Bill Text: CA SB433 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 433 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: California Coastal Act of 1976: enforcement: penalties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 643, Statutes of 2021. [SB433 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB433-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 433

Introduced by Senator Allen

February 12, 2021

An act to amend Section 30821 of the Public Resources Code, relating to coastal resources.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 433, as introduced, Allen. California Coastal Act of 1976: enforcement: penalties.

The California Coastal Act of 1976 requires a person undertaking development in the coastal zone to obtain a coastal development permit in accordance with prescribed procedures. Existing law authorizes the superior court to impose civil liability on a person who performs or undertakes development that is in violation of the act or that is inconsistent with a previously issued coastal development permit, and on a person who violates the act in any other manner. Existing law authorizes the commission to impose specified administrative civil penalties on a person, including a landowner, who is in violation of the public access provisions of the act for each violation of the act.

This bill would instead apply the specified administrative civil penalties to a person, including a landowner, who is in violation of any provision of the act, rather than a violation of the public access provisions.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 30821 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

30821.

(a) In addition to any other penalties imposed pursuant to this division, a person, including a landowner, who is in violation of the ~~public access~~ provisions of this division is subject to an administrative civil penalty that may be imposed by the commission in an amount not to exceed 75 percent of the amount of the maximum penalty authorized pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 30820 for each violation. The administrative civil penalty may be assessed for each day the violation persists, but for no more than five years.

(b) All penalties imposed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be imposed by majority vote of the commissioners present in a duly noticed public hearing in compliance with the requirements of Section 30810, 30811, or 30812.

(c) In determining the amount of civil liability, the commission shall take into account the factors set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 30820.

(d) A person shall not be subject to both monetary civil liability imposed under this section and monetary civil liability imposed by the superior court for the same act or failure to act. If a person who is assessed a penalty under this section fails to pay the administrative penalty, otherwise fails to comply with a restoration or cease and desist order issued by the commission in connection with the penalty action, or challenges any of these actions by the commission in a court of law, the commission may maintain an action or otherwise engage in judicial proceedings to enforce those requirements and the court may grant any relief as provided under this chapter.

(e) If a person fails to pay a penalty imposed by the commission pursuant to this section, the commission may record a lien on the property in the amount of the penalty assessed by the commission. This lien shall have the force, effect, and priority of a judgment lien.

(f) In enacting this section, it is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that unintentional, minor violations of this division that only cause de minimis harm will not lead to the imposition of administrative penalties if the violator has acted expeditiously to correct the violation.

(g) “Person,” for the purpose of this section, does not include a local government, a special district, or an agency thereof, when acting in a legislative or adjudicative capacity.

(h) Administrative penalties pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not be assessed if the property owner corrects the violation consistent with this division within 30 days of receiving written notification from the commission regarding the violation, and if the alleged violator can correct the violation without undertaking additional development that requires a permit under this division. This 30-day timeframe for corrective action does not apply to previous violations of permit conditions incurred by a property owner.

(i) The commission shall prepare and submit, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, a report to the Legislature by January 15, 2019, that includes all of the following:

(1) The number of new violations reported annually to the commission from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2018, inclusive.

(2) The number of violations resolved from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2018, inclusive.

(3) The number of administrative penalties issued pursuant to this section, the dollar amount of the penalties, and a description of the violations from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2018, inclusive.

(j) Revenues derived pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Violation Remediation Account of the Coastal Conservancy Fund and expended pursuant to Section 30823.