(a) A person shall not construct, place, maintain, own, use, or possess a structure or facility on land that is under the commission’s jurisdiction and that is owned by the state without first obtaining all necessary easements, leases, or permits from the commission that authorize the construction, placement, maintenance, ownership, use, or possession of the structure or facility.
(b) Except as provided in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) of Section 6224.5, and except for facilities owned by an electrical corporation, as defined in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code or a gas corporation as defined in Section 222 of the Public Utilities Code, that were installed on lands pursuant to a property interest or a claim of right before the lands became state lands, a person, other than a telegraph or telephone corporation acting pursuant to Section 7901 of the Public Utilities Code or a franchised cable television corporation, as defined in Section 216.4 of the Public Utilities Code, and limited to their usage of poles, conduits, cables, wires, and associated appurtenances under either their ownership or the ownership of an electrical corporation, who violates subdivision (a) shall be liable for a penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) a day or an amount that is not more than 60 percent higher than the full fair market rental for each month that a violation occurs. If the violation occurs during only part of a calendar month, the commission may prorate the penalty.
(c) In determining the appropriate penalty described in subdivision (b), the commission shall consider all of the following factors:
(1) The physical extent of the violation on the land under the commission’s jurisdiction, and that is owned by the state.
(2) The degree of culpability of the violator.
(3) The degree of cooperation of the violator and whether the structure or facility is susceptible to removal or the violation is susceptible to resolution.
(4) Any prior history of violations of statutes or leases pertaining to lands under the commission’s jurisdiction, and that are owned by the state, including the past history of the violator in taking all feasible steps or procedures necessary or appropriate to correct a violation.
(5) The extent to which the violation causes environmental harm or impairs lawful public access to lands under the commission’s jurisdiction, and that are owned by the state.
(6) Any factor determined by the commission to be relevant to a fair and just result, and in the best interest of the state.
(d) The penalty described in this section shall be imposed from the first day the commission issues an order to the day when the violation is cured.
(e) The commission may enjoin a person who violates subdivision (a) from continuing that violation.
(f) The commission may require a person who violates subdivision (a) to remove the structure or facility from lands that are owned by the state at the person’s own expense. If the violator refuses to remove the structure or facility, or if the violator cannot be located, the commission may, at its own expense, remove the structure or facility from the land under the commission’s jurisdiction, and that is owned by the state. The commission may pursue whatever legal remedies are available to recover the removal costs from the violator.
(g) For the purposes of this section, a structure or facility shall include, but is not limited to, buildings, boat houses, docks, piers, revetments, fill, pilings, pipelines, groins, jetties, seawalls, breakwaters, and bulkheads.
(h) If the Attorney General prevails in a civil action necessary to enforce an order of the commission issued pursuant to this section, the Attorney General shall be awarded attorney’s fees and costs.
(i) The remedies provided by this section are in addition to and not in lieu of any other penalty or sanction provided by law.
(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 247, Sec. 1. (AB 2082) Effective January 1, 2013.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018