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AB-2783 San Diego Unified Port District.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 08/16/2024 04:33 PM
AB2783:v93#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  August 15, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  July 03, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 16, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 15, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 01, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 04, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2783

Introduced by Assembly Member Alvarez

February 15, 2024

An act to amend Sections 16, 17, and 18 18, and 83 of, and to add Sections 18.3, 18.5, and 19.5 18.3 and 18.5 to, the San Diego Unified Port District Act (Chapter 67 of the First Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 1962), relating to the San Diego Unified Port District.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2783, as amended, Alvarez. San Diego Unified Port District.
(1) The San Diego Unified Port District Act authorizes the establishment of the San Diego Unified Port District for the acquisition, construction, maintenance, operation, development, and regulation of harbor works and improvements for the harbor of San Diego and for the promotion of commerce, navigation, fisheries, and recreation. The act establishes the board of commissioners of the port district and vests it with specified authority and responsibilities regarding the management of the district.
This bill would require the board to adopt a code of ethics for the board, commissioners, and unrepresented district employees and to accept and respond to certain ethics complaints, as specified. The bill would require the board to appoint a board of ethics to provide independent ethics advice to the board, as specified. The bill would require an ethics complaint to be substantiated with a formal written complaint in a form consistent with a form provided on the district’s internet website and with a sworn affidavit under the penalty of perjury. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the board to submit certain ethics complaints to the board of ethics, as specified. The bill would require the board of ethics, upon the conclusion of an investigation into the conduct of a commissioner, to provide all findings from the investigation to the State Lands Commission and to the city that appointed the commissioner that was subject to the investigation.
This bill would prohibit a commissioner from lobbying, contracting with, or being employed by the board or the district until after the expiration of one year, beginning January 1 of the year following a commissioner’s end of term or resignation. from, for a period of one year after leaving office, taking certain actions for the purpose of influencing an action of the board or the district, as specified. The bill would require the district to establish a registry for lobbyists, as specified. The bill would authorize the district to collect a registration fee in an amount not to exceed the reasonable cost of implementing the registry, as specified.
(2) The act requires the City of San Diego to appoint 3 commissioners and other specified cities to appoint one commissioner each to the board of commissioners. The act specifies a commissioner’s term is for 4 years, as specified.
This bill would authorize a commissioner to continue to serve beyond an expired term for 6 months until a replacement is appointed. The bill would require the City of San Diego to make a good faith attempt to appoint one commissioner that resides in one of 5 specified neighborhoods within that city and at least one commissioner that is a current or former member of the maritime and cargo handling industry. to, at the beginning of its commissioner appointment process, to make specified outreach efforts.
(3) The act requires the board of commissioners to annually elect from its members a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and a secretary. The act requires the board of commissioners to make rules and regulations for its own government and procedure. Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires each legislative body of a local agency to provide notice of the time and place for its regular meetings and also requires that all meetings of a legislative body be open and public, and that all persons be permitted to attend unless a closed session is authorized. The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection, unless an exemption from disclosure applies. Existing law requires the board of commissioners to comply with those acts, except as specified.
This bill would prohibit a commissioner from serving as chairperson unless the commissioner has served on the board for at least one year. The bill would clarify that the board of commissioners, if it acts to censure or strip a commissioner of their duties based on alleged unethical or unlawful conduct, to disclose to the public all documents and evidence related to the alleged conduct in accordance with the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act and the California Public Records Act. authorize the board to censure or remove a commissioner from a committee after appropriate notice and if specified criteria are met.
(4) The act prohibits a commissioner from receiving a salary from the district and requires a commissioner to be reimbursed for necessary traveling and other expenses incurred while engaged in the performance of the commissioner’s duties.

This bill would require the district to compensate a commissioner $100 for each day that the commissioner attends a meeting or performs duties related to the district, as specified.

(5)The act authorizes specific uses for property held in trust by the district, including, but not limited to, the construction, reconstruction, repair, and maintenance of buildings and infrastructure for commerce and navigation, for commercial and industrial activity, for air commerce and air navigation, for recreation, and for open space, ecological preservation, and habitat restoration.

The bill would require the board to establish a Maritime Industrial Impact Fund, in-lieu of an account already established by the board, to fund projects to mitigate off-tideland impacts from the district’s maritime industrial and terminal activities, as specified. The bill would require at least 2% of the district’s gross maritime industrial operating revenue to be deposited into the fund, as specified. The bill would require, at a publicly noticed board meeting, the board to adopt policies and procedures regarding the requirements, procedures, and operation of the fund, as specified.

