AB 2567: Port of Stockton: tidelands and submerged lands: land grants.
- Session Year: 2017-2018
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2018-03-15
(1)Existing law grants and conveys in trust to certain local government entities, including port districts, all the right, title, and interest of the State of California in specified tidelands and submerged lands held by the state.
This bill would grant in trust specified tidelands and submerged lands held by the state to the Port of Stockton, as described, and would require that, on and after January 1, 2022, the use of those trust lands conform to an approved trust lands use plan, prescribed by the bill, and that all leases or agreements proposed or entered into by the Port of Stockton, as trustee of those lands, also be consistent with the public trust doctrine, as defined, and conform to the plan. The bill would require the trustee, on or before September 30, 2022, and on or before September 30 of every succeeding 5th year thereafter, to submit a report to the State Lands Commission, containing specified information. The bill would require the commission to notify the trustee if it finds that the trustee has violated the terms of its trust grant or any other obligation under the bill. By imposing new duties on the port with regard to the use and management of those trust lands, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law, the Kapiloff Land Bank Act, creates the Land Bank Fund and continuously appropriates money in the fund, subject to a statutory trust, to the commission, acting as the Land Bank Trustee, to acquire real property or any interest in real property for the purposes of public trust settlements.
This bill would require on June 30, 2019, and at the end of every fiscal year thereafter, that 10% of all gross revenue generated from the Port of Stockton trust lands during the preceding 12-month period be transmitted to the commission and, of this amount transmitted, would require the commission to allocate 80% to the Treasurer for deposit in the General Fund and 20% for deposit in the Land Bank Fund for expenditure by the commission pursuant to the act, thereby making an appropriation.
The bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2022, to survey, monument, and record a plat and a metes and bounds description of the trust lands in the office of the county recorder in the county or counties in which the lands are located.
(2)This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Port of Stockton.
(3)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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law grants and conveys in trust to certain local government entities, including port districts, all the right, title, and interest of the State of California in specified tide and submerged lands held by the state.This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to grant in trust to the Port of Stockton and its successors all of the right, title, and interest of the State of California, held by the state by virtue of its sovereignty, in and to certain tidelands and submerged lands not previously granted, whether filled or unfilled, in San Joaquin County. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the lands be held by the trustee and its successors in trust for the benefit of all the people of the state for purposes of improvement and operation of a harbor, including the construction, maintenance, and operation thereon of wharves, docks, piers, slips, quays, and other utilities, structures, facilities, or appliances necessary or convenient for the promotion and accommodation of commerce and navigation, and for other public trust purposes.Existing law grants and conveys in trust to certain local government entities, including port districts, all the right, title, and interest of the State of California in specified tide and submerged lands held by the state.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to grant in trust to the Port of Stockton and its successors all of the right, title, and interest of the State of California, held by the state by virtue of its sovereignty, in and to certain tidelands and submerged lands not previously granted, whether filled or unfilled, in San Joaquin County. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the lands be held by the trustee and its successors in trust for the benefit of all the people of the state for purposes of improvement and operation of a harbor, including the construction, maintenance, and operation thereon of wharves, docks, piers, slips, quays, and other utilities, structures, facilities, or appliances necessary or convenient for the promotion and accommodation of commerce and navigation, and for other public trust purposes.
It is the intent of the Legislature to enact a new uncodified grant of tidelands and submerged lands situated in the San Joaquin River, as described in this act, to the Port of Stockton for purposes of commerce, navigation, fisheries, and other purposes consistent with the public trust, subject to specified conditions.
SEC. 2.For purposes of this act, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)Act means the Port of Stockton Trust Lands Grant Act as provided in Sections 2 to 11, inclusive, of the act enacting this section.
(b)Commission means the State Lands Commission.
(c)Port means the Port of Stockton, acting by and through the Board of Commissioners.
(d)Public trust doctrine means the common law doctrine, as enunciated by the court in National Audubon Society v. Superior Court (1983) 33 Cal.3d 419 and other relevant judicial decisions, specifying the states authority as sovereign to exercise continuous supervision and control over the navigable waters of the state, the lands underlying those waters, and nonnavigable tributaries to navigable waters, including the protection of maritime or water-dependent commerce, navigation, and fisheries, and the preservation of the lands in their natural state for scientific study, open space, wildlife habitat, and water-oriented recreation.
(e)State means the State of California.
(f)Trustee means the Port of Stockton, a special district under Section 6240.3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code.
(g)Trust lands means certain ungranted tidelands and submerged lands within portions of the San Joaquin River, the Deep Water Ship Channel, and Burns Cut-Off, situated in the County of San Joaquin, as further described in Section 3 of this act.
