Harbors and Navigation Code, 1937

Covered vessels must report specified vessel information to the marine exchange before entering the VTS area, and must comply with Section 447.5 while transiting the VTS area.

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach may charge fees on covered vessels in the VTS area to cover vessel traffic service operating costs.

Certain vessels transiting the VTS area must comply with Section 447.5.

While transiting the VTS area, certain vessels must monitor or communicate on the designated radio channel, answer the marine exchange promptly, use English, and follow non-conflicting VTS measures.

The vessel traffic service is advisory only, and vessels in the VTS area remain responsible for safe navigation.

Vessels covered by this article must indemnify and hold harmless the marine exchange, and they may not assert claims against it, subject to the subdivision preserving gross-negligence or willful-misconduct issues.

The marine exchange and its officers and directors are subject to Section 5047.5 if the exchange meets that section’s criteria. This section also says the marine exchange and related persons are not treated as a “responsible party” for the listed oil spill act purposes.

The marine exchange must fully cooperate with the administrator on developing and implementing the vessel traffic service system. If the administrator certifies that the Coast Guard has started operating a fully federally funded system for the Los Angeles/Long Beach harbor, the marine exchange’s Section 445 authorization to operate a vessel traffic service is revoked.

The administrator may require reports from the marine exchange, review whether the vessel traffic service meets required plans and standards, and order changes if it does not.

Bottomry is a contract where a vessel or its freightage is used as security for a loan, and repayment is due only if the vessel survives a specified risk, voyage, or period.

The owner of a vessel may hypothecate the vessel or its freightage under bottomry for any lawful purpose.

The master of a vessel may hypothecate it upon bottomry only to get necessary repairs or supplies for the voyage or to secure the vessel’s safety.

A vessel’s master may hypothecate the vessel upon bottomry only under urgent necessity and only if the owner’s funds or personal credit cannot be reached.

The master of a vessel may hypothecate freightage upon bottomry, if the same circumstances exist that would allow hypothecation of the vessel.

In a bottomry contract, the parties may agree to a higher interest rate than is allowed on other contracts, but a competent court may reduce the rate if it is unjustifiable and exorbitant.

A lender on a bottomry contract made by a vessel’s master may enforce the contract even if the master lacked actual authority, if the lender investigated and honestly and reasonably believed the needed circumstances existed.

A bottomry contract cannot validly make the loan liable apart from the maritime risks.

A bottomry lender cannot recover anything if the hypothecated thing is totally lost from the risk covered by the loan, and can recover only the net value of the part saved if there is a partial loss.

A bottomry loan is due immediately when the risk ends, unless the parties expressly agree otherwise.

A bottomry lien does not depend on possession, but it is lost if not enforced within a reasonable time.

A bottomry lien made from real or apparent necessity and in good faith has priority over other liens or claims on the same thing, except for listed liens.

If there are two or more bottomry liens on the same subject, the later lien takes priority when it was created out of necessity.

Respondentia is a contract where all or part of a cargo is pledged as security for a loan, and repayment depends on maritime risks.

The owner of cargo may hypothecate the cargo upon respondentia.

The master of a vessel may hypothecate cargo upon respondentia only if specified conditions are met.

The owner of a vessel must repay the cargo owner for amounts the cargo owner had to pay to discharge a lien under a respondentia contract made by the master.

Sections 455 to 462 apply equally to loans on respondentia.

Debts of at least $50 contracted for the benefit of vessels can become liens in the situations described in Section 491. Related actions must be brought against known owners by name, and if the owners are unknown, that must be stated in the complaint.

All vessels are liable for certain claims, and those claims become liens on the vessels.

The master of a vessel has a general lien on the vessel and freightage for necessary advances or liabilities made for the vessel’s benefit, but not for wages.

Mate and seamen of a vessel have a lien on the vessel and freightage for their wages, and it ranks ahead of other liens.

If a vessel fastened to a federally maintained buoy or beacon damages, misplaces, or destroys it, the legally ascertained repair or replacement cost becomes a lien on the vessel and can be recovered from the vessel and its owner.

In vessel actions under this chapter, the complaint must name the vessel and be verified by the plaintiff’s oath or someone acting for the plaintiff. Service of the summons and complaint goes to the owners if they can be found; otherwise, it may go to the master, mate, or person in charge of the vessel.

