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AB-1296 Bar pilots: regulation of vessels.(2023-2024)



Current Version: 09/04/24 - Enrolled

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AB1296:v96#DOCUMENT

Enrolled  September 04, 2024
Passed  IN  Senate  August 21, 2024
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 30, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  June 10, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 11, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1296

Introduced by Assembly Member Grayson
(Principal coauthor: Senator Dodd)

February 16, 2023

An act to add Article 9 (commencing with Section 1147) to Chapter 1 of Division 5 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, relating to bar pilots.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1296, Grayson. Bar pilots: regulation of vessels.
Existing law provides for the regulation and licensing of bar pilots for Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun. Existing law also establishes, in the Transportation Agency, a Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun and prescribes the membership, functions, and duties of the Board of Pilot Commissioners with regard to the licensure and regulation of bar pilots.
This bill would prohibit a state regulation from requiring or compelling the San Francisco bar pilots, as defined, to replace certain pilot station boats unless the state regulation authorizes the San Francisco bar pilots to replace the pilot station boat upon the pilot station boat reaching the end of its useful service life, as specified.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for San Francisco bar pilots who provide pilotage service on Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The pilot station boats known as the PV California, PV San Francisco, and PV Drake are essential to maintaining reliable pilotage service, achieving the state’s economic, public safety, and environmental protection goals, and for ensuring the state’s and national supply chain functions safely and efficiently, while ensuring public safety and the protection of the state’s waters and shorelines.
(b) Pilots are required by statute to maintain vessels on station at all times in the open ocean at the pilot boarding area, 11 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, to board and disembark state-licensed maritime pilots, thus ensuring that commercial vessels are safely and efficiently navigated to the state’s nine bay area ports. The construction of replacement pilot station boats for the PV California, PV San Francisco, and PV Drake requires significant private capital investment and planning and should be reasonably tailored to support the economic health of the pilotage system and the economic competitiveness of bay area ports.

SEC. 2.

 Article 9 (commencing with Section 1147) is added to Chapter 1 of Division 5 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, to read:
Article  9. Regulation of Pilot Station Boats

1147.
 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Pilot station boats” means the 104-foot San Francisco class pilot vessels employed by the San Francisco bar pilots to embark and disembark the pilots from ships entering or leaving the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, which consist of the PV San Francisco, Official Number 1105895, the PV California, Official Number 1108685, and the PV Drake, Official Number 1222874.
(b) “San Francisco bar pilots” means a group of maritime pilots, individually licensed by the board, organized as an unincorporated association for the purpose of providing pilotage service on Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun.

1147.1.
 (a) A state regulation shall not require or compel, directly or indirectly, the San Francisco bar pilots to replace a pilot station boat unless the state regulation authorizes the San Francisco bar pilots to replace the pilot station boat upon the pilot station boat reaching the end of its useful service life, as determined by the State Air Resources Board in consultation with the board and board-approved accredited marine surveyor, and not before the pilot station boat reaches the end of its useful service life.
(b) The useful service life, as determined by the State Air Resources Board, in consultation with the board and board-approved accredited marine surveyor, shall be between 25 and 35 years from the date the pilot station boat was commissioned.

SEC. 3.

 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 needs of the San Francisco bar pilots who provide pilotage service on Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun.