Bill Text: CA AB642 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Conservancies: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-02 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB642 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB642-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 642 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huber
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act relating to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
An act to add Division 22.3 (commencing with Section
32300) to the Public Resources Code, relating to conservancies.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 642, as amended, Huber. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Conservancies: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy .
Existing law establishes various conservancies to acquire, manage,
direct the management of, and conserve public lands in the state.
This bill would establish the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy to undertake various activities related to the Delta, as
defined, and Suisun Marsh, including measures identified in the Delta
sustainability program that are intended to restore and manage
habitat in the Delta and Suisun Marsh. The bill would prescribe the
management, powers, and duties of the conservancy.
The bill would provide that expenses of the conservancy may be
paid from funds appropriated by the Legislature or from gifts,
donations, bequests, or other public and private sources.
Under existing law, various state agencies administer programs
relating to water supply, water quality, and flood management in the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
This bill would declare legislative intent to enact legislation to
establish a board with specified representatives to review local
governmental decisions that impact the Delta.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Division 22.3 (commencing with Section
32300) is added to the Public Resources Code ,
to read:
DIVISION 22.3. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS
32300. This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Act.
32301. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) is a unique and
valued area, warranting recognition and special legal status from the
State of California.
(b) The Delta is a place of natural beauty, with historic towns,
exceptionally productive farming, and close-knit communities.
(c) The Delta is an integral part of the largest estuary on the
West Coast of the Americas, connecting rivers originating in the
Sierra Nevada to the Pacific Ocean.
(d) The Delta is home to many thousands of residents who enrich
the fabric of California life with varied and productive livelihoods
and whose capacity for self governance has met with success.
(e) The Delta's agricultural endeavors achieve a level of
production per acre unparalleled anywhere in the world.
(f) These values should be preserved, protected, and enhanced.
32302. For the purposes of this division, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(a) "Board" means the governing board of the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta Conservancy.
(b) "Comprehensive Delta sustainability program" or "program"
means a comprehensive Delta program intended to sustain the ecosystem
of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh and to preserve
and enhance agriculture and the economic viability of the Delta.
(c) "Conservancy" means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Conservancy.
(d) "Delta" means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as defined in
Section 12220 of the Water Code.
(e) "Delta counties" means the Counties of Contra Costa,
Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, and Yolo.
CHAPTER 2. SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN DELTA CONSERVANCY
32310. There is in the Natural Resources Agency the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy, which is created as a state
agency for the purposes of, and to carry out the authority given to
it under, this division.
32312. (a) The conservancy shall be governed by a board, which
shall consist of nine voting members as follows:
(1) Five members, each of whom shall be a member of the board of
supervisors of a Delta County: one each from Contra Costa,
Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, and Yolo Counties chosen by the
respective board of supervisors. An alternate shall be selected for
each of these members by the board of supervisors of each Delta
county and shall be a member of the respective board of supervisors.
(2) Two public members, who reside in a Delta county, appointed by
the Governor.
(3) One public member, who resides in a Delta county, appointed by
the Speaker of the Assembly.
(4) One public member, who resides in a Delta county, appointed by
the Senate Committee on Rules.
(b) The board shall also include the following ex officio,
nonvoting members:
(1) The Director of Fish and Game, or his or her designee.
(2) The chair person of the Delta Protection Commission, or his or
her designee.
(3) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, or his or her
designee.
(c) The conservancy shall request nonvoting participation by
appropriate federal and state agencies.
(d) Each member, as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a),
shall serve a three-year term. These members may be reappointed at
the end of their term and any vacancy during a term of office may be
filled by the appointing entity.
(e) Each public member shall be appointed for a three-year term,
except that one of the public members initially appointed by the
Governor shall serve a one-year term, the public member initially
appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly shall serve a two-year term,
and the public member initially appointed by the Senate Committee on
Rules shall serve a three-year term. Public members may be
reappointed at the end of their term and any vacancy during a term of
office may be filled by the appointing entity.
(f) The public members shall be selected to reflect either the
diversity of interests in the Delta or statewide interests as they
relate to the authority and mission of the conservancy. Public
members shall be compensated for attendance at regular meetings of
the board at the rate of one hundred dollars ($100) per day and shall
be reimbursed for actual reasonable and necessary expenses for
attending meetings and carrying out the duties of their office.
(g) The members shall elect annually from among them a chair
person and vice chair person and other officers as necessary.
(h) A majority of the voting members shall constitute a quorum for
the transaction of the business of the board, and a majority vote of
the members present at a meeting where a quorum exists shall be
binding with respect to all matters acted on by the board.
32314. The board shall appoint an executive officer of the
conservancy and employ other staff as necessary to execute the powers
and functions provided for under this division.
32315. The conservancy may rent or own real property and
equipment pursuant to applicable statutes and regulations.
32316. The conservancy may enter into contracts with private
entities and public agencies to procure consulting and other services
to achieve the purposes of this division.
32317. The board shall establish and coordinate the conservancy's
activities with an advisory committee.
CHAPTER 3. POWERS, DUTIES, AND LIMITATIONS
32320. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the
jurisdiction and activities of the conservancy are limited to the
Delta and Suisun Marsh.
(b) The conservancy may take or fund an action outside of the
Delta and Suisun Marsh if that action is consistent with the goals
established by the Legislature for the conservancy.
32322. The board shall report to the Legislature and Governor
annually on the progress towards implementation of the measures
identified in the comprehensive Delta sustainability program intended
to restore and manage habitat in the Delta and Suisun Marsh as set
forth by legislation.
32324. (a) The conservancy's expenses may be paid from the
conservancy's operating budget, if one is provided for, and other
funding sources available to the conservancy.
(b) Up to 5 percent of any funds appropriated by the Legislature
may be expended to pay the administrative costs of the conservancy.
(c) Funds appropriated by the Legislature to the conservancy may
be used for grants or direct expenditure.
(d) The conservancy shall comply with all applicable provisions of
law related to an appropriation of funds by the Legislature in
administering those funds.
32326. The conservancy may accept gifts, donations, bequests,
devises, subventions, grants, rents, royalties, and other funds from
public and private sources.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation to establish a board that includes members who
represent each of the five counties within a portion of the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for the purpose of reviewing local
governmental decisions that impact the Delta.