A plaintiff may have a vessel attached as security for a possible judgment, and a writ of attachment may be issued without the showing otherwise required by Section 485.010.

A writ must be directed to the county sheriff or court marshal, who must attach the vessel and keep it in custody until discharged by law.

A sheriff or marshal who receives the writ must execute it promptly, seize and keep the named vessel in custody, and cannot interfere with unloading merchandise or removing certain passenger or crew property.

The vessel’s owner, master agent, or consignee may appear and respond in the action on the owner’s behalf, and may object to the plaintiff’s undertaking.

After an attachment on a vessel is levied, the owner or other listed vessel representative may get it discharged by filing an undertaking with the court; once notice is received, the sheriff or marshal must return the vessel.

After the vessel owner appears in the action, the attachment may be discharged on motion, using the same manner and terms as other attachments, subject to Section 495.9.

If certain attachment and judgment conditions are met, the sheriff or marshal must sell the vessel at public auction and distribute the proceeds in the order stated.

A mariner, boatman, or other vessel worker may file a wage-claim affidavit with the court clerk, and vessel sale proceeds must be applied in a set order.

If a filed claim is not contested within five days after notice, it is deemed admitted. If it is contested, the clerk must note the contest and grounds, then send it to a single referee or decide it himself, with immediate court review available.

A notice of sale published by the sheriff or marshal must state the vessel’s measurement, tonnage, and general condition.

These definitions, rules of construction, and general provisions govern how this code is interpreted unless the provision or context requires otherwise.

This section continues the named boating agencies in existence as the Division of Boating and Waterways and gives that Division the listed powers, functions, and jurisdiction. It also says existing regulations stay in effect until the Division revises or repeals them.

This section says certain older agency names are to be read as the Division of Boating and Waterways, and it preserves State Lands Commission jurisdiction over leasing state lands for oil, gas, and other mineral extraction.

The division must be run by a Deputy Director of Boating and Waterways. References to the Director of Boating and Waterways are treated as references to the Deputy Director.

The director must file an official $25,000 bond with the state before starting duties.

The director is subject to specified Government Code provisions and may appoint necessary deputies, officers, and other employees in accordance with civil service.

The director may reorganize the department’s work and change its divisions, but only with the Governor’s approval.

This section says the article is called the “Boaters Lien Law” and may be cited by that name.

This section defines terms used in the Boaters Lien Law article.

This section defines when a notice or statement is treated as given or sent.

Possessory vessel lien procedures are the exclusive way to enforce these liens and override conflicting local ordinances, but they do not affect maritime liens under federal law.

This section gives a possession-based lien for vessel services or storage, but sets notice, consent, and timing rules when charges exceed $1,500 or a lien sale is pursued.

This section sets out the steps a lienholder and the department must follow before a vessel lien sale can happen.

For vessels worth $1,500 or less, the department must provide owner information to the lienholder, and the lienholder must mail specified notice documents to owners, interested persons, and the department.

A vessel owner may release an interest after a lien arises, but the release must be dated when signed, copied to the person releasing the interest, written in at least 12-point type, include required information, and be filed with the department for certain transfers after a lien sale.

This section lets a former lienholder revive a vessel lien after repossession if possession was lost through trick, fraud, or device, but the revived lien is subordinate to later good-faith value interests. It also makes it a misdemeanor to get possession of a vessel by trick, fraud, or device or for a lien claimant to knowingly violate the article, with fines and possible jail time.

A lienholder must conduct the sale commercially reasonably, and a lien sale cannot proceed unless the vessel was available for public inspection for at least one hour before the sale and is at the listed sale location and time. Sealed bids are not allowed.

The legal or registered owner may redeem a vessel within 10 days after its sale by paying the lien amount, related costs and expenses, and interest at the legal rate.

A lienholder seeking a sale under Section 504 must usually file a broker’s declaration of the vessel’s fair market value, unless a public agency removed or arranged removal of an abandoned vessel.

After a vessel lien sale, sale proceeds must be distributed to the lienholder, the department, and eligible claimants under the section’s timing and notice rules.