(h)Trust revenues means all revenues received from trust lands and trust assets.
(i)Trust lands use plan or plan means the trust lands use plan required to be submitted by the trustee to the commission pursuant to Section 4 of this act.
(j)Trust lands use report means the report of the trustees utilization of the trust lands required to be submitted by the trustee pursuant to Section 5 of this act.
SEC. 3.(a)There is hereby granted in trust to the Port of Stockton and to its successors, all of the rights, title, and interest of the state, held by the state by virtue of its sovereignty, in lands situated in the County of San Joaquin, State of California, and described as follows:
Parcel No. 1. A strip of tide and submerged land in the Deep Water Ship Channel of the San Joaquin River approximately 125 feet in width measured from the northerly boundary of Assessor Parcel Numbers (APNs) 131-230-01, 131-230-02, 131-380-02, 131-380-03, 131-380-04, 162-030-07, and 145-020-04 and extending to the southerly boundary of the federal navigational channel. Parcel 1 begins at the northwestern boundary of APN 131-230-01 and terminates at the northeastern boundary of APN 145-020-04.
Parcel No. 2. All that certain tide and submerged land in the San Joaquin River beginning from the point where the San Joaquin River converges with the Deep Water Ship Channel of the San Joaquin River and terminating at the easternmost boundary of property owned by the Port and identified as APN 145-030-11.
Parcel No. 3. All that certain tide and submerged land situated in Burns Cut-Off adjacent to property owned by the Port and identified as APN 162-030-07, beginning from the southeastern point of origination at the Deep Water Ship Channel of the San Joaquin River to its northwestern terminus at the San Joaquin River.
Parcel No. 4. All that certain tide and submerged land in the Deep Water Ship Channel of the San Joaquin River approximately 125 feet in width measured from the northerly boundary of APN 131-220-07 and extending to the southerly boundary of the federal navigational channel. Parcel 4 begins at the northwestern boundary of APN 131-220-07 and terminates at the northeastern boundary of APN 131-220-07.
(b)The trust grant specified in subdivision (a) is subject to all of the following express conditions:
(1)The lands shall be held by the trustee and its successors in trust for the benefit of all the people of the state for purposes of improvement and operation of a harbor, including the construction, maintenance, and operation thereon of wharves, docks, piers, slips, quays, and other utilities, structures, facilities, and appliances necessary or convenient for the promotion and accommodation of commerce and navigation and for other public purposes, including, but not limited to, fisheries, preservation of the lands in their natural state for scientific study, open space, wildlife habitat, and recreational uses, as more particularly provided in this act.
(2)On and after January 1, 2022, the use of the trust lands shall conform to an approved trust lands use plan, as required by Section 4 of this act.
(3)The trustee shall not, at any time, grant, convey, give, or otherwise alienate or hypothecate the trust lands, or any part of the trust lands, to any person, firm, entity, or corporation for any purposes whatsoever.
(4)The trustee may lease the trust lands, or any part of the trust lands, for limited periods, not exceeding 50 years, for purposes consistent with the trust upon which those lands are held, as specified in paragraph (1). The trustee may collect and retain rents and other trust revenues from those leases, under rules and regulations adopted in accordance with subdivision (d) of Section 4 of this act, and in accordance with all of the following requirements:
(A)On and after January 1, 2022, all leases or agreements proposed or entered into by the trustee shall be consistent with the trust lands use plan approved by the Commission, as required by Section 4 of this act. Any leases entered into prior to January 1, 2022, shall be consistent with the public trust doctrine and the terms of subdivision (a).
(B)The lease rental rates shall be for a fair annual rent.
(C)The lease shall be in the best interest of the state.
(5)When managing, conducting, operating, or controlling the trust lands or an improvement, betterment, or structure on the trust lands, the trustee shall not discriminate in rates, tolls, or charges for any use or service in connection with those actions and shall not discriminate against or unlawfully segregate any person or group of persons because of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status, in accordance with Article 1 (commencing with Section 12940) of Chapter 6 of Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and other state antidiscrimination laws, for any use or service in connection with those actions.
(6)The state shall have the right to use, without charge, a transportation, landing, or storage improvement, betterment, or structure constructed upon the trust lands for a vessel or other watercraft or railroad owned or operated by, or under contract to, the state.
(7)The trust lands are subject to the express reservation and condition that the state may, at any time in the future, use those lands or any portion of those lands for highway purposes without compensation to the trustee or a person, firm, or public or private corporation claiming a right to those lands, except, if improvements have been placed with legal authority upon the property taken by the state for highway purposes, compensation shall be made to the person entitled to the value of the interest in the improvements taken or the damages to that interest.