By requiring the board to provide this funding, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(5) The act requires certain moneys received or collected by the board or paid to the district to be credited to the San Diego Unified Port District Revenue Fund, as specified. The act authorizes moneys in the fund to be used for, among other things, the acquisition, construction, completion, and maintenance of harbor and port improvements, works, utilities, appliances, facilities, and vessels.
This bill would authorize moneys in the fund to also be used for electrification projects, human-operated zero-emission cargo handling equipment, and infrastructure to support human-operated zero-emission cargo handling equipment associated with the district’s marine terminals.

This

(6) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Diego Unified Port District.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

(7) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 16 of the San Diego Unified Port District Act (Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 1962, First Extraordinary Session) is amended to read:

Sec. 16.

 (a) The district shall be governed by a board of commissioners who shall be known as “port commissioners.” Each city council, respectively, of the cities that are included in the district pursuant to this act shall appoint the commissioner or commissioners to which it is entitled, pursuant to this section, to represent that particular city on the board. The commissioners shall be residents of the respective cities they represent at the time of their appointments, and during the term of their office. All of the powers and duties conferred on the district shall be exercised through the board of commissioners.
(b) The City of Chula Vista, the City of Coronado, the City of Imperial Beach, and the City of National City shall each appoint one commissioner.
(c) The City of San Diego shall appoint three commissioners. At the time of appointment and during the term of office, each commissioner shall be a resident of the City of San Diego. The City of San Diego shall make a good faith attempt to appoint at least one commissioner that resides in one of the City of San Diego neighborhoods of Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Shelltown, Sherman Heights, or Southcrest, and at least one commissioner that is a current or former member of the maritime and cargo handling industry. At the beginning of the City of San Diego’s process for appointing a commissioner, the City of San Diego shall make an effort to reach out to portside communities and to the maritime and cargo handling industries, including impacted labor groups, to solicit the names of potential candidates that meet the qualifications described in subdivision (d).
(d) (1) Commissioners shall collectively posses a balance of qualifications that support the district’s complex and diverse needs. When appointing a commissioner, a city is encouraged to appoint a person who has several years of professional experience in one or more of the following fields: cargo handling, environmental stewardship, innovation, international trade, international trade logistics, land use and planning, legal, maritime, marine services, marketing, operations, real estate, shipping, technology, and tourism.
(2) A city may consider appointing a commissioner that does not have experience in a field listed in paragraph (1) if the city determines that the person is otherwise qualified.

SEC. 2.

 Section 17 of the San Diego Unified Port District Act (Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 1962, First Extraordinary Session), as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 171 of the Statutes of 1982, is amended to read:

Sec. 17.
 (a) The term of each commissioner shall be for four years, except as provided in this section. A commissioner may continue to serve beyond an expired term for up to six months until a replacement has been appointed.
(b) Any vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the city council of the city from which the vacancy has occurred. Any appointment to fill a vacancy during the term of a commissioner shall be for the unexpired term. Each commissioner, before entering upon the duties of the office, shall take and subscribe the oath as provided in Section 1360 of the Government Code, and a certificate of the same shall be filed with the city clerk of the city from which the commissioner shall have been appointed, and a copy of which shall be filed with the district. A commissioner may be removed from the board by a majority vote of the city council that appointed the commissioner.

(c)A commissioner shall not lobby, contract with, or be employed by the board or the district until after the expiration of one year, beginning January 1 of the year following a commissioner’s end of term or resignation.

(c) (1) A commissioner shall not, for a period of one year after leaving office, act as agent or attorney for, or otherwise represent for compensation, any other person, by making any formal or informal appearance before, or by making any oral or written communication to, a commissioner, the board, a committee or subcommittee of the board, the district, or an employee or officer of the board or district, if the appearance or communication is made for the purpose of influencing administrative action or legislative action, or influencing any action or proceeding involving the issuance, amendment, awarding, or revocation of a permit, license, grant, or contract, or the sale or purchase of goods or property.
(2) (A) Paragraph (1) does not apply to an individual who is, at the time of the appearance or communication, a board member, officer, or employee of another local government agency, or an employee or representative of a public agency, and is appearing or communicating on behalf of that agency.
(B) Paragraph (1) applies to an individual who is, at the time of the appearance or communication, an independent contractor of a local government agency, or a public agency, and is appearing or communicating on behalf of that agency.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision the following definitions apply:
(A) “Administrative action” means the proposal, drafting, development, consideration, amendment, enactment, or defeat by the board or district of any matter, including any rule, regulation, or other action in any regulatory proceeding, whether quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial. Administrative action does not include any action that is solely ministerial.
(B) “Legislative action” means the drafting, introduction, modification, enactment, defeat, approval, or veto of any ordinance, amendment, resolution, report, nomination, or other matter by the board or by any committee or subcommittee thereof, or by a commissioner or employee or officer of the board or district acting in the commissioner, employee, or officer’s official capacity.

