SECTIONS 8670.38-8670.42 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 8670.38-8670.42

8670.38. (a) The Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fund is
hereby created in the State Treasury. The money in the fund is
available for appropriation by the Legislature and may only be used
for the purposes of this chapter, Article 3.5 (commencing with
Section 8574.1) of Chapter 7, and Division 7.8 (commencing with
Section 8750) of the Public Resources Code.
(b) For the purposes of this article, "fund" refers to the Oil
Spill Prevention and Administration Fund.

8670.39. (a) The administrator shall administer the fund in
accordance with this article.
(b) The administrator may develop and adopt any rules,
regulations, and guidelines determined to be necessary to carry out
and enforce this article.

8670.40. (a) The State Board of Equalization shall collect a fee in
an amount determined by the administrator to be sufficient to carry
out the purposes set forth in subdivision (e), and a reasonable
reserve for contingencies. The annual assessment may not exceed five
cents ($0.05) per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products.
(b) (1) The oil spill prevention and administration fee shall be
imposed upon a person owning crude oil at the time that crude oil is
received at a marine terminal from within or outside the state, and
upon a person who owns petroleum products at the time that those
petroleum products are received at a marine terminal from outside
this state. The fee shall be collected by the marine terminal
operator from the owner of the crude oil or petroleum products based
on each barrel of crude oil or petroleum products so received by
means of a vessel operating in, through, or across the marine waters
of the state. In addition, an operator of a pipeline shall pay the
oil spill prevention and administration fee for each barrel of crude
oil originating from a production facility in marine waters and
transported in the state by means of a pipeline operating across,
under, or through the marine waters of the state. The fees shall be
remitted to the board by the terminal or pipeline operator on the
25th day of the month based upon the number of barrels of crude oil
or petroleum products received at a marine terminal or transported by
pipeline during the preceding month. A fee shall not be imposed
pursuant to this section with respect to crude oil or petroleum
products if the person who would be liable for that fee, or
responsible for its collection, establishes that the fee has been
collected by a terminal operator registered under this chapter or
paid to the board with respect to the crude oil or petroleum product.
(2) An owner of crude oil or petroleum products is liable for the
fee until it has been paid to the board, except that payment to a
marine terminal operator registered under this chapter is sufficient
to relieve the owner from further liability for the fee.
(3) On or before January 20, the administrator shall annually
prepare a plan that projects revenues and expenses over three fiscal
years, including the current year. Based on the plan, the
administrator shall set the fee so that projected revenues, including
any interest, are equivalent to expenses as reflected in the current
Budget Act and in the proposed budget submitted by the Governor. In
setting the fee, the administrator may allow for a surplus if the
administrator finds that revenues will be exhausted during the period
covered by the plan or that the surplus is necessary to cover
possible contingencies.
(c) The moneys collected pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
deposited into the fund.
(d) The board shall collect the fee and adopt regulations for
implementing the fee collection program.
(e) The fee described in this section shall be collected solely
for all of the following purposes:
(1) To implement oil spill prevention programs through rules,
regulations, leasing policies, guidelines, and inspections and to
implement research into prevention and control technology.
(2) To carry out studies that may lead to improved oil spill
prevention and response.
(3) To finance environmental and economic studies relating to the
effects of oil spills.
(4) To reimburse the member agencies of the State Interagency Oil
Spill Committee for costs arising from implementation of this
chapter, Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 8574.1) of Chapter 7 of
this code, and Division 7.8 (commencing with Section 8750) of the
Public Resources Code.
(5) To implement, install, and maintain emergency programs,
equipment, and facilities to respond to, contain, and clean up oil
spills and to ensure that those operations will be carried out as
intended.
(6) To respond to an imminent threat of a spill in accordance with
the provisions of Section 8670.62 pertaining to threatened
discharges. The cumulative amount of an expenditure for this purpose
shall not exceed the amount of one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) in a fiscal year unless the administrator receives the
approval of the Director of Finance and notification is given to the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Commencing with the 1993-94
fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter, it is the intent of the
Legislature that the annual Budget Act contain an appropriation of
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) from the fund for the purpose
of allowing the administrator to respond to threatened oil spills.
(7) To reimburse the board for costs incurred to implement this
chapter and to carry out Part 24 (commencing with Section 46001) of
Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(8) To reimburse the costs incurred by the State Lands Commission
in implementing the Oil Transfer and Transportation Emission and Risk
Reduction Act of 2002 (Division 7.9 (commencing with Section 8780)
of the Public Resources Code).
(9) To cover costs incurred by the Oiled Wildlife Care Network
established by Section 8670.37.5 for training and field collection,
and search and rescue activities, pursuant to subdivision (g) of
Section 8670.37.5.
(f) The moneys deposited in the fund shall not be used for
responding to an oil spill.

8670.41. (a) The administrator shall charge a nontank vessel owner
or operator a reasonable fee, to be collected with each application
to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility, in an amount
that is based upon the administrator's costs in implementing this
chapter relating to nontank vessels. Before January 1, 2005, the fee
shall be two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or less per
vessel.
(b) The administrator may charge a reduced fee under this section
for nontank vessels determined by the administrator to pose a reduced
risk of pollution, including, but not limited to, vessels used for
research or training and vessels that are moored permanently or
rarely move.
(c) The administrator shall deposit all revenue derived from the
fees imposed under this section in the Oil Spill Prevention and
Administration Fund established in the State Treasury under Section
8670.38.
(d) Revenue derived from the fees imposed under this section may
be spent for the purposes listed in subdivision (e) of Section
8670.40, and may not be used for responding to an oil spill.

8670.42. The Department of Fish and Game shall contract with the
Department of Finance for the preparation of a detailed report that
shall be submitted on or before January 1, 2005, to the Governor and
the Legislature on the financial basis and programmatic effectiveness
of the state's oil spill prevention, response, and preparedness
program. This report shall include an analysis of all of the oil
spill prevention, response, and preparedness program's major
expenditures, fees and fines collected, staffing and equipment
levels, spills responded to, and other relevant issues. The report
shall recommend measures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness
of the state's oil spill prevention, response, and preparedness
program, including, but not limited to, measures to modify existing
contingency plan requirements, to improve protection of sensitive
shoreline sites, and to ensure adequate and equitable funding for the
state's oil spill prevention, response, and preparedness program.