SECTIONS 35650 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 35650

35650. (a) The California Ocean Protection Trust Fund is
established in the State Treasury.
(b) Moneys deposited in the fund may be expended, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, for both of the following:
(1) Projects and activities authorized by the council consistent
with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 35600).
(2) Upon authorization by the council, for grants or loans to
public agencies, nonprofit corporations, or private entities for, or
direct expenditures on, projects or activities that do one or more of
the following:
(A) Eliminate or reduce threats to coastal and ocean ecosystems,
habitats, and species.
(B) Improve the management of fisheries through grants or loans
for the development and implementation of fishery management plans
pursuant to Part 1.7 (commencing with Section 7050) of Division 6 of
the Fish and Game Code, a part of the Marine Life Management Act of
1998, that promote long-term stewardship and collaboration with
fishery participants to develop strategies that increase
environmental and economic sustainability. Eligible projects and
activities include, but are not limited to, innovative
community-based or cooperative management and allocation strategies
that create incentives for ecosystem improvement. Eligible
expenditures include, but are not limited to, costs related to
activities identified in subdivisions (a), (b), and (d) of Section
7075 of the Fish and Game Code, fishery research, monitoring, data
collection and analysis to support adaptive management, and other
costs related to the development and implementation of a fishery
management plan developed pursuant to this subparagraph.
(C) Foster sustainable fisheries, including grants or loans for
one or more of the following:
(i) Projects that encourage the development and use of more
selective fishing gear.
(ii) The design of community-based or cooperative management
mechanisms that promote long-term stewardship and collaboration with
fishery participants to develop strategies that increase
environmental and economic sustainability.
(iii) Collaborative research and demonstration projects between
fishery participants, scientists, and other interested parties.
(iv) Promotion of value-added wild fisheries to offset economic
losses attributable to reduced fishing opportunities.
(v) The creation of revolving loan programs for the purpose of
implementing sustainable fishery projects.
(D) Improve coastal water quality.
(E) Allow for increased public access to, and enjoyment of, ocean
and coastal resources, consistent with sustainable, long-term
protection and conservation of those resources.
(F) Improve management, conservation, and protection of coastal
waters and ocean ecosystems.
(G) Provide monitoring and scientific data to improve state
efforts to protect and conserve ocean resources.
(H) Protect, conserve, and restore coastal waters and ocean
ecosystems, including any of the following:
(i) Acquisition, installation, and initiation of monitoring and
enforcement systems.
(ii) Acquisition from willing sellers of vessels, equipment,
licenses, harvest rights, permits, and other rights and property, to
reduce threats to ocean ecosystems and resources.
(I) Address coastal water contamination from biological pathogens,
including collaborative projects and activities to identify the
sources of pathogens and develop detection systems and treatment
methods.
(J) (i) Provide funding for adaptive management, planning,
coordination, monitoring, research, and other necessary activities to
minimize the adverse impacts of climate change on California's ocean
ecosystem, including, but not limited to, the effects of sea level
rise, changes in ocean productivity, and ocean acidification on
coastal and ocean habitat, wildlife, fisheries, chemistry, and other
key attributes of ocean ecosystems and to increase the state's
understanding of the ocean's role in carbon sequestration. Adaptive
management strategies, planning, research, monitoring, or other
activities shall be designed to improve the management of coastal and
ocean resources or aid the state to adapt to climate change impacts.
(ii) Information or activities developed under clause (i), to the
extent appropriate, shall provide guidance to the State Air Resources
Board for the adoption of early action measures for the elimination
or reduction of emissions from sources or categories of sources
pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act (Division
25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code).
(c) Grants or loans may be made to a private entity pursuant to
this section only for projects or activities that further public
purposes consistent with Sections 35510, 35515, and 35617.
(d) Consistent with the purposes specified in Section 35515, and
in furtherance of the findings in Sections 7059 and 7060 of the Fish
and Game Code, the council, in authorizing grants or loans for
projects or expenditures pursuant to this section, shall promote
coordination of state programs and activities that protect and
conserve ocean resources to avoid redundancy and conflicts to ensure
that the state's programs and activities are complementary.