A lien on a vessel may be assigned by written instrument with delivery of the vessel, and the assignee may exercise the lienholder’s rights. The assigning lienholder must give written notice of the assignment to the vessel’s registered and legal owners at the time of assignment.

The department must prescribe all forms required under this article, and notices and declarations must use simple, nontechnical language.

A lien may not attach to personal property on a vessel, except property carried for lifesaving, safety, mooring, or operating purposes.

County sheriffs must help stranded vessels and people on board, try to save and preserve property cast ashore, and citizens must help the sheriff when required.

Wrecked property may be kept or reclaimed by the owner, consignee, or another person entitled to possession, but any just salvage and saving-expense claim must be paid first.

If wrecked property is found and no person entitled to possession appears, the county sheriff must take possession, have it appraised, and keep it safely for the owner’s claim.

If wrecked property is perishable, the sheriff must ask the superior court judge for an order to sell it; if the judge agrees the sale benefits interested persons, the judge must issue the order, the property must be sold at public auction, and net proceeds must go to the Treasurer for the General Fund.

If wrecked property is claimed within 90 days and the claim is proven to the superior court judge’s satisfaction, the judge must order delivery to the claimant once reasonable salvage and preservation expenses are paid.

Before the order is made, the claimant must provide a bond approved by the judge and filed with the court clerk.

If a bond is forfeited, the superior court judge must order prosecution for the benefit of the person entitled to the bond, on application and proof.

If a judge rejects a claim, the claimant may still bring an action against the officer to recover the property or its proceeds.

If no claimant appears within 60 days, or payment or suit does not happen within 60 days after a claim, the custodian may sell the wrecked property at public auction and send the net proceeds to the Treasurer for the General Fund.

The officer who sells wrecked property must publish public notice of the sale and include the sale time, place, and a description of the property.

If wrecked property comes into a sheriff’s possession, the sheriff must publish a notice in one or more state-printed newspapers for at least two weeks.

The cost of publishing notices under this article must be charged to the related property or proceeds.

This section lets a local public entity treat certain abandoned wrecks or watercraft as abandoned property after 30 days, then take title, sell or dispose of them, subject to notice rules.

Certain officers may remove and, if needed, store vessels from public waterways or public property when specific safety, theft, evidence, custody, navigation, environmental, or registration-related conditions are met.

Peace officers may store or remove certain vessels from private property when the stated conditions are met, and may not remove a vessel if the owner has already been contacted and refused permission.

A person generally must not abandon a vessel on public waterway or other property without the owner’s consent, unless there is an urgent and immediate safety concern for people aboard.

The department must submit recommendations by January 1, 2005 on preventing recreational vessels from being abandoned. The director must appoint an advisory committee, and committee members serve without compensation and cannot be reimbursed by the state for expenses.

A public agency may sell or dispose of certain wrecked property only after meeting notice, hearing, timing, and appraisal conditions.

This section defines a “surrendered vessel” as a recreational vessel willingly surrendered by the verified titleholder to a willing public agency under specified conditions.

The Legislature states that no more than $1,000,000 a year may be appropriated from one fund to another for certain local-agency grants, and those grants must be matched by at least a 10% local contribution.

Sheriffs and people helping recover wrecked property can receive reasonable salvage and their expenses from the saved property, but the property must be held until payment or tender, and claimed salvage cannot exceed half the value unless the superior court allows more.

An officer directed to deliver wrecked property or its proceeds must give the claimant a written statement of salvage and expense claims.

If salvage and expense amounts are not settled by agreement, the superior court of the county must determine them in summary proceedings on application by specified interested persons.

The person who asked for the contest must pay its fees and expenses, and those amounts are charged against the property saved. Each referee may be awarded per diem and expenses by the court.

A rescuer of a wrecked vessel or its cargo, if not the master, mate, or crew, is entitled to reasonable compensation from the saved property and has a salvage lien.

This section defines “vessel” and “marine debris” for this article.

Public agencies may remove and dispose of marine debris in specified waters and lands, and must give notice and wait 10 days in most cases.

The State Lands Commission must adopt best management practices for salvage of marine debris by January 1, 2017, publish them on its website, and may later amend them using the same process.