(8)There is reserved to the people of the state the right to fish in the waters over the trust lands, with the right of convenient access to those waters over the trust lands for this purpose.
(9)There is excepted and reserved to the state all remains or artifacts of archaeological or historical significance and all deposits of minerals in the trust lands, including, but not limited to, all substances specified in Section 6407 of the Public Resources Code, and the right to prospect for, mine, and remove those deposits from the lands.
(10)The trustee shall reimburse the commission for all expenses incurred in the administration of this act, including periodic audits or investigations.
SEC. 4.(a)On or before January 1, 2022, the trustee shall submit to the commission a trust lands use plan describing any proposed development, preservation, or other use of the trust lands. The trustee shall thereafter submit to the commission for approval all changes or amendments to, or extensions of, the trust lands use plan. The trustee may apply to the commission for, and the commission may approve, reasonable extensions of time to meet this deadline.
(b)The commission shall review with reasonable promptness the trust lands use plan submitted by the trustee and any changes or amendments to determine whether they are consistent with the public trust doctrine and the requirements of this act. Based upon its review, the commission shall either approve or disapprove the plan. If the commission disapproves the plan, the commission shall notify the trustee and the trustee shall submit a revised plan to the commission no later than 180 days after the date of notice of disapproval. If the commission determines the revised plan is inconsistent with the public trust doctrine or the requirements of this act, all rights, title, and interest of the trustee in and to the trust lands and improvements on the trust lands shall revert to the state.
(c)The trust lands use plan shall consist of a plan, program, or other document that includes all of the following:
(1)A general description of the type of uses planned or proposed for the trust lands. The location of these land uses shall be shown on a map or aerial photograph.
(2)The projected statewide benefit to be derived from the planned or proposed uses of the trust lands, including, but not limited to, financial benefit.
(3)The proposed method of financing the planned or proposed uses of the trust lands, including estimated capital costs, annual operating costs, and anticipated annual trust revenues.
(4)An estimated timetable for implementation of the trust lands use plan or each phase of the plan.
(5)A description of how the trustee proposes to protect and preserve natural and artificial resources and facilities located on trust lands and operated in connection with the use of the trust lands, including, but not limited to, addressing impacts from sea level rise.
(d)The governing body of the trustee shall also submit to the commission, as part of the trust lands use plan, for its approval, procedures, rules, and regulations to govern the use of or development of the trust lands. These rules and regulations shall include, but are not limited to, lease rates, the basis upon which the rates are established, lease terms and conditions, provisions for renegotiation of rates and terms and assignments, and any other information as may be required by the commission.
(e)Upon request, the trustee shall submit to the commission a copy of all leases and agreements entered into, renewed, or renegotiated, which relate to uses of the trust lands.
SEC. 5.(a)On or before September 30, 2022, and on or before September 30 of every succeeding fifth year, the trustee shall submit to the commission a report of its utilization of the trust lands for each immediately preceding five-calendar-year period ending with June 30 of the calendar year in which the report is required to be submitted.
(b)The report required by this section shall include all of the following:
(1)A general description of the uses to which the trust lands have been placed during the period covered by the report.
(2)A list of the holders of leases or permits that have been granted or issued by the trustee. The list shall specify all of the following, as to each holder:
(A)The use to which the trust lands have been placed by the owner or holder.
(B)The consideration provided for in each lease or permit and the consideration actually received by the trustee for the lease or permit granted or issued.
(C)An enumeration of the restrictions that the trustee has placed on the use of the trust lands, and each area of the trust lands, for the period covered by the report.
(c)A report shall not be required if the utilization of the trust lands within the immediately preceding five-calendar-year period is identical to the utilization of the trust lands as stated in a previously submitted report. If a new report is not submitted, the trustee shall submit a letter to the commission stating that its utilization of the trust lands has not changed during the immediately preceding five-calendar-year period. The letter required in this section shall also include the name and date of the utilization report that contains the applicable uses of the trust lands.
SEC. 6.(a)The trustee shall demonstrate good faith in carrying out the provisions of its trust lands use plan and amending it when necessary in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 4 of this act.
(b)(1)If the commission determines that the trustee has substantially failed to improve, restore, preserve, or maintain the trust lands, as required by the trust lands use plan, or has unreasonably delayed implementation of the trust lands use plan, the commission shall notify the trustee of the violation.
(2)The trustee shall have 60 days from receipt of a notice of violation to respond to the commission. If the commission determines that the trustees response is inadequate, the commission may bring an action to enforce the rights of the state and people as settlor and beneficiary of the trust.
