AB1520 - Public resources: conservation.

Assembly Bill No. 1520 CHAPTER 401 An act to amend Sections 1501.5, 1505, 1798.5, and 3704.5 of the Fish and Game Code, to amend Section 57001 of the Health and Safety Code, to amend Sections 5080.07, 5080.18, 5080.26, 5093.52, 5093.542, 5093.545, and 10005 of the Public Resources Code, and to amend Sections 1112, 1228.5, 1535, 1536, 1537, 1551, 5205, 10004, 13160.1, 13385, and 75507 of, to amend and renumber Section 1701 of, to repeal Sections 12949.6 and 13418 of, and to repeal Part 8 (commencing with Section 5975) of Division 2 of, the Water Code, relating to public resources. [ Approved by Governor October 06, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 06, 2025. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1520, Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife. Public resources: conservation. (1) Existing law prohibits a conservation bank, mitigation bank, or conservation and mitigation bank from being operative, vested, or final unless the Department of Fish and Wildlife has approved the bank in writing and, if applicable, a conservation easement has been recorded on the site. Existing law requires a person interested in establishing any bank with the department to submit a bank prospectus to the department, as specified, and if the department determines the bank prospectus is acceptable, allows the person to submit a bank agreement package that, among other things, is required to contain estimates of financial assurances and proposed forms of security, as specified. This bill would authorize surety bonds to be proposed forms of security for the above purposes. (2) Existing law requires all funds derived from the sale of state duck hunting validations and state duck stamps, and related items, to be deposited into the State Duck Stamp Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, as provided. Existing law requires the funds in the account to be used for projects or endowments approved by the Fish and Game Commission for the purpose of protecting, preserving, restoring, enhancing, and developing migratory waterfowl breeding and wintering habitat, evaluating habitat projects, and conducting waterfowl resource assessments and other waterfowl-related research. Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to enter into contracts or grant funds for fish and wildlife habitat preservation, restoration, and enhancement with public and private entities whenever the department finds that the contract will assist in meeting the department’s duty to preserve, protect, and restore fish and wildlife. This bill would require that the department be subject to the above-described provisions in making grants or entering into agreements pursuant to the State Duck Stamp Account, as provided. (3) Existing law, the Water Conservation District Law of 1931, authorizes a water conservation district to be organized and established by a county board of supervisors, with specified powers and purposes. The law permits a water conservation district to levy groundwater charges and requires a district to annually make an engineering investigation and report on groundwater conditions of the district that includes, among other things, an estimate of the annual overdraft for the current water year and for the ensuing water year. Existing law defines “water year” for purposes of these provisions to mean July 1 of one calendar year to June 30 of the following calendar year. This bill would redefine “water year” to mean the period beginning October 1 of one calendar year and ending September 30 of the following calendar year for purposes of the above-described provisions. (4) Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into contracts with natural persons, corporations, partnerships, and associations for the construction, maintenance, and operation of concessions within units of the state park system. Existing law requires all contracts authorizing occupancy of any portion of the state park system for a period of more than 3 years to be awarded to the best responsible bidder. Existing law requires public notice to be given to bidders of all proposed contracts authorizing the occupancy of property in the state park system for a period of more than 2 years, as specified, including requiring the department to publish an advertisement for bid at least once per week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the concession is to operate and in a major daily newspaper in the closest metropolitan area. This bill would instead require public notice to bidders to be given of all proposed contracts authorizing the occupancy of property in the state park system for a period of more than 3 years, as specified. The bill would delete the requirement that the department publish an advertisement in a newspaper, as described above. Existing law requires a concession contract to contain certain provisions, including the provision that every concessionaire submit to the department all sales and use tax returns and, at the request of the department, provide an annual financial statement prepared or audited by a certified public accountant. This bill would instead require every concessionaire to submit to the department an annual financial statement prepared or audited by a certified public accountant. (5) This bill would make corresponding changes and changes to update obsolete place names and would make other nonsubstantive changes, including by repealing obsolete laws. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 1501.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 1501.5. (a) The department may enter into contracts for fish and wildlife habitat preservation, restoration, and enhancement with public and private entities whenever the department finds that the contracts will assist in meeting the department’s duty to preserve, protect, and restore fish and wildlife. (b) The department may grant funds for fish and wildlife habitat preservation, restoration, and enhancement to public agencies, Indian tribes, and nonprofit entities whenever the department finds that the grants will assist it in meeting its duty to preserve, protect, and restore fish and wildlife. (c) (1) Contracts authorized under this section are contracts for services and are governed by Article 4 (commencing with Section 10335) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code. (2) No work under this section is public work or a public improvement, and is not subject to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code. (d) This section does not apply to contracts for any of the following: (1) Construction of office, storage, garage, or maintenance buildings. (2) Drilling wells and installation of pumping equipment. (3) Construction of permanent hatchery facilities, including raceways, water systems, and bird exclosures. (4) Construction of permanent surfaced roadways and bridges. (5) Any project requiring engineered design or certification by a registered engineer. (6) Any contract, except contracts with public agencies, nonprofit organizations, or Indian tribes that exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in cost, excluding the cost for gravel, for fish and wildlife habitat preservation, restoration, and enhancement for any one of the following: (A) Fish screens, weirs, and ladders. (B) Drainage or other watershed improvements. (C) Gravel and rock removal or placement. (D) Irrigation and water