Today's Law As Amended


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AB-2534 Public resources: environmental education: grant program: Hollister Ranch.(2017-2018)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Providing children with access to outdoor experiences increases school performance, builds civic behavior, and improves the overall well-being of California’s residents and communities.
(2) According to the Parks Forward Commission report, released February of 2015, improving access to parks, outdoor experiences, and recreational opportunities, particularly for youth and young adults in disadvantaged communities, will lead to more healthy lifestyles, better educational outcomes, and improvements to the overall well-being of California’s citizens and communities as well as our natural environment.
(3) The California Coastal Act (Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) of the Public Resources Code) guarantees all Californians access to our beaches and it is necessary that any attempts to curtail or place limitations on public access to our beaches be addressed.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to expand access to parks, our coast, and other outdoor educational and recreational opportunities in underserved areas by, among other things, convening and developing strategic partnerships to facilitate, promote, and enhance access to parks as well as outdoor educational and recreational experiences in underserved communities.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 1.26 (commencing with Section 5090.75) is added to Division 5 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

CHAPTER  1.26. Outdoor Equity Grants Program
5090.75.
 (a) The director shall establish the Outdoor Equity Grants Program to increase the ability of underserved and at-risk populations to participate in outdoor environmental educational experiences at state parks and other public lands where outdoor environmental education programs take place. The program shall award grants to public organizations, including local governments and local education agencies, joint powers authorities, open-space authorities, regional open-space districts, other relevant public agencies, or nonprofit organizations, with a focus on funding transportation, logistical, and program operations and capacity costs associated with reaching historically underserved communities.
(b) In developing the program, the director shall do both of the following:
(1) Develop criteria, procedures, and accountability measures as may be necessary to implement the program.
(2) Administer the program to ensure that priority is given to underserved populations, including both urban and rural areas and low-income communities, where participation in outdoor environmental education and recreation programs has been limited.
(c) The director shall give priority for funding to outdoor environmental education programs that primarily provide outreach to and serve students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, foster youth, or pupils of limited English proficiency, as these terms are defined in Section 42238.01 of the Education Code, and have one or more of the following attributes:
(1) Have a curriculum that is aligned to the content standards for California public schools adopted by the State Board of Education, including, but not limited to, the Next Generation Science standards, or the California History-Social Science standards.
(2) Foster stewardship of the environment and include, when available, curriculum established pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 71300) of Division 34.
(3) Integrate instruction in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
(d) The director may give additional consideration to programs that do any of the following:
(1) Maximize the number of participants that can be served.
(2) Demonstrate partnerships between public, private, and nonprofit entities.
(3) Contribute to healthy lifestyles, sound nutritional habits, and improved outdoor educational and recreational experiences.
(4) Include service learning and community outreach components for purposes of building partnerships between participants and local communities.
(e) To increase the availability and capacity of outdoor environmental education programs given priority pursuant to subdivision (c) in areas of the state that the department finds are underserved, the director may provide funding for professional learning, based on approved content standards, for the staff and volunteers of those programs.
(f) In implementing this program, the department may work with relevant stakeholders to promote and implement the program in a manner that effectively reaches a wide geography throughout the state and ensures that regions in northern, central, and southern California, including both urban and rural areas, are adequately considered.
5090.76.
 (a) Except as authorized by the Legislature, the department shall not allocate for the purposes of the program any general fund moneys appropriated by the Legislature to the department in the annual Budget Act.
(b) The director may accept private donations made for the support of the program. The director may solicit and accept private funding to help offset the costs of the program.
(c) All moneys received pursuant to this section or appropriated by the Legislature for the purpose of this program shall be deposited in the California Outdoor Equity Account, which is hereby created within the State Parks and Recreation Fund.
(d) Prior to commencing any program development activities for the Outdoor Equity Grants Program, adequate donations or funds shall be deposited into the California Outdoor Equity Account. This amount shall be sufficient to administer the grant program and provide grant awards.
5090.77.
 (a) The department shall gather information from applicants following each award year for purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of outdoor environmental education programs in achieving the objectives of the grant program. Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, the department shall annually summarize and report this information for the previous award year to the appropriate budget and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The information in the annual report shall include the total number of children served, the total number and types of entities that received grant awards, appropriate recommendations to improve the grant program, partnerships formed, educational objectives achieved, the total number of applications received, and the total number of children who would have been served had all applicants for the award year received grant awards.
(b) A report pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
5090.78.
 The department shall adopt guidelines it determines as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code does not apply to the adoption of guidelines pursuant to this section. The department shall develop a process for public comment and review of the guidelines that involves three public hearings in three different parts of the state prior to the adoption of those guidelines.

