California Assembly Bill AB656 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 656AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huber FEBRUARY 16, 2011  An act relating to state agencies.   An act to add Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 1100) to, and to add Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1220) to Division 5 of, the Harbors and Navigation,   relating to bay pilots.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 656, as amended, Huber.  State agencies: repeal review schedule.   Bar pilots: Monterey Bay, and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun   .   Existing law provides for the regulation and licensing of pilots for Monterey Bay, and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, and the payment of specified pilotage rates and charges imposed on vessels piloted in those bays. Existing law also establishes in the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, a Board of Pilot Commissioners for Monterey Bay, and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, and prescribes the membership of, and functions and duties of the board.   This bill would, on January 1, 2013, repeal those provisions that require the licensing of pilots in Monterey Bay, and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisan, and that require the payment of specified pilotage rates and charges imposed on vessels piloted in those bays. The bill would also eliminate the board, and would recast and reenact certain provisions that regulate pilots for those bays, as provided.   Existing law establishes the Joint Sunset Review Committee for the purpose of identifying and eliminating waste, duplication, and inefficiency in government agencies and conducting a comprehensive analysis of every "eligible agency," as defined, to determine if the agency is still necessary and cost effective. Existing law defines an "eligible agency" as an entity of state government, however denominated, for which a date for repeal has been established by statute on or after January 1, 2011. Existing law requires the committee to take public testimony and evaluate the eligible agency prior to the date the agency is scheduled to be repealed, and requires that an eligible agency be eliminated unless the Legislature enacts a law to extend, consolidate, or reorganize the agency.   This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would further define the review schedule for the Joint Sunset Review Committee.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no   yes  . State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 1100) is added to the   Harbors and Navigation Code   , to read:   DIVISION 4.5. PILOTS FOR MONTEREY BAY AND THE BAYS OF SAN FRANCISCO, SAN PABLO, AND SUISUN CHAPTER 1. LEGISLATIVE POLICY AND FINDINGS 1100. The Legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of the state to ensure the safety of persons, vessels, and property using Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, and the tributaries thereof, and to avoid damage to those waters and surrounding ecosystems as a result of vessel collision or damage, by providing competent, efficient, and regulated pilotage for vessels required by this division to secure pilotage services. 1101. The Legislature further finds and declares all of the following: (a) The maritime industry is necessary for the continued economic well-being and cultural development of all California citizens. (b) The Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun provide a vital transportation route for the maritime industry. (c) The increase in vessel size and traffic, and the increase in cargoes carried in bulk, particularly oil and gas and hazardous chemicals, create substantial hazards to the life, property, and values associated with the environment of those waters. (d) The federal government has long adopted the policy of providing minimum standards that ensure port and waterway safety while encouraging state control over pilot qualifications. (e) A program of pilot regulation is necessary in order to ascertain and guarantee the qualifications, fitness, and reliability of qualified personnel who can provide safe pilotage of vessels entering and using Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun. (f) The need to ensure safe and pollution-free waterborne commerce requires that pilotage services be employed in the confined, crowded, and environmentally sensitive waters of those bays. (g) Bar pilotage in the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun has continuously been regulated by a single-purpose state board since 1850, and that regulation should be continued. (h) The individual physical safety and well-being of pilots is of vital importance in providing required pilot services. CHAPTER 2. APPLICATION 1105. This division applies to pilots for Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun. CHAPTER 3. DEFINITIONS 1110. (a) "Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun" means all the waters of those bays and of the tributaries, ports, and harbors of those bays, and includes the water areas from the south end of San Francisco Bay and from the Ports of Sacramento and Stockton to the Golden Gate Bridge. "Bay of San Francisco, San Pablo, or Suisun" means any of those waters, respectively. (b) "Monterey Bay" means all the waters of that bay and of the tributaries, ports, and harbors of that bay. 1112. "High seas" includes all the navigable waters of the Pacific Ocean west of the Golden Gate Bridge, and all navigable waters west of the westward boundary of the pilotage grounds for Monterey Bay. 1114. "Pilot" means either of the following: (a) A person who pilots vessels including an inland pilot. (b) A person licensed as a bar pilot for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun prior to January 1, 2013. 