Bill Text: CA SB122 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Vessels: abandonment: abatement.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-09-06 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 204, Statutes of 2013. [SB122 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB122-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 122 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 204
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
PASSED THE SENATE MAY 29, 2013
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 22, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lieu
JANUARY 18, 2013
An act to amend Section 526.1 of, and to amend and repeal Sections
525 and 526 of, the Harbors and Navigation Code, relating to
vessels.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 122, Lieu. Vessels: abandonment: abatement.
Existing law makes it an infraction punishable by a maximum $3,000
fine, and until January 1, 2014, a minimum $1,000 fine for a person
to abandon a vessel upon a public waterway or public or private
property without the express or implied consent of the owner or
person in lawful possession or control of the property, except for
the urgent and immediate concern for the safety of those aboard the
vessel. Existing law authorizes a public agency to sell or otherwise
dispose of certain vessels that are unseaworthy derelict or hulk, or
abandoned property removed from a navigable waterway, as specified,
if the public agency removed or caused the removal of the property,
subject to specified conditions, including certain notice
requirements and that the property has been appraised by
disinterested persons for an estimated value of less than $2,000.
Except, until January 1, 2014, a surrendered vessel, as defined, may
be disposed of immediately upon acceptance by a public agency and is
not subject to the specified conditions.
This bill would delete the January 1, 2014, repeal date of certain
above-described provisions and delete alternative provisions that
were to become operative on January 1, 2014, which would have reduced
the minimum fine to $500 and eliminated the exception for a
surrendered vessel. The bill would also delete an obsolete reporting
requirement relating to the department's duty to track and report to
specified legislative committees on the number of surrendered vessels
accepted by a public agency between January 1, 2010, and January 1,
2013, pursuant to those provisions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 525 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, as
amended by Section 1 of Chapter 416 of the Statutes of 2009, is
amended to read:
525. (a) Except for the urgent and immediate concern for the
safety of those aboard a vessel, a person shall not abandon a vessel
upon a public waterway or public or private property without the
express or implied consent of the owner or person in lawful
possession or control of the property.
(b) The abandonment of a vessel in a manner as provided in
subdivision (a) is prima facie evidence that the last registered
owner of record, not having notified the appropriate registration or
documenting agency of any relinquishment of title or interest
therein, is responsible for the abandonment and is thereby liable for
the cost of the removal and disposition of the vessel.
(c) A violation of this section is an infraction and shall be
punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000),
nor more than three thousand dollars ($3,000). In addition, the court
may order the defendant to pay to the agency that removes and
disposes of the vessel the actual costs incurred by the agency for
that removal and disposition.
(d) Fines imposed and collected pursuant to this section shall be
allocated as follows:
(1) (A) Eighty percent of the moneys shall be deposited in the
Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund, which is hereby created as a
special fund. Moneys in the fund shall be used exclusively, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, for grants to be awarded by the
department to local agencies for the abatement, removal, storage, and
disposal as public nuisances of any abandoned property as described
in Section 522 or for the disposal of surrendered vessels as defined
in Section 526.1, wrecked or dismantled vessels, or parts thereof, or
any other partially submerged objects that pose a substantial hazard
to navigation, from navigable waterways or adjacent public property,
or private property with the landowner's consent. These grants shall
not be utilized for abatement, removal, storage, or disposal of
commercial vessels.
(B) In evaluating a grant request submitted by a local agency
pursuant to subparagraph (A), the department shall place great weight
on the following two factors:
(i) The existence of an active local enforcement program to
control and prevent the abandonment of watercraft within the local
agency's jurisdiction.
(ii) The existence of a submerged navigational hazard abatement
plan at the local level that provides for the control or abatement of
water hazards, including, but not limited to, abandoned watercraft,
wrecked watercraft, hazardous floating debris, submerged vessels and
objects, and abandoned piers and pilings.
(C) A grant awarded by the department pursuant to subparagraph (A)
shall be matched by a 10-percent contribution from the local agency
receiving the grant.
(D) As a condition of receiving grant funding pursuant to this
paragraph, a local agency shall report to the department data, as
deemed appropriate by the department, regarding abandoned and
surrendered vessels removed or anticipated for removal pursuant to
this article.
(2) Twenty percent shall be allocated as set forth in Section
1463.001 of the Penal Code.
(e) The state shall not assume liability for any injuries or
damages to a person or entity, public or private, connected to or
resulting from the processing or disposal of a surrendered vessel, as
defined in Section 526.1.
(f) The department may adopt rules and regulations for the purpose
of administering this section.
