Initiative Statute

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This measure shall be known and may be cited as the “Beach Access Protection Act.”

The People of the State of California find and declare:

California’s coastline is a unique and invaluable public resource that must remain open and accessible to the public.

The California Coastal Commission was created to safeguard the public’s ability to reach and enjoy the beach.

Over time, the scope of the California Coastal Commission’s authority has expanded beyond ensuring public access to the beach.

It is the intent of the People to limit the California Coastal Commission’s role to protecting and enforcing access to the beach, while returning non-access-related regulatory functions to local governments and other state agencies with appropriate jurisdiction.

The purposes and intents of this measure are to:

Restrict the authority of the California Coastal Commission exclusively to matters necessary to protect and ensure access to the beach.

Prohibit the California Coastal Commission from regulating land use, development, environmental protection, resource management, or other activities not directly and demonstrably necessary to protect access to the beach.

Reallocate regulatory and permitting authority unrelated to beach access to local governments and relevant state agencies as provided by other applicable law.

Provide a clear and efficient transition to the new framework while maintaining uninterrupted public access to the beach.

A. Amendment to the Public Resources Code

Division 20 of the Public Resources Code (Public Resources Code, Division 20) is amended to add Chapter 1.1 (commencing with Section 30005.5), to read:

Chapter 1.1. Limitation of Commission Authority

Section 30005.5. Exclusive Purpose and Jurisdiction

a. The California Coastal Commission’s exclusive purpose shall be to protect and ensure public access to the beach.

b. The Commission shall have authority only to take actions that are directly and demonstrably necessary to protect, preserve, maintain, or restore access to the beach.

c. Except as provided in this Chapter, the Commission shall not exercise any authority, adopt any regulation, condition, or order, or take any action relating to land use, development, environmental protection, resource management, sea level rise planning, erosion management, water quality, habitat or species protection, scenic or visual resources, or any other subject matter beyond protecting access to the beach.

Section 30005.6. Prohibition on Non-Access Regulation

a. The Commission shall not:

i. Review, approve, deny, condition, or enforce any permit, certification, plan, program, or action related to coastal development, land use, zoning, environmental review, mitigation, restoration, conservation, or resource extraction unless such action is directly and demonstrably necessary to protect access to the beach.

ii. Require coastal development permits, or impose conditions on any local, state, or private project, except to the extent necessary to prevent, remove, or remedy an actual or reasonably foreseeable impediment to access to the beach.

iii. Assert jurisdiction over activities occurring outside areas that function as points of entry to, or passage for reaching, the beach, unless the activity creates a direct impediment to access to the beach.

Section 30005.7. Access to the Beach

a. For purposes of this Division, “access to the beach” shall be construed broadly to effectuate the People’s right to reach and enjoy the beach.

b. Without limiting subdivision (a), Commission actions may include identifying, protecting, maintaining, or restoring routes, points of entry, or other means of reaching the beach, and removing or preventing unlawful obstructions or unreasonable interferences with access to the beach.

c. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to narrow or define exhaustively what constitutes access to the beach.

Section 30005.8. Coordination With Local Governments and State Agencies

a. Local governments and relevant state agencies shall retain or resume all regulatory, permitting, planning, and enforcement authority not expressly conferred upon the Commission by this Chapter, including but not limited to land use, development, environmental protection, and resource management, consistent with other applicable law.

b. The Commission shall coordinate with local governments and relevant state agencies to ensure that beach access is protected without duplicative or conflicting regulation.

c. Upon request, local governments shall provide the Commission with reasonable assistance or information necessary for the Commission to carry out its limited access-related duties.

Section 30005.9. Enforcement Limited to Access

a. The Commission may initiate or defend legal actions only to prevent, remove, or remedy unlawful obstructions or unreasonable interferences with access to the beach.

b. The Commission shall not seek civil or administrative penalties, or issue violation notices, for any conduct unrelated to access to the beach.

c. Any enforcement action by the Commission shall identify with specificity the direct and demonstrable nexus between the action taken and the protection of access to the beach.

Section 30005.95. Rulemaking and Guidance

a. The Commission may adopt rules or guidance solely as necessary to implement this Chapter and to protect access to the beach.

b. Any rule or guidance adopted by the Commission must include findings demonstrating the direct and demonstrable necessity of the rule or guidance to protect access to the beach.

c. Any rule, regulation, policy, or guidance inconsistent with this Chapter is void to the extent of the inconsistency.

B. Conforming Amendments and Repeals

Any provision of Public Resources Code, Division 20 that confers authority upon the Commission beyond protecting access to the beach is hereby amended or repealed to the extent of conflict with this measure.

Without limiting the generality of paragraph (1), any statutory requirement for Commission review, approval, or conditioning of permits, plans, or actions is inoperative unless the action is directly and demonstrably necessary to protect access to the beach.

Local coastal programs and any Commission-certified plans or policies remain valid only to the extent they pertain to access to the beach; all other elements are without force or effect unless adopted or readopted by the appropriate local government or state agency under other applicable law.

C. Transition

Within 180 days of the effective date of this Act, the Commission shall:

a. Identify and publish a list of all ongoing matters within its docket that pertain solely to access to the beach and continue to process only those matters.

b. Transfer all other pending matters, records, and relevant materials to the appropriate local government or state agency.

Any coastal development permit or condition previously issued by the Commission that does not relate directly and demonstrably to access to the beach is unenforceable by the Commission as of the effective date of this Act, without prejudice to enforcement by the appropriate authority under other applicable law.

The Commission shall adopt, after public notice and opportunity for comment, an implementation schedule and guidance to effectuate the transition consistent with this Act.

D. Preservation of Other Laws and Rights

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish or alter the public trust doctrine, the authority of state lands or navigable waters trustees, or any rights guaranteed by the Constitution or laws of the State of California or of the United States.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to impair the authority of any other state agency or local government to regulate land use, development, environmental protection, or resource management under other applicable law.

A. This Act shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purpose of limiting the California Coastal Commission’s authority exclusively to protecting access to the beach.

B. Any ambiguity shall be resolved in favor of limiting the Commission’s authority to actions directly and demonstrably necessary to protect access to the beach.

C. If any conflict arises between this Act and any other statute, regulation, plan, policy, or guideline, this Act shall control.

If any provision of this Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

If this measure is approved by the voters but conflicts with another measure approved at the same election, the provisions of this measure shall prevail in their entirety and the conflicting provisions of the other measure shall be null and void.

This Act shall become effective the day after its approval by the voters.