A person who keeps wrecked property or its proceeds after salvage expenses and payment are settled can be fined, jailed, or both.

A person who takes or possesses certain stranded or found goods must deliver them to the county sheriff, or notify the sheriff of readiness, within 30 days, or face misdemeanor liability.

A qualifying portion of a county may be formed into a harbor improvement district.

If at least 50 persons in a county that includes a harbor want to form a district for harbor improvement or development, they may submit a written petition signed by them to the county board of supervisors.

A petition for a proposed harbor improvement district must include specified information about the district, the harbor, boundaries, proposed work, and costs.

A petition must request that the territory be formed into a harbor district for harbor improvement or development.

Each signer of the petition must be a registered voter, a resident, and a freeholder within the proposed district.

The petition must be published before the hearing, and the notice must say when and where the hearing will happen and that interested people may appear and be heard.

The board of supervisors must enter a minutes order that finally तयmines the district’s exterior boundaries, the harbor work to be done, and the estimated cost and incidental expenses.

The board must pass a resolution calling an election on forming the district and authorizing bonded debt and bond sales.

The board of supervisors’ resolution must set the election date, precincts, polling places, election board members, the purpose and principal amount of the debt, and a maximum interest rate.

The resolution must state how voting will work on the debt and district-formation questions, and the election is otherwise governed by the state’s general election law where applicable.

The resolution must invite qualified voters in the proposed district to vote on forming the district and incurring indebtedness.

The election ballot must follow a prescribed form, and ballots with erasures or distinguishing marks are forbidden and void.

The resolution calling the election must be published under Government Code Section 6061.

On election day, polling places must open at 7:00 a.m., stay open until 8:00 p.m., and then close. Electors already in the polling place or line who have not yet voted must be allowed to vote after 8:00 p.m.

After polls close, each precinct’s election board must close the polls and deposit the ballots with the county elections official.

The board of supervisors must canvass the election returns and enter a finding in the meeting minutes at its first regular meeting after the election.

If the board of supervisors finds the vote failed, it must record that fact in its minutes and stop proceedings under the petition.

If the election result shows more than a majority voted for the district and the debt, the board of supervisors must record the finding and issue the formation order.

The clerk of the board of supervisors must immediately prepare, certify, and send a copy of the minutes and order to the Secretary of State.

The Secretary of State must file a certificate, seal it, and send it to the county board of supervisors clerk within five days.

The clerk of the board of supervisors must file the certificate in the clerk’s office.

Court challenges to the district’s formation or authorized debt must be brought within 60 days after the Secretary of State’s certificate is filed with the board of supervisors’ clerk.

The board of supervisors must pass a resolution to issue and sell bonds, and must prescribe the form of the bonds.

Bonds issued under this part must be repaid each year in an amount set by the board of supervisors, with interest on unpaid sums.

The county board of supervisors may set bond denominations, but each bond must be between $100 and $1,000. The bonds must be payable on the date and place stated in the bond, and interest is paid semiannually at a rate that cannot exceed the election-resolution maximum.

County officials must sign and countersign the bonds and sign the coupons; a signature remains valid even if the officer leaves office before delivery to the purchaser.

The county board of supervisors may issue and sell bonds, but not below par value plus accrued interest at delivery.

The county board of supervisors must levy and collect an annual tax to cover bond interest and principal due before the next general tax levy, until the bonds are paid or enough money has been set aside.

Taxes for the district must be levied on all taxable district property, added on top of other county taxes, collected like other county taxes, and used only to pay the bonds and interest.

The board of supervisors may levy taxes on property in the district for district maintenance and for harbor improvements.

The district may not levy a tax above $0.20 for each $100 of assessed valuation within the district.

If a district is formed under this part and is controlled by the county board of supervisors, the board may pass necessary ordinances to regulate the district, and violating those ordinances is a misdemeanor.

The board may sue and be sued in the district’s name.

A person who violates an ordinance adopted by the board of supervisors under this part commits a misdemeanor.

A district may destroy a record if it follows the referenced Government Code procedure.

The board may adopt a seal and change it whenever it wants.

The board may acquire and dispose of real and personal property, inside or outside the district, when needed to exercise its powers.

