There is in the Resources Agency the State Coastal Conservancy, consisting of the following seven members:

Except for members appointed pursuant to subdivision (d), the members of the conservancy may designate one of their employees to serve on the conservancy in their absence.

Three Members of the Senate, appointed by the Senate Rules Committee, and three Members of the Assembly, appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, shall meet with the conservancy and participate in its activities to the extent that such participation is not incompatible with their respective positions as Members of the Legislature.

The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall select one of the public members to serve as the chair of the conservancy. The public member shall serve as chair at the pleasure of the secretary. A majority of the total authorized membership of the conservancy shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business under this division. The conservancy shall adopt its own regulations.

The conservancy shall determine the qualifications of, and it shall appoint and fix the salary of, the executive officer of the conservancy, who shall be exempt from civil service, and shall appoint such other staff as may be necessary to carry out the powers and functions set forth in this division. To the maximum extent possible, the conservancy shall utilize the staff of the commission for purposes of planning and project evaluation, and the staff of the Real Estate Services Division of the Department of General Services in carrying out acquisition, leasing, disposal, and other real property transactions authorized under this division.

Pursuant to Section 1090 of the Government Code, an officer or employee of the conservancy shall not be deemed to be financially interested in a contract made in their official capacity when all of the following conditions are met:

conservancy.

The conservancy may apply for and accept federal grants and receive gifts, donations, subventions, rents, royalties, and other financial support from public and private sources.

The conservancy shall serve as a repository for lands whose reservation is required to meet the policies and objectives of the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000)), a certified local coastal plan or program, or the San Francisco Bay Plan as implemented by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission pursuant to Title 7.2 (commencing with Section 66600) of the Government Code. Pursuant to that authority, the conservancy may accept dedication of fee title, easements, development rights, or other interests in lands, including interests required to provide public access to recreation and resources areas in the coastal zone.

The conservancy is the designated agency in the state for planning and coordinating federal surplus land sales in the coastal zone.

On an annual basis or as may be required, the executive officer of the conservancy shall report to the Director of General Services regarding privately owned properties within the conservancy’s jurisdiction which have special significance and which might appropriately be the subject of trades for lands owned by the state for the purposes of preserving natural resources and moderating the impacts of regulation with the coastal zone. A particular property shall be included in any report only upon agreement of the owner.

For purposes of this section, “special significance” means having importance because of the land’s value for (1) public access, (2) public recreation, (3) wetlands, riparian, or other natural habitat, (4) open space, or (5) agricultural use.

The conservancy is authorized to acquire, pursuant to the Property Acquisition Law (Part 11 (commencing with Section 15850), Division 3, Title 2 of the Government Code) real property or any interests therein for all of the purposes specified in this division.

The State Public Works Board may, pursuant to Section 31105, use the power of eminent domain for the purposes specified in this division.

Notwithstanding other provisions of law, the Director of General Services, when so requested by the conservancy, shall lease, rent, sell, exchange, or otherwise transfer any land, interest therein, or option acquired pursuant to this division, pursuant to an implementation plan approved by the conservancy. Leases entered into pursuant to the provisions of this division shall not provide for a period longer than 10 years. Proceeds from any such lease, rental, sale, exchange, or transfer of land, interest therein, or option thereon, shall be deposited with the conservancy and shall be available for expenditure when appropriated by the Legislature for the purpose of funding the programs specified in this division.

The Department of General Services and the conservancy shall jointly develop and implement appropriate procedures to ensure that land acquisition, leasing, options to purchase, land disposal, and other property transactions undertaken in accordance with the provisions of this division are carried out efficiently and equitably and with proper notice to the public.

On January 2, three years after the most recent report was submitted, the conservancy shall prepare and submit to the Governor and to the Legislature a report describing progress in achieving the objectives of this division and shall prepare and submit an additional report every three years thereafter. The report shall include the following:

funding, legislation, or other resources required to more effectively carry out the objectives of this division.

The conservancy shall not expend any fees received pursuant to Section 30526, except to restore, replace, or improve resources or ecological systems in a manner that is consistent with the certified local coastal program of the local public agency in whose jurisdiction the development is located, or in whose jurisdiction the site of the mitigation project is to be located, as the case may be, and only after full consultation and consent of that local public agency.

Where certification of a local coastal plan or program is required under this division as a condition of action by the conservancy, the conservancy may take such action, including the funding of projects prior to certification, when the action is identified in a local issue identification and work program which has been approved by the California Coastal Commission. However, in undertaking actions prior to certification of a local coastal plan or program, the conservancy shall follow other applicable project review and approval requirements set forth in this division.

In implementing this division, the conservancy may fund and do all of the following:

When granting funds appropriated by Assembly Bill 74 (Chapter 23 of the Statutes of 2019) for purposes of addressing transboundary flows and pollution in the Tijuana River Valley, the conservancy is encouraged to prioritize those projects identified in the studies described in subdivision (b) of Section 5907.5, to the extent feasible.