2007 California Harbors and Navigation Code Chapter 2. Board Of Pilot Commissioners

CA Codes (hnc:1150-1159.1)

1150.  (a) There is in the state government a Board of Pilot
Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun,
consisting of seven members appointed by the Governor, with the
consent of the Senate, as follows:
   (1) Two members shall be pilots licensed pursuant to this
division.
   (2) Two members shall represent the industry and shall be persons
currently engaged as owners, officers, directors, employees, or
representatives of a firm or association of firms that is a
substantial user of pilotage service in the Bay of San Francisco, San
Pablo, Suisun, or Monterey, one of whom shall be engaged in the
field of tanker company operations, and one of whom shall be engaged
in dry cargo operations.  The board of directors of a regional
maritime trade association controlled by West Coast vessel operators
that specifically represents the owners and operators of vessels or
barges engaged in transportation by water of cargo or passengers from
or to the Pacific area of the United States shall nominate, rank,
and submit to the Governor the names of three persons for each
category of industry member to be appointed.
   (3) Three members shall be public members.  Any person may serve
as a public member unless otherwise prohibited by law, except that
during his or her term of office or within the two years preceding
his or her appointment, no public member appointed on or after
January 1, 1991, may have (A) any financial or proprietary interest
in the ownership, operation, or management of tugs, cargo, or
passenger vessels, (B) sailed under the authority of a federal or
state pilot license in waters under the jurisdiction of the board,
(C) been employed by a company that is a substantial user of pilot
services, or (D) been a consultant or other person providing
professional services who had received more than 20 percent in the
aggregate of his or her income from a company that is a substantial
user of pilot services or an association of companies that are
substantial users of pilot services.  Ownership of less than
one-tenth of 1 percent of the stock of a publicly traded corporation
is not a financial or proprietary interest in the ownership of tugs,
cargo, or passenger vessels.
   (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, nothing in this
chapter prohibits the Governor from notifying the nominating
authority identified in paragraph (2) that persons nominated are
unacceptable for appointment.  Following that notification, the
nominating authority shall submit a new list of nominees to the
Governor, naming three persons, none of whom were previously
nominated, from which the Governor may make the appointment.  This
process shall be continued until a person nominated by the nominating
authority and satisfactory to the Governor has been appointed.
   (b) Each of the members appointed pursuant to paragraphs (1) and
(2) of subdivision (a) shall be appointed for a four-year term, and
may not be appointed for more than two terms.  Members appointed
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) shall be appointed with
staggered four-year terms with the initial four-year terms expiring
on December 31 of the years 1988, 1990, and 1991, respectively, and
no person may be appointed for more than two terms.  Vacancies on the
board for both expired and unexpired terms shall be filled by the
appointing power in the manner prescribed by subdivision (a).
   (c) A quorum of the board members consists of four members.  All
actions of the board shall require the vote of four members, a quorum
being present.


1151.  Each member of the board shall be a citizen of the United
States and a resident of California.  Each member appointed pursuant
to paragraphs (1) and (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 1150 shall be
a resident of one of the following counties:  San Francisco,
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Sacramento, San
Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, San Joaquin, Napa, Sonoma, or
Yolo.  The member shall hold office during the pleasure of the power
appointing the member, not to exceed four years from the date of the
member's commission.



1152.  The public members of the board shall receive, as
compensation for their services, the amount which the board may, from
time to time, determine, which  shall not exceed six hundred dollars
(0) each per month.  The members, officers, and employees of the
board shall also be allowed their necessary and verified expenses
resulting from the performance of their duties.



1153.  The board shall organize itself by electing a president, and
shall provide offices in the City of San Francisco, in which it shall
meet once a month and it may adjourn its regular meetings from time
to time.
   Meetings of the board are subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting
Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part
1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).




1154.  The board shall make and enforce rules and regulations for
the regulation of pilots pursuant to this division.



1155.  The president of the board may administer oaths in regard to
any matter properly before it and he may issue subpoenas for
witnesses in like cases.  A witness disobeying such subpoena served
on him shall incur a penalty of one hundred dollars (0), for which
judgment may be recovered by the president in a civil action.  The
provisions of this section shall not apply to proceedings conducted
in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part
1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.



1156.  The board may appoint, fix the compensation of, and from time
to time adjust the compensation of, an executive director who is
exempt from the civil service laws, an administrative
assistant/secretary, and other employees as may be necessary.




