Sacramento, CA – Senator Mike McGuire’s first bill was signed by the Governor on Tuesday and it is just one example of the positive change Senator McGuire promised he would help achieve for Humboldt County.

Senator McGuire has been focused on issues important to the North Coast and one of those issues he championed was on behalf of the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District.

Working with the District, McGuire advanced Senate Bill 141 which provided desperately needed strengthening in state law that allows for the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District to sell certain types of land it has acquired as long as the proceeds from the sale are used to reinvest in improving and administering its trust lands for the public’s benefit, use and enjoyment.   

“This is a solid win for Humboldt and will help resolve uncertainty in the law. SB 141 will provide much needed clarification for the District to be able to manage lands it is entrusted to oversee by the state. I want to thank Governor Brown, the State Lands Commission and our partners at the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District who worked together to see this bill through,” Senator McGuire said.

In 1850, California acquired ownership of submerged lands (lands at the bottom of the Bay), tidelands and waterways, and the state made the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District the trustee for these lands. The District and state manage these lands for the benefit of the public for the use of aquaculture such as oysters and other shellfish, fisheries, navigation, visitor-serving facilities, water related recreation, open space and habitat preservation.

SB 141 was supported by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, California State Lands Commission, and the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District. The bill was co-authored by Assemblymember Jim Wood.

Senator McGuire has a series of bills that are making their way through the legislative process and he’s working hard to deliver for the North Coast.

“We have a busy month ahead of us to finish out the 2015 legislative session. It’s been a great year so far. We’ve been able to deliver $400 milling for Career Training and Job Skill programs, $5 million for new rural school buses, we’re finishing work on our historic medical marijuana legislation and we’ll be working overtime to deliver for the North Coast,” Senator McGuire said.

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