Bill Text: CA AJR27 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled

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

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Bill Title: The Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 39-3)

Status: (Passed) 2015-09-21 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 197, Statutes of 2015. [AJR27 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AJR27-Enrolled.html

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BILL NUMBER: AJR 27	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 8, 2015
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Levine
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Atkins, Bloom, Brown,
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gordon, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lopez,
Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, Mullin, O'Donnell, Quirk, Rendon,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Weber, Williams,
and Wood)

                        AUGUST 27, 2015

   Relative to the Land and Water Conservation Fund.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 27, Levine. The Land and Water Conservation Fund.
   This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to
permanently reauthorize and fully fund the federal Land and Water
Conservation Fund in order to maintain and preserve land and water
resources.



   WHEREAS, The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was created
by Congress in 1965 as a bipartisan commitment for protection of
natural areas, water resources, cultural heritage, and outdoor
recreational opportunities throughout the country; and
   WHEREAS, Over the 50 years since the LWCF was created, billions of
dollars in funding have been provided to protect valuable land and
water resources, including, but not limited to, parks, forests,
rivers, lakes, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities.
These investments have resulted in the permanent protection of nearly
five million acres of public lands and working landscapes; and
   WHEREAS, Despite being chronically underfunded, the LWCF has had
several positive conservation and recreation impacts throughout the
country, has protected lands in each state, and has supported over
41,000 state and local park projects; and
   WHEREAS, Since its inception, the LWCF has delivered over $2
billion to California, and has provided hundreds of millions of
dollars more for projects through its matching fund program; and
   WHEREAS, The LWCF has helped conserve some of California's most
treasured and iconic natural resources in each region of the state,
including, but not limited to, Lake Tahoe, the Mojave Desert, Point
Reyes National Seashore, the Headwaters Forest Reserve, the San Diego
and Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuges, working
forests in the Sierra Nevada, and Central Valley wetlands; and
   WHEREAS, The LWCF has provided funding for outdoor recreational
and park programs benefitting underserved youth and others in urban
and rural communities throughout the state, and has established a
critical federal partnership with state and local parks and
communities; and
   WHEREAS, Forest Legacy Program grants are also funded through the
LWCF to protect working forests, which support jobs and sustainable
forest operations and enhance wildlife habitat, water quality, and
recreation. The Forest Legacy Program grants have provided $12
million in federal funds, which along with matching funds have
provided a total of $62 million in investments in California forests;
and
   WHEREAS, The LWCF is critical to the quality of life in
California. The LWCF protects watersheds and drinking water supplies;
provides sustainable jobs in urban and rural communities; protects
the economic asset that federal, state, and local public lands
represent; conserves natural areas, wildlife habitats, and open space
from urban parks to large landscapes; improves access for sportsmen,
sportswomen, and recreationists to natural lands; stimulates local
economies and jobs that support tourism and outdoor recreation
sectors; preserves wetlands, forests, and watersheds; and provides
state and local grants to support healthy communities; and
   WHEREAS, According to the Outdoor Industry Association, active
outdoor recreation supports $85.4 billion of consumer spending and
723,000 jobs in California, which annually generates $27 billion in
wages and salaries and $6.7 billion in state and local tax revenue;
and
   WHEREAS, The United States Census Bureau reports that each year
7.4 million people engage in outdoor recreation in California, which
contributes over $8 billion of wildlife-related recreation spending
to the state economy; and
   WHEREAS, Despite the LWCF's successes, many more lands and
resources remain vulnerable and in critical need of investment, and
many urban and rural populations remain underserved; and
   WHEREAS, The LWCF will expire if not reauthorized by Congress
before September 30, 2015; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature urges Congress to
permanently reauthorize and fully fund the Land and Water
Conservation Fund; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the
author for appropriate distribution.