(B), the mill rate established by this subdivision may be adjusted at
the direction of the board if, after a hearing conducted pursuant to
Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the board determines
that there has been a catastrophic cost increase to the pilots that
would result in at least a 2-percent increase in the overall annual
cost of providing pilot services.
   (2) A minimum charge for bar pilotage shall be six hundred
sixty-two dollars ($662) for each vessel piloted.
   (3) The vessel's deepest draft shall be the maximum draft
attained, on a stillwater basis, at any part of the vessel during the
course of such transit inward or outward.
   (b) The rate specified in subdivision (a) shall apply only to a
pilotage that passes through the Golden Gate to or from the high seas
to or from a berth within an area bounded by the Union Pacific
Railroad Bridge to the north and Hunter's Point to the south. The
rate for pilotage to or from the high seas to or from a point past
the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge or Hunter's Point shall include a
movement fee in addition to the basic bar pilotage rate as specified
by the board pursuant to Section 1191.
   (c) (1) Notwithstanding Section 1120, only the following
noncommercial vessels that use pilotage services are exempt from the
pilotage fees and surcharges established pursuant to this division:
   (A) Maritime academy training vessels, whether foreign or
domestic.
   (B) Vessels owned and operated by a nonprofit museum or
foundation.
   (2) The vessels specified in paragraph (1) are subject to Section
1198.
   (d) The rate established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall
be for a trip from the high seas to dock or from the dock to high
seas. The rate specified in Section 1191 shall not be charged by
pilots for docking and undocking vessels. This subdivision does not
apply to the rates charged by inland pilots for their services.
   (e) The board shall determine the number of pilots to be licensed
based on the 1986 manpower study adopted by the board.
   (f) Consistent with the board's May 2002 adoption of rate
recommendations, the rates imposed pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) that are in effect on December 31, 2002, shall be
increased by 4 percent on January 1, 2003; those in effect on
December 31, 2003, shall be increased by 4 percent on January 1,
2004; those in effect on December 31, 2004, shall be increased by 3
percent on January 1, 2005; and those in effect on December 31, 2005,
shall be increased by 3 percent on January 1, 2006.
   (g) (1) There shall be a movement fee as is necessary and
authorized by the board to recover a pilot's costs for the purchase,
lease, or maintenance of navigation software, hardware, and ancillary
equipment purchased after November 5, 2008, and before January 1,
2011.
   (2) The software, equipment, and technology covered by this
subdivision shall be used strictly and exclusively to aid in piloting
on the pilotage grounds. The movement fee authorized by this
subdivision shall be identified as a navigation technology surcharge
on a pilot's invoices and separately accounted for in the accounting
required by Section 1136. The board shall review and adjust as
necessary the navigation technology surcharge at least quarterly.
This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2011.
 
  SEC. 4.    Section 1190.1 of the Harbors and
Navigation Code is amended to read:
   1190.1.  Every vessel that uses a pilot under this division while
navigating the waters of Monterey Bay shall pay the rate provided by
subdivisions (a) and (f) of Section 1190.