BILL NUMBER: AB 985	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Dahle

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2015

   An act to amend Section 33321 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 985, as introduced, Dahle. Sierra Nevada Conservancy.
   Existing law establishes the Sierra Nevada Conservancy in the
Natural Resources Agency, and prescribes the membership and functions
and duties of the conservancy. Existing law requires that the
governing board of the conservancy consist of 13 voting members and 3
nonvoting liaison advisers, appointed or designated in accordance
with specified procedures.
   This bill would require that 2 members of the Senate, appointed by
the Senate Committee on Rules, and 2 members of the Assembly,
appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, meet with the conservancy
and participate in its activities to the extent that such
participation is not incompatible with their positions as Members of
the Legislature. The bill would require that one appointee from each
house represent a district that is partially or wholly within the
Sierra Nevada Region, as described, and one appointee from each house
represent a district that lies outside of the Sierra Nevada Region.

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 33321 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
   33321.  (a) The board shall consist of 13 voting members and three
nonvoting liaison advisers, appointed or designated as follows:
   (1) The 13 voting members of the board shall consist of all of the
following:
   (A) The Secretary of the Resources Agency, or his or her designee.

   (B) The Director of Finance, or his or her designee.
   (C) Three public members appointed by the Governor, who are not
elected officials, to represent statewide interests.
   (D) One public member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly,
who is not an elected official, to represent statewide interests.
   (E) One public member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules,
who is not an elected official, to represent statewide interests.
   (F) One member for each of the six subregions who shall be a
member of the board of supervisors of a county located within that
subregion, and whose supervisorial district shall be at least
partially contained within the Sierra Nevada Region. Each member
shall be selected by the counties within that subregion, according to
the following procedure:
   (i) Each county board of supervisors within a subregion shall
select a member of their board to determine, with the selected
members of the other counties in the subregion, which member of a
board of supervisors within the subregion shall be appointed as a
member of the conservancy board. An alternate may be appointed. The
appointed member and any alternate shall have at least part of his or
her supervisorial district within the subregion.
   (ii) The initial appointment of a member for each subregion shall
be made no later than 60 days after the effective date of this
division. A subsequent appointment to a regular term on the board
shall be made before the date specified in Section 33322 for the
commencement of that term. A vacancy occurring before the end of a
term shall be filled for the remainder of the term within 60 days of
the vacancy.
   (iii) If the boards of supervisors of the subregion do not appoint
a member to the board within the timeframe specified in clause (ii),
the Governor shall appoint one of the supervisors selected in clause
(i) to serve as the board member for the subregion.
   (2) The three nonvoting liaison advisers who serve in an advisory,
nonvoting capacity shall consist of all of the following:
   (A) One representative of the National Park Service, designated by
the United States Secretary of the Interior.
   (B) One representative of the United States Forest Service,
designated by the United States Secretary of Agriculture.
   (C) One representative of the United States Bureau of Land
Management, designated by the United States Secretary of the
Interior.
   (b) Appointing powers shall seek to include individuals from a
breadth of backgrounds. 
   (c) Two members of the Senate, appointed by the Senate Committee
on Rules, and two members of the Assembly, appointed by the Speaker
of the Assembly, shall meet with the conservancy and participate in
its activities to the extent that such participation is not
incompatible with their respective positions as Members of the
Legislature. One appointee from each house shall represent a district
either partially or wholly within the Sierra Nevada Region and one
appointee from each house shall represent a district that lies
outside of the Sierra Nevada Region.