Bill Text: CA AB966 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 966

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

Bill Title: Division of Boating and Waterways: report to the Legislature: shoreline erosion control and public beach programs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2024-01-25 - Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. [AB966 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB966-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly March 02, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 966

Introduced by Assembly Member Davies

February 14, 2023

An act to add and repeal Section 67.5 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, relating to ~~public postsecondary education.~~ shoreline erosion control.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 966, as amended, Davies. ~~Public postsecondary education: University of California: research funding.~~ Division of Boating and Waterways: report to the Legislature: shoreline erosion control and public beach programs.

Existing law establishes the Division of Boating and Waterways within the Department of Parks and Recreation to, among other things, study and monitor beach erosion and means for the stabilization of beaches and shoreline areas.
Existing law generally authorizes the division to cooperate with all relevant agencies of government for purposes of beach erosion control and stabilization of beaches and shoreline areas. Existing law, subject to funding availability, including the division’s management of any federal funds, requires the division to prepare plans for and construct erosion control or stabilization projects as its studies and investigations indicate to be necessary for beach erosion control or stabilization of beaches and shoreline areas, and specifically authorizes several projects.
This bill would require the division to, no later than January 1, 2025, and in cooperation with the State Coastal Conservancy, prepare and submit a joint report to the Legislature on shoreline erosion control and public beach restoration programs, as specified. The bill would require the report, among other things, to detail and discuss existing programs, evaluate the need for continued projects and program application requirements, and identify the beaches of the state that contain a critically eroded shoreline, as this bill would define the term.
This bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2026.
Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. The University of California provides instruction to students at its 10 campuses, which are located in Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that would enable the University of California, Irvine, to continue its research of beaches, including beach topography, erosion, sand depletion, and flood protection.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 67.5 is added to the Harbors and Navigation Code, to read:

67.5.
(a) The division shall, in cooperation with the State Coastal Conservancy and pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, prepare and submit a joint report to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2025, on shoreline erosion control and public beach restoration programs that does all of the following:
(1) Details the restoration, nourishment, and enhancement activities undertaken through these programs.
(2) Discusses and evaluates the need for continued shoreline erosion and public beach restoration projects.
(3) Reports on the effectiveness of these programs in addressing that need.
(4) Discusses ways to increase natural sediment supply in order to decrease the need to nourish the state’s beaches, including, but not limited to, an analysis of specific locations where structures may be removed or modified.
(5) Evaluates if application requirements for the programs needs to be altered to allow for more applicants.
(6) Identifies the beaches of the state that contain a critically eroded shoreline.
(b) For the purposes of this section, “critically eroded shoreline” means a segment of the shoreline where natural environmental processes or human activity have caused or contributed to erosion and recession of the beach or dune system to such a degree that upland development, recreational interests, wildlife habitat, or important cultural resources are threatened or lost. Critically eroded shorelines may also include peripheral segments or gaps between identified critically eroded areas that, although they may be stable or slightly erosional now, their inclusion is necessary for continuity of management of the coastal system or for the design integrity of adjacent beach management projects.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.

SECTION 1.
It is the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that would enable the University of California, Irvine, to continue its research of beaches, including beach topography, erosion, sand depletion, and flood protection.