BILL NUMBER: AB 2443CHAPTERED BILL TEXT CHAPTER 485 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 23, 2012 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 23, 2012 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 28, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 3, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams FEBRUARY 24, 2012 An act to add Article 1.3 (commencing with Section 675) to Chapter 5 of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, and to amend Sections 9853, 9860, and 9863 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vessels. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2443, Williams. Vessels: registration fee: Quagga and Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention Program. Existing law establishes various programs administered by, among other agencies, the Department of Fish and Game and the State Lands Commission, to prevent aquatic invasive species introduction and manage the spread and impacts of aquatic invasive species in state waters. Existing law prohibits, except as authorized by the Department of Fish and Game, a person from possessing, importing, shipping, or transporting in the state, or from placing, planting, or causing to be placed or planted in any water within the state, dreissenid mussels, which are regulated by the department as an invasive species. Existing law requires the owner of a vessel, as described, to register the vessel with the Department of Boating and Waterways (department), in accordance with prescribed requirements. Existing law establishes a registration fee for vessels and applies certain fee increases to that registration fee. This bill would impose an additional fee in specified amounts, as determined by the department, on a vessel required to pay that registration fee. The bill would require the department, in determining the fee, to consult with a technical advisory group, which would be established by the department. The bill would require funds from the fee to be used to, among other things, implement and administer dreissenid mussel monitoring, inspection, and infestation prevention programs, as prescribed. The bill would require the department to adopt an emergency regulation to prescribe procedures for the collection and use of the fee. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Quagga and zebra mussels, nonnative dreissenid mussels introduced in the United States from Europe in 1988, pose an immediate and significant threat to California's water supply, flood control, power generation, and aquatic recreation infrastructure. Once established in a body of freshwater, quagga and zebra mussels latch onto pipes, valves, screens, irrigation canals, and gates, often in quantities that severely impede the movement of water and the necessary operation of other critical water management infrastructure. (b) Quagga and zebra mussel infestation poses tremendous financial burdens on local governments and local economies. Between 2000 and 2010, widespread zebra mussel infestation of the Great Lakes region resulted in over $5 billion in economic impacts. Were it to become infested, California's Lake Tahoe alone would likely incur economic impacts of over $20 million annually. (c) Quagga and zebra mussel infestations have been identified in 25 bodies of freshwater in California, most within the southern California region. These infestations threaten additional water management and recreational facilities throughout southern California as well as facilities across the state. Facilities threatened with infestation include, but are not limited to, agricultural water management infrastructure in the central valley, drinking water facilities in the central coast and north coast regions, power generation infrastructure in the Sierra Nevada, and flood control facilities throughout California's watersheds. (d) Existing law prohibits the possession, importation, shipment, transportation, planting, or placement of quagga and zebra mussels in any water within the state. (e) An urgency exists due to the tremendous water management impacts and state and local government costs associated with quagga and zebra mussel infestation. (f) The fees required by Article 1.3 (commencing with Section 675) of Chapter 5 of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, as determined by the Department of Boating and Waterways, are solely for the reasonable regulatory costs incident to performing investigations and inspections necessary to prevent and control the infestation of California waters by quagga and zebra mussels. (g) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature that fees required by Article 1.3 (commencing with Section 675) of Chapter 5 of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code as determined by the Department of Boating and Waterways, shall not exceed the cumulative reasonable regulatory costs incident to performing investigations and inspections necessary to prevent quagga and zebra mussel infestation. SEC. 2. Article 1.3 (commencing with Section 675) is added to Chapter 5 of Division 3 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, to read: Article 1.3. Quagga and Zebra Mussel Infestation Prevention Fee 675. (a) In addition to the fees imposed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 9853 or Section 9860 of the Vehicle Code, there shall also be imposed an additional quagga and zebra mussel infestation prevention fee in an amount to be determined by the department as follows: (1) The additional prevention fee imposed with the registration fee collected pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 9853 of the Vehicle Code shall be not more than ten dollars ($10). (2) The additional prevention fee imposed with the registration fee collected pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 9853 of the Vehicle Code shall be not more than twenty dollars ($20). (3) The additional prevention fee imposed with the registration fee collected pursuant to Section 9860 of the Vehicle Code shall be not more than twenty dollars ($20). (b) In determining the amount of the fee imposed pursuant to this subdivision, the department shall establish, and consult with, a technical advisory group consisting of interested persons, including, but not limited to, recreational boating and reservoir operation representatives. The members of the advisory group shall be appointed by the director. (c) The department shall adopt an emergency regulation to prescribe procedures for the collection and use of the quagga and zebra mussel infestation prevention fee for the purposes of this article. The emergency regulations shall include rules for administering the grants awarded pursuant to Section 676. (d) All revenues collected from the fee shall be deposited into the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund, and shall be expended solely for the purposes set forth in Section 676. (e) The fee established by this section shall not apply to vessels that are used exclusively in marine waters. 