(3)The Attorney General shall represent the state and people in all actions or proceedings taken pursuant to this section. If the judgment is given against the state in the action or proceeding, no costs shall be recovered from the state and people.
SEC. 7.(a)(1)The trustee shall establish and maintain accounting procedures, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, providing accurate records of all revenues received from the trust lands and trust assets and of all expenditures of those revenues.
(2)All trust revenues received from trust lands and trust assets shall be expended only for those uses and purposes consistent with this act. The trustee shall provide for the segregation of funds derived from the use of the trust lands by the trustee from other port funds, so as to ensure that trust revenues are only expended to enhance or maintain the trust lands in accordance with the uses and purposes for which the trust lands are held.
(3)Trust revenues may be expended to acquire appropriate upland properties to benefit and enhance the trust, subject to a determination by the commission that this acquisition is consistent with this act and in the best interests of the state. Property acquired with these trust revenues shall be considered an asset of the trust and subject to the terms and conditions of this act.
(b)The trustee shall comply with Section 6306 of the Public Resources Code.
(c)On June 30, 2019, and at the end of every fiscal year thereafter, 10 percent of all gross revenue generated from the trust lands during the preceding 12-month period shall be transmitted to the commission. Of this amount transmitted, the commission shall allocate 80 percent to the Treasurer for deposit in the General Fund and 20 percent to the Treasurer for deposit in the Land Bank Fund for expenditure pursuant to Division 7 (commencing with Section 8600) of the Public Resources Code for management of the commissions granted lands program.
(d)The commission may, from time to time, institute a formal inquiry to determine that the terms and conditions of this act, and amendments to this act, have been complied with and that all other applicable provisions of law concerning the trust lands are being complied with in good faith.
(e)The commission shall approve in advance of expenditure any reimbursement for expenditures of nontrust revenues for improvements made to the trust or, if not approved, those expenditures shall be deemed a gift to the trust.
SEC. 8.(a)If the commission finds that the trustee has violated the terms of its trust grant or any other obligation under this act or the public trust doctrine, the commission shall notify the trustee of the violation.
(b)The trustee shall have 60 days from receipt of a notice of violation to conform to the terms of its grant and the principles of law under the public trust doctrine. If the trustee fails or refuses to take those actions, the commission may bring an action to enforce the rights of the state and people as settlor and beneficiary of the trust.
(c)The Attorney General shall represent the state and people in all actions or proceedings taken pursuant to this section. If the judgment is given against the state in the action or proceeding, no costs shall be recovered from the state and people.
SEC. 9.(a)On or before January 1, 2022, the commission shall survey, monument, and record a plat and a metes and bounds description of the trust lands in the office of the county recorder in the county or counties in which the lands are located. Upon recordation, the survey, monuments, plat, and metes and bounds description shall be binding upon the state, the grantee, and their successors in interest.
(b)The cost of the survey and recordation shall be paid by the trustee.
(c)The requirements of Section 6359 of the Public Resources Code do not apply to the trust lands granted pursuant to this act.
SEC. 10.The commission, at the request of the port, shall grant an extension of time, not to exceed 60 calendar days, for filing any report or statement required by this act which was not filed due to mistake or inadvertence.
SEC. 11.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 circumstances of the Port of Stockton.
SEC. 12.No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district are the result of a program for which legislative authority was requested by that local agency or school district, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code and Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
SECTION 1.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to grant in trust to the Port of Stockton and its successors all of the right, title, and interest of the State of California, held by the state by virtue of its sovereignty, in and to certain tidelands and submerged lands not previously granted, whether filled or unfilled, in San Joaquin County. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the lands be held by the trustee and its successors in trust for the benefit of all the people of the state for purposes of improvement and operation of a harbor, including the construction, maintenance, and operation thereon of wharves, docks, piers, slips, quays, and other utilities, structures, facilities, or appliances necessary or convenient for the promotion and accommodation of commerce and navigation, and for other public trust purposes.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to grant in trust to the Port of Stockton and its successors all of the right, title, and interest of the State of California, held by the state by virtue of its sovereignty, in and to certain tidelands and submerged lands not previously granted, whether filled or unfilled, in San Joaquin County. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the lands be held by the trustee and its successors in trust for the benefit of all the people of the state for purposes of improvement and operation of a harbor, including the construction, maintenance, and operation thereon of wharves, docks, piers, slips, quays, and other utilities, structures, facilities, or appliances necessary or convenient for the promotion and accommodation of commerce and navigation, and for other public trust purposes.
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Date
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Status
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| Mar 19, 2018 | Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. |
| Mar 15, 2018 | Referred to Com. on NAT. RES. |
| Feb 16, 2018 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 18. |
| Feb 15, 2018 | Read first time. To print. |
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