Bill Text: CA AB530 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 530 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 530	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 31, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Rendon
   (Principal coauthor: Senator Lara)
   (  Coauthor:  Assembly Member 
 Gomez   Coauthors:   Assembly Members
  Cristina Garcia,   Gomez,   Roger
Hern�ndez,   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, as amended, 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  coordination  
consultation  with the Los Angeles County Board of 
Supervisors,   Supervisors to the extent the board
wishes to consult,  a local working group to develop a
revitalization plan for the Lower Los Angeles  River,
 River watershed,  called the Lower Los Angeles
River Working Group. The bill would  specify a prescribed
membership for the working group, including, among others,
representatives from the County of Los Angeles, and elected officials
of the cities riparian to the Los Angeles River.  
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. 
By imposing additional duties on local officials, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.  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 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, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program:  yes   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 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
  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  1930's,
  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  federal   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   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  coordination  consultation 
with the Los Angeles County Board of  Supervisors, 
 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,   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 
shall   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
 non-profit   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,   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  non-profit   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. 
  SEC. 4.    If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.