CHAPTER 2. Development and Improvement of Granted Tide and Submerged Lands [6701. - 6707.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 2.

in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6701. Section 6701.

Subject to the provisions of Section 6702, no amendment, modification, or revocation, in whole or in part, of any grant of tide or submerged lands heretofore made or that may be hereafter made by the Legislature shall impair or affect the rights or obligations of third parties, including lessees, lenders for value, holders of contracts conferring the right to the use and occupation of, or the right to conduct operations upon or within such lands, arising from leases, contracts, or other instruments lawfully entered into prior to the effective date of such amendment, modification, or revocation.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6702. Section 6702.

(a) The provisions of Section 6701 shall not apply to any of the following unless the provisions of subdivision (b) are first complied with: (1) Any lease, contract, or other instrument entered into on or after the effective date of this chapter. (2) Any lease, contract, or other instrument entered into before the effective date of this chapter if (i) such lease, contract, or other instrument affects lands which have been filled in between January 1, 1970, and the date of any such amendment, modification, or revocation by the Legislature, or (ii) there have not been erected, prior to January 1, 1970, any artificial structures on any of the lands affected thereby pursuant to any exercise of rights expressly or impliedly conferred by any such lease, contract, or other instrument and under the terms of such lease, contract, or other instrument the total capital expenditures reasonably anticipated on such lands are ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or greater. (3) Any amendment, modification, or alteration made on or after January 1, 1970, to any lease, contract, or other instrument entered into before the effective date of this chapter if such amendment, modification, or alteration either extends the term of such lease, contract, or other instrument for more than six months or authorizes the erection of improvements not previously authorized thereby upon lands unoccupied by permanent structures as of January 1, 1970. For purposes of this chapter, “lease, contract, or other instrument” includes any amendment, modification, or alteration described by this paragraph. (b) The provisions of Section 6701 shall be applicable to any lease, contract, or other instrument described in subdivision (a) which is submitted to the State Lands Commission and as to which the commission makes all the following determinations: (1) That such lease, contract, or other instrument is in accordance with the terms of the grant or grants under which title to the tide or submerged lands in question is held. (2) That the proceeds of such lease, contract, or other instrument shall be deposited in an appropriate fund expendable only for statewide purposes authorized by a legislative grant. (3) That such lease, contract, or other instrument is in the best interests of the state. (c) The provisions of Section 6701 shall apply to any lease, contract, or other instrument entered into before the effective date of this chapter if such lease, contract, or other instrument is not one described by subdivision (a), without requiring that it be submitted to the State Lands Commission. (d) For purposes of this section, lands shall be deemed to have been “filled in” if such lands were permanently or periodically covered by tidal waters on or after January 1, 1970, and thereafter are either raised to a level above mean lower low water by the deposition of earth or other materials thereon or have permanent artificial structures erected thereon.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6703. Section 6703.

Whenever a lease, contract, or other instrument is submitted to the State Lands Commission pursuant to Section 6702, the costs of any study or investigation, including a reasonable reimbursement for employees’ time, incurred by the State Lands Division in processing and investigating such submittal shall be borne by the legislative grantee or the person or entity making such submittal, as may be agreed upon between the commission and such grantee or other person or entity making such submittal, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the commission.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6704. Section 6704.

Failure of the State Lands Commission to issue to the legislative grantee a written report making, or declining to make with reasons for so declining, the determinations set forth in Section 6702 within 90 days of receipt from the legislative grantee of all material required by the rules and regulations of the commission to be submitted pursuant to Section 6702, or within any other period of time mutually agreed upon by the commission and the legislative grantee, shall be the equivalent of an affirmative finding with respect to each of such determinations required by Section 6702 and the provisions of Section 6701 shall become applicable to the lease, contract, or other instrument in question.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6705. Section 6705.

This chapter shall not be construed to affect the validity of leases, contracts, or other instruments affecting tide or submerged lands, and there shall be no presumptions raised concerning the validity or invalidity of any lease, contract, or other instrument which is required by Section 6702 to be submitted to the State Lands Commission in order to make the provisions of Section 6701 applicable thereto because of the failure of the legislative grantee to submit such lease, contract, or other instrument to the commission, or because of any findings of such commission thereon.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6706. Section 6706.

