SECTIONS 1100-1101 - California Statutes

HARBORS AND NAVIGATION CODE

SECTION 1100-1101

1100. The Legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of
the state to ensure the safety of persons, vessels, and property
using Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and
Suisun, and the tributaries thereof, and to avoid damage to those
waters and surrounding ecosystems as a result of vessel collision or
damage, by providing competent, efficient, and regulated pilotage for
vessels required by this division to secure pilotage services.

1101. The Legislature further finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The maritime industry is necessary for the continued economic
well-being and cultural development of all California citizens.
(b) The Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun provide a
vital transportation route for the maritime industry.
(c) The increase in vessel size and traffic, and the increase in
cargoes carried in bulk, particularly oil and gas and hazardous
chemicals, create substantial hazards to the life, property, and
values associated with the environment of those waters.
(d) The federal government has long adopted the policy of
providing minimum standards that ensure port and waterway safety
while encouraging state control over pilot qualifications and
licensing.
(e) A program of pilot regulation and licensing is necessary in
order to ascertain and guarantee the qualifications, fitness, and
reliability of qualified personnel who can provide safe pilotage of
vessels entering and using Monterey Bay and the Bays of San
Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun.
(f) The need to ensure safe and pollution-free waterborne commerce
requires that pilotage services be employed in the confined,
crowded, and environmentally sensitive waters of those bays.
(g) Bar pilotage in the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and
Suisun has continuously been regulated by a single-purpose state
board since 1850, and that regulation and licensing should be
continued.
(h) The individual physical safety and well-being of pilots is of
vital importance in providing required pilot services.