Tidelands and submerged lands: removal of vessels.

Existing law authorizes any peace officer, as described, any employee or officer of the State Lands Commission designated by the commission, or any lifeguard or marine safety officer employed by a county, city, or district, while engaged in the performance of official duties, to remove, and, if necessary, store a vessel, as defined, removed from a public waterway under specified circumstances. This bill would eliminate the authority of any employee or officer of the State Lands Commission designated by the commission, while engaged in the performance of official duties, to remove and, if necessary, store a vessel removed from a public waterway. Existing law authorizes the commission to remove from areas under its jurisdiction any vessel, boat, raft, or other similar watercraft that is left unattended and is moored, docked, or beached as to obstruct traffic or to create a hazard to other vessels or property, that poses critical and immediate danger to navigation or the public health, safety, or welfare, or that hinders navigation or creates a public nuisance. This bill would revise those provisions to authorize the commission to remove a vessel, as defined, in those and similar conditions immediately and without notice. The bill would authorize the commission to remove and dispose of, from areas under its jurisdiction, a vessel that has been placed on state lands without its permission if, prior to removal, the commission gives a 30-day notice to remove the vessel, as prescribed, and uses reasonable means to identify and locate the owner and any lienholder. Existing law authorizes the commission, through appropriate action in the courts, to remove or destroy a vessel, boat, watercraft, or other similar obstruction that hinders navigation or otherwise creates a public nuisance in areas under the commission's jurisdiction. This bill would, instead, provide that a vessel that remains unclaimed, as defined, for a period longer than 30 days after notice of removal is abandoned property. The bill would establish procedures for the commission to sell, destroy, or otherwise dispose of this property. The bill would require that any proceeds from the sale of this property, less the commission's costs, be deposited into the General Fund. The bill would further authorize the commission, at its discretion, to remove an abandoned or derelict vessel on a navigable waterway that is not under its jurisdiction, if requested to do so by another public entity that has regulatory authority over the area where the vessel is located. This bill would exempt the above-described actions of the commission related to the removal, disposal, and destruction of a vessel or other similar obstructions that hinder navigation or otherwise create a public nuisance from the State Contract Act.