SECTIONS 71550-71556 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 71550-71556

71550. (a) The members of the board first appointed shall serve as
incorporators of the endowment and shall take whatever actions are
necessary to establish the endowment pursuant to the Nonprofit Public
Benefit Corporation Law (Part 2 (commencing with Section 5110) of
Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code) once a majority of
the board is appointed.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the endowment not be
incorporated until the endowment board has received its initial
notice of application from the Department of Fish and Game, pursuant
to Section 6610 of the Fish and Game Code.

71551. The California Endowment for Marine Preservation shall
receive funds generated pursuant to the California Marine Resources
Legacy Act (Article 2 (commencing with Section 6420) of Chapter 5 of
Part 1 of Division 6 of the Fish and Game Code).

71552. (a) The purpose of the endowment is to create a permanent
source of funding for projects and programs that will conserve,
protect, restore, and enhance the coastal and marine resources of the
state, with an emphasis on open coastal marine resources, and that
will improve the sustainability of marine activities and encourage
and support environmentally sustainable marine activities. To achieve
this objective, the endowment board may award grants to public
agencies and nonprofit organizations to support any or all of the
following activities:
(1) Applied research, including, but not limited to, monitoring
and data collection in support of projects to conserve, protect,
restore, and enhance the open coastal marine resources of the state.
In so doing, the board shall take maximum advantage of the scientific
research expertise available from the University of California, the
California State University, other institutions of higher learning,
and marine science research institutions with expertise in marine
resource issues. No more than 10 percent of funds awarded by the
endowment in any fiscal year shall be awarded for research.
(2) Projects in open coastal waters that enhance environmentally
sustainable marine activities.
(3) Projects in open coastal waters to enhance the habitat for
open coastal marine life, including, but not limited to, the
identification, monitoring, and protection of important ecological
areas.
(4) Enforcement programs that protect, conserve, and enhance
natural resources and marine habitat in and adjacent to open coastal
waters, including regulating the take of open coastal marine species
and monitoring of open coastal marine species and habitat with an
emphasis on innovative approaches.
(5) Programs to aid in the establishment of sustainable fishing
levels, including, but not limited to, ecosystem-based management of
forage species, and programs to reduce or prevent habitat damage in
open coastal waters.
(6) Programs to monitor catch and bycatch and to reduce bycatch in
fisheries managed by the State of California and by the United
States.
(7) Programs, projects, and activities that are directly related
to the conservation, protection, restoration, and enhancement of
coastal and marine resources of the state, with an emphasis on open
coastal marine resources, and that are authorized by either paragraph
(2) of subdivision (b) of Section 35650 or by Section 75060.
(b) Funds provided by the endowment are not intended, and shall
not be used, to supplant funding provided through the annual budget
process to support existing obligations and activities related to
coastal and marine resources.
(c) The endowment board may also do all of the following:
(1) Obtain grants from, and contract with, individuals and with
private, local, state, and federal agencies, organizations, and
institutions.
(2) Contract with, or make grants to, conservation and educational
organizations; marine institutes; aquariums and museums;
institutions of higher education; and local, state, and federal
agencies to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(3) Loan funds to local, state, and federal agencies,
organizations, and institutions to carry out the purposes of this
chapter.
(d) The endowment shall create a business plan for a five-year
period. The endowment shall update the plan annually.
(e) On or before February 1 each year following incorporation, the
endowment shall submit a report for the preceding fiscal year to the
Governor and to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the
Legislature. The report shall include all of the following:
(1) The updated business plan created pursuant to subdivision (c).
(2) A comprehensive and detailed report of the endowment's
operations, activities, financial condition, and accomplishments
under this section.
(3) A listing of each recipient of a grant from the endowment and
the purposes and amount of that grant.
(4) A listing of any loan that the endowment has received and the
plan for repaying the loan.
(5) A report of each independent audit required pursuant to
subdivision (e) of Section 71560.

71553. Members of the board and appropriate staff shall be
available to testify before appropriate committees of the
Legislature.

71554. The endowment shall not contribute to, or otherwise support,
any political party, candidate for elective public office, or ballot
measure.

71555. The endowment may hire employees and may obtain legal
counsel. No employee of the endowment is an employee of the State of
California. No employee of the endowment is subject to Chapter 10.3
(commencing with Section 3512) of, or Chapter 10.5 (commencing with
Section 3525) of, Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
Employees of the endowment have the right to representation
consistent with the federal National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C.
Sec. 151 et seq.).

71556. The endowment shall coordinate its activities with the
Department of Fish and Game, the California Coastal Commission, the
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the State
Lands Commission, and appropriate federal agencies, including the
National Marine Fisheries Service and the Minerals Management Service
of the United States Department of the Interior. Nothing in this
division limits the authority and responsibility of any of these
agencies.