A bill empowering the California Coastal Commission to levy fines against property owners passed the State Senate on Friday in a narrow 21-17 vote, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The bill must now go back to the Assembly, which will likely approve amendments made to the bill, and then to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. It’s unclear whether Brown will sign the bill, though insiders have told The Malibu Times that the governor is apprehensive about giving the Coastal Commission direct power to fine alleged Coastal Act violators.
After a “vigorous debate” on the senate floor, Senate Republicans voted unanimously against the bill on Friday, along with five Democrats. One Republican senator argued the bill would give the CCC “unconscionable powers,” according to the Times.
Sen. Kevin De Leon defended the bill’s intent, saying it would give the CCC the ability to do its job in defending California’s Coastal Act of 1976.
Coastal Commission officials say bill AB 976 is needed in order to more efficiently enforce the Coastal Act. The CCC must currently pursue legal action if alleged violators choose not to pay fines if a “cease and desist” order is issued. Critics of the bill, however, say it could put middle-class homeowners at a disadvantage if they want to challenge the Commission’s findings but cannot afford the legal fees to both wage a lawsuit against the agency, which monitors and regulates development along 1,100 miles of California coastline, while facing escalating fines.Â