1114.5. "Pilotage grounds" means all waters extending eastward from the precautionary area surrounding buoy SF to, and including, the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, and also includes the waters of Monterey Bay, eastward of a straight line drawn between Point Santa Cruz Light and Point Pinos Light. CHAPTER 4. EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF PILOTS 1125. (a) Pilots have exclusive authority, to the extent not provided otherwise by federal law, to pilot vessels from the high seas to Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun and the ports thereof, and from those bays and ports to the high seas. They shall also have exclusive authority to pilot vessels within and along the waters of those bays, except as otherwise set forth in this division. (b) Nothing in this division shall interfere with pilotage regulations of Monterey Bay and of the Ports of Sacramento and Stockton, nor prevent the regulatory authority of those ports from utilizing the pilots covered by this division. 1126. (a) A person may also be enjoined from engaging in the pilotage prescribed by a court of competent jurisdiction. (b) This section does not apply to any of the following persons: (1) The master of a vessel who has relieved the pilot to ensure the safe operation of the vessel, but only from the point where the pilot is relieved to the closest safe berth or anchorage, or the high seas if closer than a safe berth or anchorage. (2) Persons piloting vessels pursuant to the valid regulatory authority of the Port of Sacramento or the Port of Stockton. (3) Persons piloting vessels sailing under an enrollment. (4) Persons piloting noncommercial vessels. 1127. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of the state to ensure the safety of persons, property, and vessels using the waters of Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun and to avoid damage to those waters and surrounding ecosystems as a result of vessel collision or damage by providing competent, efficient, and regulated pilotage for vessels required by this division to secure pilotage services. (b) This section does not supersede, modify, or otherwise alter pilot practices that are not safety related, including, but not limited to, the determination of rates charged for pilot services or employer-employee relationships for individuals, agencies, or organizations involved in providing pilotage services between any port of Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun and any other port of the United States that is in existence on December 31, 1995, or otherwise abridge the authority of local port or harbor districts relating to pilotage in effect on December 31, 1995. (c) A vessel sailing under a coastwise license or appropriately endorsed registry and engaged in the coasting trade between a port of Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun and another port of the United States is exempt from all pilotage charges. A foreign vessel and a vessel bound between a foreign port and a port of Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun, and a vessel sailing under a register between a port of Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun and another port of the United States, shall use a pilot or inland pilot, except as otherwise provided by law. (d) Subdivision (c) does not apply to a vessel that is less than 750 gross tons and is manufactured and used for private recreation. 1128. A nonself-propelled vessel in tow of a tug within Monterey Bay and the Bay of San Francisco, San Pablo, or Suisun, or between those bays, is exempt from pilotage charges. 1130. A majority of all of the pilots shall appoint one pilot to act as port agent to carry out applicable laws, and to otherwise administer the affairs of the pilots. 1132. Every pilot in charge of a vessel arriving in Monterey Bay and the Bay of San Francisco, San Pablo, or Suisun, shall safely moor the vessel in place and position as directed by the master of the vessel, consistent with safe navigation and not contrary to law. 1133. Every pilot in charge of a vessel leaving the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun shall pilot it from its point of departure to a point beyond the San Francisco bar. Every pilot in charge of a vessel leaving Monterey Bay shall pilot it from its point of departure to a point westward of the pilotage grounds. CHAPTER 5. PENSION PLAN 1160. There is hereby established a San Francisco Bar Pilot Pension Plan which is continued in existence as the San Francisco Pilot Pension Plan. 1161. All amounts generated by the pension plan shall be used solely to pay pensions to retired pilots and inland pilots, disabled pilots and inland pilots, the surviving spouses of pilots and inland pilots, and to pay the expenses of the plan. 1163. (a) (1) (A) Each retired pilot and inland pilot, who has completed 25 full years of service as a pilot or inland pilot, or both, shall receive, as a target monthly pension, an amount that is initially equal to 46 percent of an amount that is an average of the highest three of the last five years of audited annual average net income per pilot, prior to the pilot's or inland pilot's retirement, divided by 12, which initial target monthly pension amount shall be subject to periodic adjustment pursuant to Section 1167. Pilots or inland pilots with other than 25 full years of service as a pilot or inland pilot, or both, shall receive a monthly pension in an amount that is determined by multiplying the above calculated target monthly pension by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of full years of service that the pilot or inland pilot has rendered and the denominator of which shall be 25 years, which initial monthly pension amount shall be subject to periodic adjustment pursuant to Section 1167. (B) Each disabled pilot or inland pilot shall receive as an initial target monthly pension an amount that is based on 46 percent of the greater of the following, which amount shall be subject to periodic adjustment pursuant to Section 1167: (i) An amount that is the average of the highest three of the last five years of audited annual average net income per pilot divided by 12 and multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of full years of service that the pilot or inland pilot has rendered and the denominator of which shall be 25 years. (ii) The audited annual average net income per pilot, for the last year prior to the pilot's or inland pilot's disability, divided by 12 and multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of full years of service that the pilot or inland pilot has rendered and the denominator of which shall be 25 years. (C) Each pilot who retired before January 1, 1985, shall