SEC. 3.

 Section 18 of the San Diego Unified Port District Act (Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 1962, First Extraordinary Session), as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 480 of the Statutes of 1996, is amended to read:

Sec. 18.
 (a) Immediately after their appointment, the commissioners shall enter upon the performance of their duties. The board shall annually elect one of its members as chairperson and another as vice chairperson, and shall also elect annually a secretary, who may or may not be a member of the board. A commissioner shall not serve as chairperson unless the commissioner has served on the board for at least one year. A majority shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The board shall make rules and regulations for its own government and procedure, shall hold at least one regular meeting each month, and may hold any special meetings it deems necessary.

(b)If the board acts to censure or strip a commissioner of their duties based on alleged unethical or unlawful conduct, then the board shall disclose to the public all documents and evidence related to the alleged conduct in accordance with the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code). All records related to the alleged conduct are public records that are subject to the disclosure requirements of the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(b) (1) After appropriate notice, the board may, by order, censure or remove a commissioner from a committee if it finds either of the following:
(A) That the commissioner committed a violation of the code of ethics adopted pursuant to Section 18.5 and that censure or removal, as applicable, is in the public interest.
(B) The commissioner committed conduct that caused, or will likely cause, material harm to the district.
(2) The board may waive the requirement for appropriate notice if the alleged conduct is egregious or criminal in nature and has caused material harm to the district.
(c) (1) The commissioners shall be officers of the district and shall receive no salaries but shall be reimbursed for necessary traveling and other expenses incurred while engaged in the performance of their duties.
(2) In addition to the reimbursements described in paragraph (1), a commissioner shall, in accordance with Section 53232.1 of the Government Code, receive compensation of one hundred dollars ($100) for each day the commissioner attends a meeting or performs duties related to the district. A commissioner shall not receive more than six hundred dollars ($600) in a month pursuant to this paragraph. paragraph, excluding expenses required to be reimbursed pursuant to paragraph (1) and any other benefits authorized for commissioners on or before January 1, 2024.

SEC. 4.

 Section 18.3 is added to the San Diego Unified Port District Act (Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 1962, First Extraordinary Session), to read:

Sec. 18.3.
 (a) The district shall establish a registry for lobbyists that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Identifies each lobbyist, including their name, address, and telephone number.
(2) Describes the name, nature, and purpose of the organization employing the lobbyist and identifies each lobbyist authorized to lobby on behalf of the organization.
(3) Identifies the client on whose behalf the lobbyist is lobbying, each district decision the client lobbyist seeks to influence, influence and the client’s lobbyist’s desired outcome for each of those decisions.
(b) The district shall make the registry publicly available on its internet website.
(c) The district shall update the registry no less frequently than every three months.
(d) The district shall require each lobbyist to Each lobbyist shall register with the district. The district may collect a registration fee in an amount not to exceed the reasonable cost of implementing this section.
(e) (1) For purposes of this section, “lobbyist” means any individual who receives two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more in economic consideration in a calendar month, other than reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses, or whose principal duties as an employee are, to communicate directly or through that individual’s agents with any commissioner, district official, or district employee for the purpose of influencing district action.
(2) An individual is not a lobbyist by reason of performing the activities described in Section 86300 of the Government Code.

SEC. 5.

 Section 18.5 is added to the San Diego Unified Port District Act (Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 1962, First Extraordinary Session), to read:

Sec. 18.5.

 (a) The board shall adopt a code of ethics for the board, commissioners, and unrepresented district employees.
(b) The board shall accept and respond to ethics complaints regarding the board, a commissioner, or an unrepresented district employee. officer appointed by the board pursuant to Section 72.
(c) (1) The board shall establish a board of ethics, which shall provide independent ethics advice to the board.
(2) The board of ethics shall consist of three members. The board shall appoint the members of the board of ethics during a properly noticed public meeting. The board shall not appoint a commissioner or a district employee to the board of ethics.
(3) The members of the board of ethics shall have diverse perspectives and areas of expertise, have experience appropriate for the review of ethical matters, and be of good general reputation and character.
(4) The board of ethics shall meet at least once per year for an organizational meeting. It shall then meet as needed to address advisory questions pertaining to the application of the board’s code of ethics and to address an ethics complaint any ethics complaint substantiated with a formal written complaint in a form consistent with a form provided on the district’s internet website and with a sworn affidavit under penalty of perjury submitted to the board regarding the board, a commissioner, or an unrepresented district employee. officer appointed by the board pursuant to Section 72.
(d) (1) The board shall submit an ethics complaint regarding the board, a commissioner, or an unrepresented district employee officer appointed by the board pursuant to Section 72 to the board of ethics during an open meeting. The board may submit any other ethical matter to the board of ethics. The board and the board of ethics shall treat a matter submitted to the board of ethics as confidential until the board responds pursuant to paragraph (3). to the complaint. The board and board of ethics shall ensure that any investigation, discussion, deliberation, recommendation, and public disclosure is consistent with applicable personnel rules and federal and state law.
(2) The board of ethics shall provide advice on an ethics complaint to the board during a closed meeting.
(3) The board shall respond to an ethics complaint in a public meeting meeting, consistent with applicable personnel rules and federal and state law, after receiving advice from the board of ethics. The board shall make public the advice provided to the board within 24 hours of the conclusion of the public meeting during which it responds to the ethics complaint.
(4) Upon the conclusion of an investigation into the conduct of a commissioner, the board of ethics shall provide all findings from the investigation to the State Lands Commission and to the city that appointed the commissioner that was subject to the investigation.
(5) Upon the conclusion of an investigation into the conduct of an officer appointed by the board pursuant to Section 72, the board of ethics shall provide all findings from the investigation to the State Lands Commission.
(6) The board of ethics shall compile an annual report that includes a reference to each formally submitted complaint and the actions taken in response to each formally submitted complaint. The annual report shall be made available to the public on the district’s internet website.

