2007 California Public Resources Code Chapter 1.76. Native American Historic Resource Protection Act

CA Codes (prc:5097.993-5097.994)

5097.993.  (a) (1) A person who unlawfully and maliciously excavates
upon, removes, destroys, injures, or defaces a Native American
historic, cultural, or sacred site, that is listed or may be eligible
for listing in the California Register of Historic Resources
pursuant to Section 5024.1, including any historic or prehistoric
ruins, any burial ground, any archaeological or historic site, any
inscriptions made by Native Americans at such a site, any
archaeological or historic Native American rock art, or any
archaeological or historic feature of a Native American historic,
cultural, or sacred site, is guilty of a misdemeanor if the act was
committed with specific intent to vandalize, deface, destroy, steal,
convert, possess, collect, or sell a Native American historic,
cultural, or sacred artifact, art object, inscription, or feature, or
site, and the act was committed as follows:
   (A) On public land.
   (B) On private land, by a person, other than the landowner, as
described in subdivision (b).
   (2) A violation of this section is punishable by imprisonment in
the county jail for up to one year, by a fine not to exceed ten
thousand dollars (,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
   (b) This section does not apply to any of the following:
   (1) An act taken in accordance with, or pursuant to, an agreement
entered into pursuant to subdivision (l) of Section 5097.94.
   (2) An action taken pursuant to Section 5097.98.
   (3) An act taken in accordance with the California Environmental
Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)).
   (4) An act taken in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321 et seq.).
   (5) An act authorized under the Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act
of 1973 (Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 4511) of Part 2 of
Division 4).
   (6) An action taken with respect to a conservation easement in
accordance with Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 815) of Division 2
of the Civil Code, or any similar nonperpetual enforceable
restriction that has as its purpose the conservation, maintenance, or
provision of physical access of Native Americans to one or more
Native American historic, cultural, or sacred sites, or pursuant to a
contractual agreement for that purpose to which most likely
descendents of historic Native American inhabitants are signatories.

   (7) An otherwise lawful act undertaken by the owner, or an
employee or authorized agent of the owner acting at the direction of
the owner, of land on which artifacts, sites, or other Native
American resources covered by this section are found, including, but
not limited to, farming, ranching, forestry, improvements,
investigations into the characteristics of the property conducted in
a manner that minimizes adverse impacts unnecessary to that purpose,
and the sale, lease, exchange, or financing of real property.
   (8) Research conducted under the auspices of an accredited
postsecondary educational institution or other legitimate research
institution on public land in accordance with applicable permitting
requirements or on private land in accordance with otherwise
applicable law.


5097.994.  (a) A person who violates subdivision (a) of Section
5097.993 is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed fifty thousand
dollars (,000) per violation.
   (b) A civil penalty may be imposed for each separate violation of
subdivision (a) in addition to any other civil penalty imposed for a
separate violation of any other provision of law.
   (c) In determining the amount of a civil penalty imposed pursuant
to this section, the court shall take into account the extent of the
damage to the resource.  In making the determination of damage, the
court may consider the commercial or archaeological value of the
resource involved and the cost to restore and repair the resource.
   (d) A civil action may be brought pursuant to this section by the
district attorney, the city attorney, or the Attorney General, or by
the Attorney General upon a complaint by the Native American Heritage
Commission.
   (e) (1) All moneys collected from civil penalties imposed pursuant
to this section as a result of an enforcement action brought by a
city or county shall be distributed to the city or county treasurer
of the city or county that brought the action.  These moneys shall be
first utilized to repair or restore the damaged site, and the
remaining moneys shall be available to that city or county to offset
costs incurred in enforcing this chapter.
   (2) All moneys collected from civil penalties imposed pursuant to
this section as a result of an enforcement action brought by the
Attorney General shall be first distributed to, and utilized by, the
Native American Heritage Commission to repair or restore the damaged
site, and the remaining moneys shall be available to the Attorney
General to offset costs incurred in enforcing this chapter.