Bill Text: CA AB530 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Lower Los Angeles River Working Group.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-10-09 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 684, Statutes of 2015. [AB530 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB530-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 530 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 684
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 9, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 9, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 31, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Rendon
(Principal coauthor: Senator Lara)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cristina Garcia, Gomez, Roger
Hernández, and O'Donnell)
(Coauthor: Senator Pavley)
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 32622) to
Division 22.8 of the Public Resources Code, relating to the Los
Angeles River.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 530, Rendon. Lower Los Angeles River Working Group.
Existing law provides for the protection, enhancement, and
restoration of rivers in this state. Existing law establishes the San
Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy for
the purpose of, among others, providing for the public's enjoyment
and enhancement of recreational and education experiences on public
lands in the San Gabriel Watershed and Lower Los Angeles River.
This bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources
Agency to appoint, in consultation with the Los Angeles County Board
of Supervisors to the extent the board wishes to consult, a local
working group to develop a revitalization plan for the Lower Los
Angeles River watershed, called the Lower Los Angeles River Working
Group. The bill would require the secretary to consider requests from
local agency representatives to participate in the working group and
would authorize the working group to include specified
representatives. The bill would require, by March 1, 2017, the
working group to develop, through watershed-based planning methods, a
revitalization plan that addresses the unique and diverse needs of
the Lower Los Angeles River, that is consistent with, enhances, and
is authorized to be incorporated into the County of Los Angeles's
Master Plan, and that includes watershed education programs. The bill
would require the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and
Mountains Conservancy to provide any necessary staffing to assist the
working group.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for the Lower Los Angeles River.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The Los Angeles River has a complex ecological and political
history. The river originally ran freely along an alluvial flood
plain, which today is the City of Los Angeles. In the 1930s,
destructive flooding led the United States Army Corps of Engineers to
design and build facilities to minimize the impacts of future
floods, a process that included lining most of the river with
concrete. Since then, the city, county, and federal government have
all played a role in restoring the Los Angeles River, including the
county's 1996 adoption of a master plan for developing and restoring
the entire Los Angeles River. The City of Los Angeles developed a
"revitalization plan" to restore the Upper Los Angeles River, which
lies within the city's boundaries. Most recently, the Corps of
Engineers approved "Alternative 20," a substantial restoration and
infrastructure project along the Upper Los Angeles River.
(b) The City of Los Angeles was given responsibility for managing
the river's resources through a charter by the King of Spain at the
end of the 18th century. After serious floods in the 1930s, the
federal government, through the United States Army Corps of
Engineers, stepped in to take responsibility for building and
managing infrastructure projects to reduce the risk and damage from
flooding, with the county as the local partner. The county also works
with the city in managing the Upper Los Angeles River, where court
decisions have held that the King of Spain's charter gives the city
"pueblo" water rights with authority to manage the Upper Los Angeles
River's resources. The courts have not given the city authority over
the Lower Los Angeles River.
(c) The State of California retains its sovereign authority to
manage the rivers within its boundaries, including the Los Angeles
River. Historically, however, it has not exercised that authority,
due to the dominance of the United States Army Corps of Engineers in
partnership with the county. The county's master plan addresses the
entire river but is close to two decades old, and would benefit from
renewed attention to resources and development, especially on the
lower river. The Lower Los Angeles River passes through many cities,
but not one of these cities has the responsibility and the resources
to invest in restoration of that part of the Los Angeles River. There
is therefore opportunity and need for the state to aid in the
development and implementation of the county's Master Plan,
especially for the Lower Los Angeles River.
(d) In 2014, California voters approved the Water Quality, Supply,
and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, which included $60
million for the Los Angeles River, authorizing funding for both the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which has responsibility for the
Upper Los Angeles River, and the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles
Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, which has responsibility for the
Lower Los Angeles River. The Water Quality, Supply, and
Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 allocated $30 million to each
conservancy for the purpose of multibenefit water quality, water
supply, and watershed protection and restoration projects for the
watersheds.
SEC. 2. Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 32622) is added to
Division 22.8 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6. LOWER LOS ANGELES RIVER WORKING GROUP
32622. (a) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall
appoint, in consultation with the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors to the extent that the board wishes to consult, a local
working group to develop a revitalization plan for the Lower Los
Angeles River watershed, called the Lower Los Angeles River Working
Group. The secretary shall consider requests from local agency
representatives to participate in the working group. The working
group may include, but need not be limited to, representatives from
the conservancy, the County of Los Angeles, the Gateway Cities
Council of Governments, the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated
Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority, elected officials
of the cities riparian to the Los Angeles River, and nonprofit
organizations serving the Los Angeles River region.
(b) On or before March 1, 2017, the working group shall develop,
through watershed-based planning methods, a revitalization plan that
addresses the unique and diverse needs of the Lower Los Angeles River
and the communities through which it passes. The plan shall be
consistent with and enhance, and may be incorporated into, the County
of Los Angeles's Master Plan for the entire Los Angeles River. The
plan shall include watershed education programs that help the Los
Angeles River communities recognize the value of the river and the
importance of protecting the river's watershed resources and its
vitality to their communities.
(c) The conservancy shall provide any necessary staffing to the
working group to assist in the development of the plan.
(d) The development and implementation of the revitalization plan
may be eligible for funding from any public or private source,
including, but not limited to, funding pursuant to Section 79735 of
the Water Code. Entities that are eligible to implement the
revitalization plan include, but are not limited to, state agencies,
local agencies, and nonprofit organizations, and may be eligible for
state funding.
SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is
necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because of the Lower Los Angeles River's complex ecological and
political history and the unique obstacles the local governments of
the Lower Los Angeles River encounter when managing the river and its
surrounding areas.