If on the effective date of any revocation of a grant of tide or submerged lands, there are in effect any leases, contracts, or other instruments to which the provisions of Section 6701 are applicable, the state may at its option, exercised by, and evidenced by appropriate action on the part of, the State Lands Commission, succeed to the interest in any such instrument of the grantee named in such grant; otherwise, the interest of such grantee in any such instrument then in effect shall continue during the term or other period of time during which such instrument shall remain in effect, or until such time as the commission exercises the option set forth in this section. The grantee shall furnish the commission with all such instruments within 30 days after the effective date of any such revocation, or any longer period mutually agreed upon between the commission and the grantee, and the commission may exercise the option at any time within six months from the date such instruments were submitted to it.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 6707. Section 6707.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that to promote and accommodate public trust uses, including commerce, navigation, and fisheries, proper management of granted public trust lands may require the local trustee to conduct dredging of navigational channels and vessel berths on granted lands, including on those granted lands in which the state reserves mineral interests, and that those dredging activities are consistent with the public trust. (b) A local trustee of tide and submerged lands or an applicant for dredging on granted tide and submerged lands that intends to commence dredging on granted public trust lands, upon which any right to minerals on those lands is reserved by the state, shall notify the commission, in writing, no later than 120 days prior to the time dredging is commenced. The notice shall contain all of the following information: (1) A description of the dredging to be conducted on those lands, including a map and land description showing the area and project site. (2) A description of the amount of material to be dredged, disposal amount, location, and means of disposal, if available. (3) The time and manner in which dredging is to occur. (4) The relevant permits, authorizations, and approvals that exist or must be obtained to complete dredging, or, if applicable, demonstration of compliance with a dredged materials management office plan that is administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. (5) A declaration that the dredging is necessary for the proper management of the grant consistent with the public trust for commerce, navigation, and fisheries, or a statement of why the dredging is necessary to be undertaken for other purposes and a declaration that the dredging is consistent with the statutory grant. (6) A statement with supporting documents that explains whether the trustee anticipates receipt of any revenues from the materials to be dredged, and, if so, in what amounts. (c) After submission of the written notice required by this section, a local trustee or applicant for dredging may presume that a dredging lease is not required if all of the following conditions are met: (1) The dredging is maintenance dredging consistent with the proper management of the granted lands. (2) The dredged material is not sold or used for a private benefit. (3) The dredged material is disposed of at an approved onshore or offshore disposal site. (d) The commission may require a lease for any dredging on granted tide and submerged lands wherein the right to minerals is reserved to the state if the proposed dredging does not meet the conditions set forth in subdivision (c). The commission may delegate the authority to determine whether a lease is necessary to its executive officer. If the commission determines that a lease is required, the commission shall provide the grantee or applicant for dredging with written notification of that determination within 30 days after the commission receives notification of the proposed dredging. All applicable reimbursement costs shall be submitted with the application for a lease, if a lease is necessary. (e) This section shall apply only to dredging operations that are commenced on or after January 1, 2014. (f) This section does not exempt a local trustee of tide and submerged lands or other person or entity dredging on those lands from any permit or other approval necessary to carry out dredging operations that may be required by another local, state, or federal law. (g) (1) Any revenue that is earned by a local trustee from the dredging of granted lands shall be held or spent in a manner consistent with the trustee’s existing obligations under the public trust and the specific terms of its grant of lands. (2) If a local trustee receives any revenue from the dredged materials not otherwise disclosed in the notice required by this section, the local trustee shall immediately notify the commission in writing. The commission may require the grantee to pay a reasonable royalty and enter into a lease for the dredging. If a grantee fails to notify the commission, the commission may require the local trustee to remit all revenues to the state. (h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the commission to enter into a lease, at its discretion, for dredging activity on granted tide and submerged lands wherein the right to minerals is reserved to the state.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026