676. (a) All moneys deposited in the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund pursuant to Section 675 shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the following purposes: (1) For reasonable costs incurred by the department associated with determining the prevention fee and adoption of regulations pursuant to Section 675, and with administering the grants pursuant to subdivision (b). (2) (A) For reasonable costs, not to exceed 15 percent of the remaining revenues deposited into the fund, of the Department of Fish and Game for implementation of subparagraph (A) or (C) of paragraph (2) of, or paragraph (1) of, subdivision (a) of Section 2301 or Section 2302 of the Fish and Game Code in those areas of the state where a dreissenid mussel infestation prevention plan has not been implemented. (B) The amount specified in subparagraph (A) is in addition to moneys available pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 85.2. (3) An amount not less than 85 percent of the remaining revenues deposited into the fund shall be made available for grants to entities subject to subdivision (a) of Section 2302 of the Fish and Game Code for the reasonable regulatory costs incident to the implementation of a dreissenid mussel infestation prevention plan implemented either before or after January 1, 2013, that is consistent with the requirements of Section 2302 of the Fish and Game Code. (b) For the purposes of awarding grants pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), the department shall do all of the following: (1) Give priority to dreissenid mussel infestation prevention plans that are consistent with Section 2302 of the Fish and Game Code and that also include visual and manual inspection standards and other infestation prevention procedures consistent with either the Department of Fish and Game's Invasive Mussel Guidebook for Recreational Water Managers and Users, dated September 2010, or the Natural Resource Agency's Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan, dated January 2008, or subsequently adopted guidebooks and management plans. (2) Take into consideration the benefits of regional-scale dreissenid mussel infestation prevention plans. (3) Take into consideration the unique economic, ecological, and recreational impacts to rural and urban reservoirs from dreissenid mussel infestation. (c) For purposes of this article, reasonable regulatory costs include costs associated with the investigation and inspection of a conveyance for the presence of dreissenid mussels prior to contact with a reservoir, as defined in Section 6004.5 of the Water Code. None of the revenues collected pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 675 shall be used for any purpose other than those explicitly authorized by this section. (d) For the purposes of this section, conveyances include boats and other watercraft, and associated vehicles, containers, and trailers that may carry or contain adult or larval dreissenid mussels. (e) As a condition of receiving grant funding pursuant to this section, an entity shall report to the department data, as deemed appropriate by the department, regarding dreissenid mussel prevention and inspection programs implemented with the funding. 677. This article does not preempt a special district, city, county, or joint powers authority from adopting local regulations or ordinances related to the prevention and eradication of invasive aquatic species. SEC. 3. Section 9853 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read: 9853. (a) The owner of each vessel requiring numbering by this state shall file an initial application for a number with the department or with an agent authorized by the department on forms approved by the department. The forms shall be prepared in cooperation with the Department of Boating and Waterways. The application shall contain the true name and address of the owner and of the legal owner, if any, and the hull identification number of the vessel as may be required by the department. The application shall be signed by the owner of the vessel and shall be accompanied by a fee of nine dollars ($9), in addition to the fees required under subdivision (b), except that an owner of a vessel registered outside this state who is submitting an application for registration in this state shall pay a fee of thirty-seven dollars ($37), in addition to the fees required under subdivision (b). (b) (1) Whenever the fee for original registration of a vessel becomes due between January 1 and December 31 of any even-numbered year, the application shall be accompanied by a fee of ten dollars ($10), in addition to any other fees that are then due and payable. (2) Whenever the fee for original registration of a vessel becomes due, or is filed with the department, between January 1 and December 31 of any odd-numbered year, the application shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty dollars ($20) in addition to any other fees that are then due and payable. (c) The department shall additionally collect a quagga and zebra mussel infestation prevention fee in an amount established by the Department of Boating and Waterways pursuant to Section 675 of the Harbors and Navigation Code. (d) The department shall provide documentation of its administrative costs pursuant to this section to the Department of Boating and Waterways. SEC. 4. Section 9860 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read: 9860. (a) Certificates of number shall be renewed before midnight of the expiration date by presentation of the certificate of number last issued for the vessel or by presentation of a potential registration card issued by the department. (b) The fee for renewal shall be twenty dollars ($20) for each two-year period, and shall accompany the request for renewal. (c) If the certificate of number and potential registration card are unavailable, the fee specified in Section 9867 shall not be paid. (d) The department shall additionally collect a quagga and zebra mussel infestation prevention fee in an amount established by the Department of Boating and Waterways pursuant to Section 675 of the Harbors and Navigation Code. (e) The department shall provide documentation of its administrative costs pursuant to this section to the Department of Boating and Waterways. SEC. 5. Section 9863 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read: 9863. (a) Except as required under subdivisions (b) and (c), and except moneys collected under Section 9875, fees received pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund and, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, for the administration of this chapter by the department. Funds in the Harbors and Watercraft Revolving Fund derived pursuant to this chapter in excess of the amount determined by the Director of Finance, from time to time, to be necessary for expenditure for the administration of this chapter, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, are continuously appropriated to the Department of Boating and Waterways, without regard to fiscal years, for expenditure in accordance with Section 663.7 of the Harbors and Navigation Code. (b) Funds derived from imposition of the biennial registration fee under paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 9853, or under subdivision (b) of Section 9860, shall be distributed as follows: (1) One-half shall be continuously appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a). (2) One-half shall be allocated, upon appropriation, to the Department of Boating and Waterways for expenditure in support of programs under the department's jurisdiction. (c) Funds derived from the imposition of the quagga and zebra mussel prevention fee under subdivision (c) of Section 9853, or under subdivision (d) of Section 9860, shall be distributed as specified in Section 676 of the Harbors and Navigation Code.