Coastal resources: California Coastal Sanctuary: tidelands and submerged lands: oil and gas development.

Section 6244 is no longer repealed. Instead, it is amended to keep the State Lands Commission's authority to lease oil and gas in the California Coastal Sanctuary when deposits are being drained by adjacent federal wells, but adds a new prohibition on such leases in areas designated as California marine protected areas (under the Marine Life Protection Act) or national marine sanctuaries (under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act) as of or after January 1, 2026.

The date threshold for Pacific Outer Continental Shelf lease restrictions in Section 6245 changes from 'issued after January 1, 2018' to 'issued after January 1, 2026.' This means the prohibition on new leases and the enhanced review process (notice, 180-day waiting period, mandatory consideration factors) now apply only to POCS leases issued after January 1, 2026, rather than those issued after January 1, 2018. This is an 8-year narrowing of the bill's temporal scope.

The entire amendment to Section 30262 of the Public Resources Code (Coastal Act) is removed from the bill. This section had required pipeline-only transportation of offshore oil using best achievable technology, prohibited alternative transport modes, redefined 'expanded oil extraction' to include reactivation after 5 years and unconventional drilling techniques, and required new coastal development permits for repair or reactivation of facilities idled for 5 or more years.

In Section 6804(b)(1), the commission's consideration of assignee qualifications changes from permissive ('may consider') to mandatory ('shall consider, at a minimum'). Two new factors are added: the proposed assignee's history of accidents including oil spills, and whether the assignee has the capability and experience to protect public trust resources. The financial factor is also strengthened to require confirmation that the assignee has submitted a bond no less than the estimated decommissioning cost.

Section 6245(a) changes the language from 'associated with Pacific Outer Continental Shelf leases' to 'for the purpose of supporting Pacific Outer Continental Shelf leases,' which may narrow the scope of what infrastructure is covered. The old separate subdivision (b) about not using existing infrastructure to support post-2026 POCS leases is merged into subdivision (a).

Section 6245(d)(1) changes 'properly noticed public meeting' to 'duly noticed public meeting' and adds the clarification that the lease action must be 'presented as an informational item' at that meeting before it can be approved.

The state mandate reimbursement section is simplified. The previous version included a provision stating no reimbursement was required for certain mandates because local agencies could levy service charges or fees. The new version contains only the standard language requiring reimbursement if the Commission on State Mandates determines costs are mandated.

Repeals Public Resources Code Section 6244, which allowed the State Lands Commission to enter into oil and gas leases on state-owned tidelands and submerged lands in the California Coastal Sanctuary when deposits were being drained by producing wells on adjacent federal lands. This eliminates an existing legal pathway for new coastal sanctuary oil and gas leasing.

Adds a new prohibition (Section 6245(b)) stating that leases and oil- and gas-related infrastructure located upon tidelands and submerged lands within state waters shall not be used to support Pacific Outer Continental Shelf leases issued after January 1, 2026. This extends the bill's restrictions beyond just new construction to also cover existing infrastructure being repurposed to support newer federal offshore leases.

Removes the reference to Section 6244 from the list of exceptions in Section 6245(f)(1), so that only Section 6243 remains as an authorized exception for commission-issued leases. This is a conforming change consistent with the repeal of Section 6244.

Replaces the state-mandate reimbursement section. The old version stated no reimbursement was required because local agencies could levy service charges, fees, or assessments to cover mandated costs. The new version removes that justification and simply provides that if the Commission on State Mandates determines the act contains mandated costs, reimbursement shall be made under Government Code Part 7.

The threshold for when an idled facility requires a new coastal development permit was increased from 3 years to 5 years. A facility that has been idled, inactive, or out of service for more than 5 years (previously 3) now triggers the requirement for a new permit rather than being treated as routine repair and maintenance.

Reactivation was removed from the list of activities that may be permitted as a coastal-dependent industrial facility under Section 30260. Previously, repair, reactivation, and maintenance could all be permitted under that provision; now only repair and maintenance qualify.

The bill summary language authorizing reactivation of an existing oil and gas facility to be permitted as a coastal-dependent industrial facility was deleted entirely.

Section 6804(b)(2) now explicitly states that 'facility' includes an oil pipeline, consolidating what was previously a separate provision for pipelines into the general facility language with the 5-year threshold.

The notice, consideration, and approval requirements for lease renewals, extensions, amendments, assignments, or modifications now apply only to Pacific Outer Continental Shelf leases issued after January 1, 2018, rather than all such leases. This excludes older leases from the enhanced review process.

Senator Stern is added as a coauthor of the bill, indicating bipartisan or cross-chamber sponsorship.

The provision requiring the State Fire Marshal to request federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration approval for interstate certification of hazardous liquid pipelines not under state jurisdiction is entirely removed. This eliminates the state's role in ensuring interstate pipelines meet federal safety standards (Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act) and state pipeline requirements.

The threshold for when an idled, inactive, or out-of-service oil and gas facility or pipeline requires a new coastal development permit is increased from 3 years to 5 years of inactivity. This means facilities can remain idle for two additional years before being treated as new or expanded development subject to full permitting.

The text in subdivision (b)(1) now reads 'Repair, reactivation, Repair and maintenance' which appears to be a drafting error duplicating the word 'Repair' with inconsistent capitalization.

The prohibition on new leases in Section 6245(a) was narrowed from applying to all tidelands and submerged lands within state waters to only Pacific Outer Continental Shelf leases issued after January 1, 2018. This excludes older POMS leases and non-POMS state water leases from the new restrictions.

The requirement that lease renewals, extensions, amendments, assignments, or modifications be approved by not less than two-thirds of all members of the commission or local trustee governing board was removed. The Senate version only requires approval by the commission or governing board (a simple majority).

The technology standard for onshore pipeline transport of oil to processing and refining facilities was lowered from 'best achievable technology' to 'best available technology.' Best available is generally a lower regulatory threshold than best achievable, which considers technologies that could feasibly be developed.

The separate requirement that pipelines be certified by the Office of the State Fire Marshal as meeting specific conditions (including compliance with California Code of Federal Regulations Title 19 Chapter 14 and confirmation that no exemption had been granted) was removed. The Senate version instead ties interstate pipeline oversight to a PHMSA approval process, with the State Fire Marshal inspecting pipelines for compliance with federal HPLSA, Part 195 CFR, and Section 51013.1 of the Government Code.

Removed the 'issued after January 1, 2018' qualifier from multiple references to Pacific Outer Continental Shelf leases throughout Section 6245, expanding the bill's restrictions to apply to all POC Shelf leases rather than only those issued after that date.

Changed the onshore pipeline technology standard from 'best achievable technology' to 'available technology pursuant to Section 51013.1 of the Government Code,' which is a lower regulatory threshold than the original 'best achievable technology' standard.

Added a new provision requiring the State Fire Marshal to request approval from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to obtain interstate certification for hazardous liquid pipelines not under state jurisdiction, and with that approval, to inspect pipelines for federal compliance and ensure they meet Section 51013.1 of the Government Code.

Removed the exception that allowed alternative transportation modes (trains or trucks) when crude oil was so highly viscous that pipelining was infeasible or no feasible pipeline access existed, eliminating a potential workaround to the pipeline-only requirement.