(5)

(7) The board shall comply with the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) to the extent permissible under the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code) and the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).
SEC. 6.Section 19.5 is added to the San Diego Unified Port District Act (Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 1962, First Extraordinary Session), to read:
Sec. 19.5.

(a)In order to protect and enhance the economic benefits of import and export activities for the San Diego region and the state, while also addressing the associated environmental impacts to certain communities from those maritime industrial activities, it is necessary to create a fund to provide a financing mechanism for projects that address the off-tideland impacts as a result of the presence of nearby on-tideland maritime industry and terminals.

(b)(1)The board shall establish a Maritime Industrial Impact Fund (MIIF) in-lieu of the fund established by the Board of Port Commissioners Policy No. 773 to address off-tideland impacts. The minimum annual funding for the MIIF shall be 2 percent of the district’s gross maritime industrial operating revenue. The board may allocate additional funds to the MIIF at its discretion. A project that receives funding from the MIIF may receive additional funding from other sources. The district shall fund the MIIF on a fiscal year basis. The district may postpone a payment to the MIIF for no more than seven fiscal years if the district cannot fund the MIIF due to extraordinary circumstances, including, but not limited to, a recession, pandemic, natural disaster, or other financial constraints.

(2)The moneys in the MIIF shall be used to fund projects to mitigate off-tideland impacts from the district’s maritime industrial and terminal activities. The moneys in the MIIF may be used for electrification projects and human-operated zero-emission cargo handling equipment and infrastructure to support human-operated zero-emission cargo handling equipment associated with the district’s two marine terminals and its maritime industrial tenants located between the two terminals.

(3)The board shall adopt policies and procedures at a publicly noticed board meeting. The policies and procedures shall define the requirements, procedures, and operation of the MIIF. The policies and procedures shall set forth the process and requirements for the board’s consideration and approval of MIIF projects. The policies and procedures shall include an annual reporting requirement on the MIIF to the Cities of Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, National City, and San Diego.

(4)MIIF moneys shall be expended for projects consistent with the public trust doctrine and shall be subject to Section 30.5.

(c)For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1)“District’s gross maritime industrial operating revenue” means the district’s annual revenues earned from the operation of the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal and the National City Marine Terminal and district’s revenue from its maritime industrial tenants located between the two terminals, but does not include grants, legal settlements, or other federal or state funding received by the district.

(2)“Off-tideland impacts” means impacts to communities adjacent to, directly associated with, or resulting from the district’s maritime industry and terminals, which are of a unique, adverse, or exclusionary in nature and have a direct relationship or nexus between the district’s on-tideland maritime industrial operations.

SEC. 6.

 Section 83 of the San Diego Unified Port District Act (Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 1962, First Extraordinary Session), is amended to read:

Sec. 83.
 The money moneys in the fund may also be used for the all of the following purposes:
(a) For the acquisition, construction, completion completion, and maintenance of harbor and port improvements, works, utilities, appliances, facilities, and vessels, for the promotion and accommodation of commerce, navigation navigation, and fisheries, and recreation, or uses in connection therewith; and for therewith.
(b) For extraordinary improvements and betterments to lands and property under the control, supervision supervision, and management of the district, including the purchase or condemnation of necessary lands and other property and property rights.
(c) For electrification projects, human-operated zero-emission cargo handling equipment, and infrastructure to support human-operated zero-emission cargo handling equipment associated with the district’s marine terminals.

SEC. 7.

 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 geography and circumstances relative to the development of harbor and port facilities within the San Diego Unified Port District.
SEC. 8.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SEC. 8.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.