distribution systems. (E) Earthwork and grading. (F) Fencing. (G) Planting trees or other habitat vegetation. (H) Construction of temporary storage buildings. SEC. 2. Section 1505 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 1505. (a) The department may manage, control, and protect the portions of the following spawning areas that occupy state-owned lands, to the extent necessary to protect fishlife in these areas: (1) The Sacramento River between Keswick and Loybas Hill Bridge, near Vina. (2) The Feather River between Oroville and the mouth of Honcut Creek. (3) The Yuba River between Englebright Dam and a point approximately four miles east of Marysville. (4) The American River between Nimbus Dam and a point one mile downstream from Arden Way. (5) The Mokelumne River between Pardee Dam and Lockeford. (6) The Stanislaus River between Goodwin Dam and Riverbank. (7) The Tuolumne River between La Grange Dam and the Geer Road (J14) Bridge. (8) The Merced River between Crocker Huffman Dam and Cressey. (9) The Trinity River between Lewiston Dam and the confluence of the North Fork Trinity, near Helena. (10) The Eel River, from Fort Seward to Lake Pillsbury. (11) The South Fork Eel River. (12) The Middle Fork Smith River, from its mouth to Knopti Creek. (13) The South Fork Smith River, from its mouth to Harrington Creek. (14) The Salmon River, from its mouth to Rush Creek on the South Fork Salmon River, to Carter Meadow on the east fork of the South Fork Salmon River, and to Finley Camp on the North Fork Salmon River. (15) Battle Creek, from its mouth to Coleman Powerhouse. (16) The Cosumnes River, from Meiss Road Bridge to Latrobe Road Bridge. (17) The Van Duzen River, from Yager Creek to the falls 1 1 / 2 miles above Bloody Run Creek. (18) The Mad River, from Blue Lake Bridge to Bug Creek. (19) The Middle Fork Eel River. (20) The Mattole River. (21) The Noyo River. (22) The Big River, Mendocino County. (23) The Gualala River. (24) The Garcia River, Mendocino County. (b) In the event of a conflict between an action of the department pursuant to this section and the action of another department or agency of the state or another public agency, the action of the Department of Fish and Wildlife taken pursuant to this section shall prevail, except in the event of conflict with the following actions: (1) An action of the state or regional water quality control boards in establishing waste discharge requirements. (2) An action required for commerce and navigation. (3) An action by a public agency that is reasonably necessary for bridge crossings, water conservation or utilization, or flood protection projects, including the construction, maintenance, and operation thereof. This paragraph shall not apply to the depositing of materials, other than necessary structural materials, in, or the removing of materials from the streambeds in the areas designated in this section, other than as necessary for the installation of structures. (c) The director shall disapprove a stream alteration of a prime salmon or steelhead spawning area on land of which ownership has not been legally determined, when in the director’s opinion the alteration would prove deleterious to fishlife. SEC. 3. Section 1798.5 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 1798.5. (a) (1) If the department determines that a bank prospectus is acceptable pursuant to Section 1798, the person seeking to establish the bank may submit a bank agreement package to the department. Pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1799.1, the department may adopt and amend guidelines and criteria for the bank agreement package, including, but not limited to, recommended standard forms for bank enabling instruments or long-term management plan and conservation easements. (2) The bank agreement package shall be consistent with the prospectus and contain at least all of the following information: (A) The draft bank enabling instrument and all exhibits. (B) Drafts of the interim management plan, long-term management plan, bank closure plan, and, if applicable, a development or construction plan for the bank. (C) A draft conservation easement, or, if potential state ownership is contemplated by the department, a draft grant deed. (D) A map and written description of the proposed bank service area. (E) A proposed credit ledger and credit release schedule for the bank. (F) A property analysis record or other comparable economic analysis of the funding necessary to support bank maintenance activities, such as monitoring and reporting, in perpetuity. (G) Estimates of financial assurances and proposed forms of security. Proposed forms of security may be cash, a letter of credit, or a surety bond. (H) A phase I environmental site assessment of the site of the proposed bank dated not more than six months prior to the date the bank agreement package is submitted to the department. This assessment shall be performed in accordance with the American Society of Testing and Materials Standard E1527-05 “Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process” or any successive ASTM standard active at the time of the assessment. (b) The department shall collect a fee of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) per bank agreement package to fund the cost of the department’s review services. The fee shall be collected at the time the bank agreement package is submitted to the department. (c) Within 30 calendar days following the department’s receipt of a bank agreement package and fee pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall determine whether or not the package is complete and give written notice of the determination to the person who submitted the package. (1) If the department determines that the bank agreement package is not complete, it may be made complete and resubmitted. (2) If the department determines that the bank agreement package is complete, within 90 calendar days of that determination, the department shall determine whether or not it is acceptable and notify the person who submitted the package of the determination. If the department determines that the bank agreement package is not acceptable, the department shall state the reasons. (d) The department may request clarifying information during the bank agreement review process. (e) If the department needs supplemental information during its review of the bank agreement package in order to fully evaluate the proposed bank, the regional manager or departmental equivalent, or a higher level department employee, shall provide the person seeking to establish the bank a written request for the needed information. Upon the department’s receipt of the requested information, a new 90-day period shall begin during which the department shall determine acceptability pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c). If the department does not receive the requested information within 60 calendar days of the department’s request, the bank agreement package will be deemed unacceptable. (f) If the person seeking to establish the bank proposes changes to the bank agreement package that have not been solicited by the department during its 90-day review period, including, but not limited to, parties, number or type of credits, bank size, number or type of species, credit release schedule, service area, design change, or other changes as identified by the department as nece [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]