receive as an initial target monthly pension an amount that is one hundred seventy-eight dollars ($178) multiplied by the number of full years of service he or she performed as a pilot licensed under this division, which amount shall be subject to periodic adjustment pursuant to Section 1167. (D) Each pilot who retired on or after January 1, 1985, or each inland pilot who retired after January 1, 1993, shall receive as an initial target monthly pension an amount that is the greater of the following, which amount shall be subject to periodic adjustment pursuant to Section 1167: (i) An amount that is calculated by multiplying one hundred seventy-eight dollars ($178) by the number of full years of service the pilot or inland pilot performed as a pilot or inland pilot licensed under this division. (ii) An amount that is 46 percent of the average of the highest three of the last five years of audited annual average net income per pilot, prior to the pilot's or inland pilot's retirement, divided by 12 and multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the pilot' s or inland pilot's actual number of full years of service and the denominator of which is 25 years. (2) A pilot or inland pilot who retires or becomes disabled shall not begin to receive a pension until the beginning of the benefit payment period next following the date on which the pilot or inland pilot retires or becomes disabled. (3) A pilot or inland pilot shall not receive any benefits pursuant to the pension plan in any benefit payment period unless the pilot's or inland pilot's resignation as an active pilot or inland pilot specifying a proposed date of retirement was submitted, in writing, to the board, prior to November if the pilot's or inland pilot's retirement is to be effective the first day of the following January, prior to February if the pilot's or inland pilot's retirement is to be effective the first day of the following April, prior to May if the pilot's or inland pilot's retirement is to be effective the first day of the following July, or prior to August if the pilot's or inland pilot's retirement is to be effective the first day of the following October. The pilot's or inland pilot's resignation as an active pilot or inland pilot shall become effective on either January 1, April 1, July 1, or October 1, as specified in the written resignation. (4) If a retired or disabled pilot or inland pilot who is receiving a pension dies without a surviving spouse, the pilot's or inland pilot's successor in interest shall receive the monthly pension for the remainder of the benefit payment period within which the death occurs, after which time the monthly pension shall cease. (b) (1) The surviving spouse of a deceased pilot who is eligible for a pension pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 1164 and the surviving spouse of a deceased inland pilot who is eligible for a pension pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 1164 shall each receive, as a monthly pension, three-fourths of the amount that the deceased pilot or inland pilot would have received as a monthly pension pursuant to this section had the pilot or inland pilot lived, calculated as if the deceased pilot or inland pilot had been disabled pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). (2) If a retired or disabled pilot or inland pilot who was receiving a pension dies, the surviving spouse shall continue to receive the full amount of the monthly pension to which the deceased pilot or inland pilot was entitled for the balance of the benefit payment period within which the death occurs, after which the surviving spouse shall receive the amount specified in paragraph (1). (3) If a surviving spouse receiving a pension dies, the surviving spouse's successor in interest shall receive the monthly pension for the remainder of the benefit payment period within which the death occurs, after which time the monthly pension shall cease. (c) For the purpose of the computations described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), six months or more of service by a pilot or inland pilot shall be considered a full year. (d) Except as provided otherwise in this section and paragraph (4) of subdivision (e) of Section 1164, monthly pension amounts payable pursuant to this section to retired pilots and inland pilots and to their surviving spouses are payable for the life of that retired pilot, inland pilot, or spouse. (e) To determine an inland pilot's full years of service under this chapter, any periods of service that an inland pilot has performed as a pilot shall be added to any service time performed as an inland pilot after January 1, 1987. (f) In calculating the benefits of a retired or disabled pilot who was issued an original pilot's license in 1985 and who was not thereafter issued an inland pilot's license, or in calculating the benefits of the widow of such a pilot who is deceased, the number of years of service used in the calculation shall be the greater of the following: (1) The actual number of full years of service the pilot has rendered. (2) Ten years. 1164. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a pilot shall be eligible for the pension provided in Section 1163 if the pilot meets all of the following requirements: (1) Held a license as a pilot and served at least 10 years in that capacity or has attained 62 years of age, whichever occurs first. (2) Retired after January 1, 1972. (3) Is at least 60 years of age. (b) A disabled pilot shall be eligible for the pension provided in Section 1163 if it has been determined by the board, based upon competent medical evidence, that the pilot is unable to perform the duties of a pilot. As used in this chapter, "disabled" means a disability of permanent or extended and uncertain duration, as determined by the board, on the basis of competent medical opinion. (c) Except as provided in subdivision (d), an inland pilot shall be eligible for the pension provided in Section 1163 if the inland pilot meets all of the following requirements: (1) Held a license as an inland pilot and served at least 10 years in that capacity after January 1, 1987, or has attained 62 years of age, whichever occurs first. (2) Retired after January 1, 1987. (3) Is at least 60 years of age. (4) Since January 1, 