SEC. 2. Section 525 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, as added
by Section 2 of Chapter 416 of the Statutes of 2009, is repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 526 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, as amended
by Section 3 of Chapter 416 of the Statutes of 2009, is amended to
read:
526. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any wrecked
property that is an unseaworthy derelict or hulk, abandoned property
as described in Section 522, or property removed from a navigable
waterway pursuant to Section 523 or 524 that is an unseaworthy
derelict or hulk, may be sold or otherwise disposed of by the public
agency that removed or caused the removal of the property pursuant to
this section, subject to the following conditions, except a
surrendered vessel, as defined in Section 526.1, may be disposed of
immediately upon acceptance by a public agency and is not subject to
the following conditions:
(1) The property has been appraised by disinterested persons, and
has an estimated value of less than two thousand dollars ($2,000).
(2) There is no discernable registration, license, hull
identification number, or other identifying insignia on the property,
or the Department of Motor Vehicles is unable to produce any record
of the registered or legal owners or lienholders.
(3) Not less than 72 hours before the property was removed, the
peace officer or authorized public employee securely attached to the
property a distinctive notice stating that the property would be
removed by the public agency.
(4) Within 48 hours after the removal, excluding weekends and
holidays, the public agency that removed or caused the removal of the
property sent notice of the removal to the registered and legal
owners, if known or discovered subsequent to the removal, at their
addresses of record with the Department of Motor Vehicles, and to any
other person known to have an interest in the property. A notice
sent by the public agency shall be sent by certified or first-class
mail.
(5) If the public agency is unable to locate the registered and
legal owners of the property or persons known to have an interest in
the property as provided in paragraph (4), the public agency
published, or caused to be published, the notice of removal for at
least two weeks in succession in one or more daily newspapers
circulated in the county.
(b) The notice of removal required by paragraphs (3) to (5),
inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall state all of the following:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the public agency
providing the notice.
(2) A description of the property removed.
(3) The location from which the property is to be or was removed.
(4) The location of the intended or actual place of storage.
(5) The authority and purpose for removal of the property.
(6) A statement that the property may be claimed and recovered
within 15 days of the date the notice of removal was issued pursuant
to paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (a), whichever is later, after
payment of any costs incurred by the public agency related to
salvage and storage of the property, and that following the
expiration of the 15-day period, the property will be sold or
otherwise disposed of by the public agency.
(7) A statement that the registered or legal owners or any other
person known to have an interest in the property has the opportunity
for a poststorage hearing before the public agency that removed, or
caused the removal of, the property to determine the validity of the
removal and storage if a request for a hearing is made in person or
in writing to that public agency within 10 days from the date of
notice; that if the registered or legal owners or any other person
known to have an interest in the property disagree with the decision
of the public agency, the decision may be reviewed pursuant to
Section 11523 of the Government Code; and that during the time of the
initial hearing, or during the time the decision is being reviewed
pursuant to Section 11523 of the Government Code, the vessel in
question shall not be sold or otherwise disposed of.
(c) (1) Any requested hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours
of the time the request for a hearing is received by the public
agency, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency that
removed the vehicle may authorize its own officers or employees to
conduct the hearing, but the hearing officer shall not be the same
person who directed the removal and storage of the property.
(2) The failure of either the registered or legal owners or any
other person known to have an interest in the property to request or
attend a scheduled hearing shall not affect the validity of the
hearing.
(d) The property may be claimed and recovered by its registered
and legal owners, or by any other person known to have an interest in
the property, within 15 days of the date the notice of removal was
issued pursuant to paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (a), whichever
is later, after payment of any costs incurred by the public agency
related to salvage and storage of the property.
(e) The property may be sold or otherwise disposed of by the
public agency not less than 15 days from the date the notice of
removal was issued pursuant to paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision
(a), whichever is later, or the date of actual removal, whichever is
later.
(f) The proceeds from the sale of the property, after deducting
expenses for salvage, storage, sales costs, and any property tax
liens, shall be deposited in the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund
for grants to local agencies, as specified in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (d) of Section 525.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that this section shall
not be construed to authorize the lien sale or destruction of any
seaworthy vessel, other than a surrendered vessel as defined in
Section 526.1, that is currently registered and operated in
accordance with local, state, and federal law.
SEC. 4. Section 526 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, as added
by Section 4 of Chapter 416 of the Statutes of 2009, is repealed.
SEC. 5. Section 526.1 of the Harbors and Navigation Code is
amended to read:
526.1. For purposes of this article, "surrendered vessel" means a
recreational vessel that the verified titleholder has willingly
surrendered to a willing public agency under both of the following
conditions:
(a) The public agency has determined, in its sole discretion, that
the vessel is in danger of being abandoned, and therefore has a
likelihood of causing environmental degradation or becoming a hazard
to navigation.
(b) The decision to accept a vessel is based solely on the
potential of the vessel to likely be abandoned and cause
environmental degradation or become a hazard to navigation.