The board may use eminent domain to take property when it is necessary or convenient to carry out the powers given by this part.

The board may borrow money, incur indebtedness, and issue bonds if it considers this necessary for harbor improvement and development.

When board-authorized improvement or development work is completed, control of the work and the improved harbor passes to the board. The board may also hire and pay the workers it needs to manage the harbor.

If part of a harbor is inside an incorporated city, the board of supervisors may make arrangements or contracts with that city’s governing body to buy and maintain fireboats, patrol boats, sanitary equipment, and other necessary harbor-protection equipment.

The board must supervise the harbor and may make general rules for its government, so long as they do not conflict with city police powers or the city’s licensing and regulation of businesses.

The board may regulate vessel anchorages, wharfages, and dockage in the harbor by ordinance, and may set and collect related fees and licenses.

A city governing body may adopt ordinances regulating harbor matters within its police powers, so long as the rules do not conflict with this part or with a lawful ordinance of the board of supervisors.

The board of supervisors may create a seven-person harbor commission by ordinance, and must by ordinance define the commission’s powers and duties.

The district may turn over bond proceeds, or its share of joint project costs, to the United States or its agencies for the relevant improvement work when the work is being done by cooperation or jointly with the United States.

The district may levy assessments, reassessments, special taxes, and issue bonds to fund specified waterway and maintenance projects, subject to listed financing laws and limits.

Claims for money or damages against the district are governed by specified Government Code provisions, except as otherwise provided or by other applicable statutes or regulations.

A harbor improvement district may improve, develop, protect, and maintain harbors within its boundaries, following this chapter and the Public Contract Code.

A county board of supervisors may direct the harbor commission to prepare surveys, plans, cost estimates, and a recommendation report for improving, developing, or protecting harbors in the district.

After receiving the harbor commission’s report and recommendation, the board must set a hearing date, hold the hearing within a 20- to 30-day window after filing, and publish notice in a newspaper in the district at least twice.

The board of supervisors must conduct its hearing, investigation, determination, and findings under Sections 5835 to 5841, unless those sections conflict with this chapter.

After a final hearing, the board may order harbor development, improvement, or protection if it finds the project is feasible and the cost is not disproportionate to the benefits.

The board may finance improvements for additional harbors by issuing bonds, borrowing money, incurring debt, and levying taxes, but no bonds may be issued unless the bonded indebtedness is first approved at an election.

A harbor improvement district may acquire and manage lands for public beaches within its boundaries, but not in a way that affects state-owned tidelands, submerged lands, or the State Lands Commission’s jurisdiction.

A county board of supervisors may direct the harbor commission to prepare surveys, plans, and cost estimates for authorized land work and to report back with recommendations.

After receiving the harbor commission’s report and recommendation, the board must set a hearing date, hold the hearing within the stated window, and publish notice in a newspaper in the district.

The board of supervisors must conduct its hearing, investigation, determination, and findings under specified code sections, unless those sections conflict with this chapter.

After a final hearing, the board may order acquisition, improvement, or maintenance of the lands if it finds the project is feasible as described and the cost is not disproportionate to the expected benefits.

The board may issue bonds, borrow money, incur indebtedness, and levy taxes to finance the acquisition, improvement, or maintenance of the lands, but bonds cannot be issued unless the bonded indebtedness has first been approved at an election held as specified.

The board of supervisors may run district business, promote the harbor, and support recreation programs, but trust-land revenues must stay limited to trust purposes and related necessary property work.

This section defines “inland parks and recreation areas” and says certain Section 5900.4 rules do not apply to specified land acquisitions for trails or scenic/aesthetic purposes.

A harbor improvement district board of supervisors may authorize the district to acquire, develop, operate, and maintain inland parks and recreation areas.

If the district is authorized to manage inland parks and recreation areas, the board of supervisors must adopt a new name for the district by resolution.

If a district is authorized to develop inland parks and recreation areas, it must spend at least 75% of annual expenditures on that purpose until certain land-and-improvement spending totals are equal, and then at least 50% of annual expenditures averaged over each five-year period.

The district’s annual spending calculation must count only local-taxation expenditures for land, structures, and improvements, and the county auditor-controller must report certain local-taxation moneys to the board of supervisors within 90 days.