1987, has held himself or herself out as providing pilotage assistance to the entire shipping industry consistent with the inland pilot's license. (5) For services provided after January 1, 1994, performs a minimum of 75 assignments per calendar year unless excused from performance of that requirement due to medical needs satisfactory to the board. (d) A disabled inland pilot who meets the requirements of paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) shall be eligible for the pension provided in Section 1163 if it has been determined by the board, based upon competent medical evidence, that the inland pilot is unable to perform the duties of an inland pilot. (e) (1) A surviving spouse of a deceased pilot shall be eligible for the pension provided in subdivision (b) of Section 1163 if that deceased pilot died after January 1, 1972, and that deceased pilot had held a license as a pilot. (2) A surviving spouse of a deceased inland pilot shall be eligible for the pension provided in subdivision (b) of Section 1163 if the deceased inland pilot died after January 1, 1987, had held a license as an inland pilot, and since January 1, 1987, had held himself or herself out as providing pilotage assistance to the entire shipping industry consistent with the inland pilot's license. (3) In order for a surviving spouse to be eligible for any pension benefits pursuant to this chapter, the surviving spouse shall have been legally married to the deceased pilot or inland pilot for at least one year prior to the deceased pilot's or inland pilot's death. (4) A surviving spouse of a deceased pilot or inland pilot shall neither be eligible for, nor receive, pension benefits pursuant to this chapter if the surviving spouse remarries. If a surviving spouse who is receiving a monthly pension under this chapter remarries, the surviving spouse's successor in interest shall receive the amount of the monthly pension for the remainder of the benefit payment period as if the surviving spouse had died, in accordance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 1163. 1165. (a) A charge shall be levied for pilotage services at a rate necessary to provide the benefits to be paid out pursuant to the pension plan. The additional rate shall be determined as follows: (1) On March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1 of each year, the number of persons eligible to receive benefits under the plan, their identities, the calculated amount each shall be entitled to receive, and the total amount to be paid out to all of those persons during each month of the next three-month period shall be determined by the fiduciary agent or agents. (2) After the total amount to be paid out monthly under the plan has been determined, the rate necessary to provide that amount each month shall be calculated by the fiduciary agent or agents. The rate shall be based upon the volume of shipping, in gross registered tons, handled by pilots under this division for the 12-month periods ending the previous September 30 for benefit periods commencing the following January 1, ending the previous December 31 for benefit periods commencing the following April 1, ending the previous March 31 for benefit periods commencing the following July 1, and ending the previous June 30 for benefit periods commencing the following October 1, respectively. The rate shall be expressed as mills per gross registered ton and shall be calculated to the nearest one-hundredth of a mill. (3) The estimated cost of the services of the fiduciary agent or agents to administer the pension plan shall be calculated by the fiduciary agent or agents for the benefit periods described in paragraph (2), shall be expressed as mills per gross registered ton, and shall be calculated to the nearest one-hundredth of a mill. (b) The rate determined pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (a) shall become effective on January 1 of the following year with respect to the September 30 calculations, on April 1 of the following year with respect to the December 31 calculations, on July 1 of that year with respect to the March 31 calculations, and on October 1 of that year with respect to the June 30 calculations. The rates shall be in effect for the succeeding benefit payment period. 1166. (a) The benefits actually paid out each month by the fiduciary agent or agents designated by the board to all retired and disabled pilots and inland pilots, to surviving spouses of deceased pilots and inland pilots, and to successors in interest shall be equal to the revenue received pursuant to Section 1165 during the preceding month less the expenses of the fiduciary agent or agents incurred during that month. The revenue, whether greater or less than the amount used in determining the tonnage rates under this chapter to provide the aggregate target pensions to which those persons are entitled according to Section 1163, shall be paid to each of them in proportion to the relative target amounts to which they are entitled, after payment of the expenses of the fiduciary agent or agents. (b) Revenues for any month or year are the amounts to be received pursuant to the pension plan for pilotage during that month or year. The fiduciary agent or agents shall determine which accounting system shall be used to make the payment, provided that, if the accrual method is used, it shall be subject to later equitable adjustments for unpaid receivables. (c) Benefits pursuant to the new rate calculations shall be paid commencing in February, May, August, and November of each year and shall continue through, and include, the next following April, July, October, and January, respectively, so that each benefit pension period equals three months of payments. The period during which benefits are paid is the benefit payment period. CHAPTER 6. EFFECTIVE DATE 1170. This division shall become operative on January 1, 2013.   SEC. 2.   Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1220) is added to Division 5 of the   Harbors and Navigation Code   , to read:   CHAPTER 7. REPEAL DATE 1220. This division shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends that date.   SECTION 1.   It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would further define the review schedule for the Joint Sunset Review Committee.