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AB-120 Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002: Caulerpa taxifolia eradication.(2003-2004)

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AB120:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 10, 2003

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2003–2004 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 120

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Wyland

January 14, 2003

An act relating to water, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 120, as amended, Wyland. Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002: Caulerpa taxifolia eradication.
The Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 5, 2002, statewide general election, authorizes, for the purposes of financing a safe drinking water, water quality, and water reliability program, the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,440,000,000, of which $500,000,000 is available, upon appropriation by the Legislature for, among other things, the removal of invasive nonnative plants.
This bill would appropriate $1,100,000 from bond funds made available by the initiative measure to the State Water Resources Control Board for the purposes of making a grant, subject to a certain determination by the state board, to the Southern California Caulerpa Action Team to eradicate Caulerpa taxifolia, or its clones or derivatives, in the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following:
(a) Caulerpa taxifolia is an extremely invasive salt water algae that is a serious threat to our marine ecosystem.
(b) Plant and animal diversity are substantially reduced where Caulerpa taxifolia has invaded. Caulerpa taxifolia is easily spread by fragmentation and can be transported great distances.
(c) There is no known natural predator for Caulerpa taxifolia native to California’s marine ecosystem.
(d) There are two known infestations of Caulerpa taxifolia in California coastal waters that are undergoing eradication efforts.

SEC. 2.

 (a) The sum of one million one hundred thousand dollars ($1,100,000) is hereby appropriated from the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Fund of 2002 to the State Water Resources Control Board for the purposes of making a grant, in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 79561 of the Water Code, to the Southern California Caulerpa Action Team to eradicate Caulerpa taxifolia, or its clones and derivatives (taxifolia, cupressoides, mexicana, sertulariodes, floridana, ashmeadii, racemosa, verticillata, and scapelliformis), in the Auga Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
(b) The State Water Resources Control Board may only allocate funds pursuant to subdivision (a) if it determines that allocation meets the requirements of Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 79560) of Division 26.5 of the Water Code.
(c) For the purposes of subdivision (a), the Southern California Caulerpa Action Team consists of federal, state, and local agencies and private entities, organized to eradicate Caulerpa taxifolia, or its clones and derivatives, in the Auga Agua Hedioda Lagoon.