1156.5.  The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the
board and shall be under the direct supervision of the board.  The
term of office to which the executive director is appointed is five
years.  The first person appointed to the position of executive
director shall be initially appointed by a vote of at least four
members of the board.  Following the initial appointment, the
executive director and subsequent executive directors may be
appointed, reappointed, or removed from office only by a vote of at
least four members of the board, including at least one industry
member, one pilot member, and one public member.  The board may
delegate to the executive director any of the following functions:
   (a) The administration of personnel employed by the board, in
accordance with the civil service laws.
   (b) To serve as treasurer of the board and keep, maintain, and
provide the board with all statements of accounts, records of
receipts, and disbursements of the board in accordance with law.
   (c) The issuance and countersigning of licenses, which shall also
be signed by the president of the board.
   (d) The administration of matters and the maintenance of files
pertaining to actions taken against licenses issued by the board.
   (e) The investigation of and reporting on a navigational incident
or other matter for which a license issued by the board may be
revoked or suspended.
   (f) To work with the pilot evaluation committee to recommend to
the board improvements in the pilot training program.
   (g) Under the direction of the board, to coordinate with other
state and federal agencies charged with protecting the environment
and with the oil and hazardous chemical shipping industry.
   (h) Any other function, task, or duty as may reasonably be
assigned by the president of the board, including, but not limited
to, performing research and obtaining documents and other evidence
for board activities, including rate hearings.



1156.6.  (a) Whenever suspected safety standard violations
concerning pilot hoists, pilot ladders, or the proper rigging of
pilot hoists or pilot ladders are reported to the  board, the
executive director shall assign a commission investigator to
personally inspect the equipment for its compliance with the relevant
safety standards promulgated by the United States Coast Guard and
the International Maritime Organization.   The commission
investigator shall report preliminary conclusions, including an
assessment of the equipment's compliance with the relevant safety
standards, to the executive director as soon as possible.  If the
equipment is found to be in violation of the relevant safety
standards, the executive director shall immediately alert the Coast
Guard Marine Safety Office.  The commission investigator shall submit
a written report to the  incident review committee as established by
subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3.  The incident review committee,
in turn, shall report its findings to the board.  The board shall
receive the incident review committee's findings which may include
other reports, information, or statements from interested parties.
The board shall specify, by regulation, the information which shall
be contained in the report.
   (b) This section applies to the pilotage grounds, as defined in
Section 1114.5.  Whenever a vessel passes outside of the pilotage
grounds, the commission investigator's report shall include that fact
along with a description of the incident.
   (c) The record of the investigation and the board's findings and
recommendations, if any, shall be a public record maintained by the
board for 10 years.


1157.  The administrative assistant/secretary shall work under the
direct supervision of the executive director and shall keep a written
record of all the board's proceedings and acts, and shall keep a
register of all pilots appointed, their residence and the date of
each license.  In addition, he or she shall perform such additional
clerical, administrative, and other duties as may reasonably be
required by the executive director.



1158.  The public members, the executive director, and the
administrative assistant/secretary of the board shall not have any
interest in any pilot vessel or tug, or in the earnings thereof,
except for the compensation provided in this chapter.




1158.1.  The executive director shall not, during the term of his or
her office, serve as a member of the board, nor as a pilot or inland
pilot, nor be otherwise concurrently employed in the maritime
industry.


1159.  (a) All moneys received by the board pursuant to the
provisions of any law shall be accounted for at the close of each
month to the Controller in the form which the Controller may
prescribe and, at the same time on the order of the Controller, all
these moneys shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of
the Board of Pilot Commissioners' Special Fund.
   (b) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the
moneys deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Board of
Pilot Commissioners' Special Fund are appropriated without regard to
fiscal years for the payment of the compensation and expenses of the
board, its officers and employees, and the training programs.



1159.1.  The board shall impose a board operations surcharge, the
purpose of which is to fully compensate the board for its official
services, for the services of its staff, and for all its incidental
expenses.  The amount of the surcharge shall not exceed 71/2 percent
of all pilotage fees charged by pilots and inland pilots, unless the
board establishes, with the approval of the Department of Finance, a
lesser percentage.  The board shall quarterly review its ongoing and
anticipated expenses and adjust the surcharge to reflect any changes
which have occurred since the last adjustment.



1159.1.  The vessel shall pay a board operations surcharge, the
purpose of which is to fully compensate the board for its official
services, for the services of its staff, and for all its incidental
expenses.  The amount of the surcharge shall be 7.5 percent of all
pilotage fees charged by pilots and inland pilots, pursuant to
Sections 1190 and 1191 unless the board establishes, with the
approval of the Department of Finance, a lesser percentage.  The
surcharge shall be billed and collected by the pilots and inland
pilots.  The pilots and inland pilots shall pay all surcharges
collected by them to the board monthly or at such later time as the
board may direct.  The board shall quarterly review its ongoing and
anticipated expenses and adjust the surcharge to reflect any changes
which have occurred since the last adjustment.