SEC. 3.

 Section 8610 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

8610.
 (a) There is in the State Treasury the Land Bank Fund, which fund is hereby created. All moneys in the fund are appropriated to the commission for expenditure, without regard to fiscal years, for the purposes of Section 8625. When performing the powers and duties set forth in this division, the commission shall be known as the Land Bank Trustee.
(b) (1) The Martins Beach Subaccount is hereby created in the fund. Moneys received from public or private sources, including nonprofit sources, to be used for the creation of a public access route to and along the shoreline, including the sandy beach, at Martins Beach at the South Cabrillo Highway pursuant to Section 6213.5 shall be deposited into the subaccount  Martins Beach Subaccount  and be continuously appropriated to and expended by the commission to acquire that right-of-way or easement, either in accordance with the procedures set forth in Title 7 (commencing with Section 1230.010) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or through a negotiated agreement, and for costs associated with that acquisition, including, but not limited to, environmental studies, analyses, and assessments, and associated improvements and maintenance costs, in accordance with the following priority:
(A) Moneys received from public or private sources, including nonprofit sources, that are deposited into the subaccount  Martins Beach Subaccount  shall first be expended by the commission for the creation of that public access route, and any associated improvements and maintenance costs.
(B) The commission may also transfer moneys from the fund to the subaccount,  Martins Beach Subaccount,  not to exceed a maximum of one million dollars ($1,000,000), and expend those moneys for the creation of that public access route and associated improvements and maintenance costs, after moneys received pursuant to subparagraph (A) have been used.
(2) The commission may deposit into the subaccount  Martins Beach Subaccount  and expend moneys received from the County of San Mateo pursuant to an appropriation by the county for the purposes of this subdivision.
(3) The commission may, pursuant to Section 6213.5, acquire the right-of-way or easement necessary for the creation of the public access route, as prescribed in paragraph (1). Nothing in this paragraph prevents the commission from acquiring the right-of-way or easement through a negotiated agreement.
(4) General Fund contributions to the subaccount  Martins Beach Subaccount  shall be segregated and separately accounted for.
(c) (1) The Hollister Ranch Subaccount is hereby created in the fund. Moneys received by the commission from public or private sources, including nonprofit sources, for purposes of acquiring property necessary to implement the 1982 adopted coastal access program, or as amended, for Hollister Ranch shall be deposited into the Hollister Ranch Subaccount and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, expended by the commission for that purpose, either in accordance with the procedures set forth in Title 7 (commencing with Section 1230.010) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure or through a negotiated agreement, and for costs associated with that acquisition, including, but not limited to, environmental studies, analyses and assessments, and associated improvements and maintenance costs.
(2) The commission may transfer moneys from the fund to the Hollister Ranch Subaccount in an amount not to exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), and, upon appropriation, may expend those moneys for the creation of public access and associated improvements and maintenance costs pursuant to the 1982 adopted coastal access plan, or as amended, for Hollister Ranch.
(3) The commission, pursuant to Section 6210.9, may acquire the property necessary for the creation of the public access route, as described in the 1982 adopted coastal access program, or as amended, for Hollister Ranch. This paragraph does not prevent the commission from acquiring property through negotiated agreements.
(4) General fund contributions to the Hollister Ranch Subaccount shall be segregated and separately accounted for.

SEC. 4.