When the district acquires, develops, operates, or maintains inland parks and recreation areas, it must follow Chapter 5 procedures as nearly as possible.

A district may carry out certain beach or park projects despite earlier section limits if it complies with the cited state code sections, but the board of supervisors must hold at least one public hearing before approving the project.

The district may acquire museum or exhibit materials and may also sell, lend, or exchange them, following established museum custom.

Division, part, chapter, article, and section headings do not affect the scope, meaning, or intent of this code.

The Resources Agency must represent the State of California and the Governor of California in dealings with the Chief of Engineers, the U.S. Army, and authorized agents for purposes in this division.

The department may make agreements with the United States and certain local public bodies, and may provide adjustments it considers in the State of California’s best interest.

The department may make contracts or agreements with federal agencies for harbor dredging and building breakwaters, piers, or similar vessel-protection works.

The department may enter into contracts or agreements that are necessary to carry out this division.

The department may do any act or make any contract or agreement that is desirable for carrying out this division.

This section defines “watercraft” and “nonresident” for this chapter.

Certain counties and cities with a harbor boundary may be formed into a harbor district.

If 50 or more persons in an area that may become a district want to form a harbor district, they may sign and submit a written petition to the county board of supervisors.

A petition to form a harbor district must include the proposed district’s name, the harbor’s common name, the district boundaries, a description of the proposed harbor improvement work, and a request to form the district.

Each person who signs the petition must be a registered voter, resident, and freeholder within the proposed district.

The petition must be published before the hearing, with notice of the hearing details, and interested persons may appear and be heard before the county board of supervisors.

The board of supervisors must consider the petition at the noticed time and place, and it may continue the hearing for up to 90 days.

At the hearing, the board of supervisors may change the proposed district’s exterior boundaries.

Land cannot be added to the proposed district until notice is served on the affected landowner.

The board of supervisors must decide whether the petitioned harbor improvement work is feasible and beneficial, and the hearing must finish within six months after the petition is presented.

After the hearing, the board of supervisors must enter a finding of facts on the minutes if the listed conditions are met.

The board of supervisors must include specified facts in its findings.

The board of supervisors may proceed under this part when its findings and the required petition and notices are properly signed, published, or personally served.

The board of supervisors must record the proposed district’s exterior boundaries in its minutes and pass a resolution calling an election in the district.

The board of supervisors must set the election date by resolution and set up the proposed district’s voting precincts and polling places.

The board of supervisors must appoint an election board for each precinct, and each election board member must be a registered elector who lives in that precinct.

The resolution must state how voting for or against formation of the district will be conducted, and the election otherwise follows applicable general election laws. Sample ballots and precinct polling cards do not have to be mailed or sent out.

The resolution must invite qualified voters who live in the district to vote on forming the district and electing a board.

This section gives the form and voting instructions for the harbor district ballot.

The official ballot for the first election in a proposed harbor district must include choices for and against forming the district and list harbor commissioner candidates with write-in spaces. Later ballots must generally follow the same format, but omit the formation question, and may also include other authorized district questions or propositions.

Election resolutions must be published in a newspaper in the district, and that publication serves as the election notice.

This section requires the calling body to notify the local agency formation commission’s executive officer after a district formation election is called, and it requires the executive officer and commission to review and pass along an impartial analysis on a short deadline.

Certain voters, board members, and citizens’ associations may file written arguments for or against the proposed district formation, but the argument must be 300 words or less and filed at least 54 days before the election.

If more than one argument for or against a proposed harbor district formation is filed on time, election officials must choose one argument to print and distribute to voters.

Election officials must print and mail a ballot pamphlet about the district formation proposition to eligible voters, and the pamphlet must include specified materials in a set order.

For elections held under this part, the designated polling places must open and close as provided by Elections Code Section 14212.

Election officials in each precinct must close the polls, deposit the ballots with the county elections official for the district-formation election, and at later elections deposit the returns with the board.

The board of supervisors must canvass the election returns at its first regular meeting after the district formation election and enter a finding in the meeting minutes.

If the canvass shows a majority for formation, the board of supervisors must record the result and district details, declare the district formed, declare the top five harbor commissioner candidates elected, and issue certificates of election.