 Section 30610.3 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

30610.3.
 (a) Whenever the commission determines (1) that public access opportunities through an existing subdivided area, which has less than 75 percent of the subdivided lots built upon, or an area proposed to be subdivided are not adequate to meet the public access requirements of this division and (2) that individual owners of vacant lots in those areas do not have the legal authority to comply with public access requirements as a condition of securing a coastal development permit for the reason that some other person or persons has legal authority, the commission shall implement public access requirements as provided in this section.
(b) The commission, on its own motion or at the request of an affected property owner, shall identify an area as meeting the criteria specified in subdivision (a). After an area has been identified, the commission shall, after appropriate public hearings adopt a specific public access program for the area and shall request that the State Coastal Conservancy, established pursuant to Division 21 (commencing with Section 31000), implement the program. The access program shall include, but not be limited to, the identification of specific land areas and view corridors to be used for public access, any facilities or other development deemed appropriate, the commission’s recommendations regarding the manner in which public access will be managed, and the types of permitted public uses. The State Coastal Conservancy shall, pursuant to its authority, implement the public access program.
(c) The State Coastal Conservancy shall be authorized to expend funds when appropriated from the Coastal Access Account for the purchase of lands and view easements and to pay for any development needed to carry out the public access program specified in subdivision (a). Not more than 5 percent of the amount of funds necessary to carry out each public access program may be provided as a grant to the State Coastal Conservancy for its administrative costs incurred in carrying out the access program.
(d) The State Coastal Conservancy may enter into any agreement it deems necessary and appropriate with any state or local public agency or with a private association authorized to perform those functions for the operation and maintenance of any access facilities acquired or developed pursuant to this section.
(e) Every person receiving a coastal development permit or a certificate of exemption for development on any vacant lot  within an area designated pursuant to this section shall, prior to the commencement of construction, pay to the commission, for deposit in the Coastal Access Account, an “in-lieu” public access fee. The amount of each fee shall be determined by dividing the cost of acquiring the specified lands and view easements by the total number of lots within the identified area. The proportion of the acquisition cost that can be allocated to lots built upon pursuant to permits that were not subject to public access conditions under this division or the California Coastal Zone Conservation Act of 1972 (former Division 18 (commencing with Section 27000)) shall be paid from the Coastal Access Account. An “in-lieu” public access fee may be in the form of an appropriate dedication, in which event the lots to which the dedication can be credited shall not be counted toward the total number of lots used in arriving at the “in-lieu” public access fee share for each remaining lot.
(f) For purposes of determining the acquisition costs specified in subdivision (e), the State Coastal Conservancy may, in the absence of a fixed price agreed to by both the State Coastal Conservancy and the seller, specify an estimated cost based on a formal appraisal of the value of the interest proposed to be acquired. The appraisal shall be conducted by an independent appraiser under contract with the State Coastal Conservancy and shall be completed within 120 days of the adoption of the specific public access program by the commission pursuant to subdivision (b). The appraisal shall be deemed suitable for all purposes of the Property Acquisition Law (Part 11 (commencing with Section 15850 of the Government Code)). For every year following public acquisition of the interests in land specified as part of a public access program and prior to payment of the required “in-lieu” fee, a carrying cost factor equal to 5 percent of the share attributable to each lot shall be added to any unpaid “in-lieu” public access fee, provided, however, that a lot owner may pay the “in-lieu” public access fee at any time after public acquisition in order to avoid payment of the carrying cost factor.
(g) No provision of this section may be applied within any portion of the unincorporated area in the County of Sonoma, commonly known as the Sea Ranch.

SEC. 5.

 Section 30610.8 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

30610.8.
 (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that a dispute exists at the Hollister Ranch in the County of Santa Barbara with respect to the implementation of public access policies of this division and that it is in the interest of the state and the property owners at the Hollister Ranch to resolve this dispute in an expeditious manner. The Legislature further finds and declares that public access should be provided in a timely manner and that in order to achieve this goal, while permitting property owners to commence construction, the provisions of this section are necessary to promote the public’s welfare.
(b) For purposes of Section 30610.3 and with respect to the Hollister Ranch public access program, the in-lieu fee shall be thirty-three thousand dollars ($33,000) for each permit, adjusted annually for inflation pursuant to the consumer price index.  for each permit shall be five thousand dollars ($5,000).  Upon payment by the applicant for a coastal development permit of this in-lieu fee to the State Coastal Conservancy for use in implementing the a  public access program,  program adopted pursuant to Section 30610.3,  the applicant may immediately commence construction if the other conditions of the coastal development permit, if any, have been met. No condition may be added to a coastal development permit that was issued before  prior to  the effective date of this section for any development at the Hollister Ranch.
(c) The State Coastal Conservancy and the State Lands Commission shall use their full  It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Coastal Conservancy, the State Public Works Board, and all other relevant state agencies, boards, and commissions utilize their  authority provided under law to implement, as expeditiously as possible, the public access policies and provisions of this division at the Hollister Ranch in the County of Santa Barbara.
(d) Notwithstanding provision 2 of category (2) of Item 3760-490-721 of the Budget Act of 1984, all in-lieu fees received pursuant to this section before, on, or after January 1, 2019, as well as other moneys received by the State Coastal Conservancy for providing public access at Hollister Ranch from other public or private sources, including nonprofit sources, shall be deposited in the Hollister Access Management Subaccount, which is hereby created in the State Coastal Conservancy Fund. Funds in the subaccount, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be used for any action necessary to implement the 1982 adopted coastal access program for the Hollister Ranch. Nothing in this section precludes any amendments to the 1982 adopted coastal access program, or as amended, for the Hollister Ranch.
SEC. 6.
 In regard to Sections 3 to 5, inclusive, of this act, the Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique circumstance regarding Hollister Ranch.