The state Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bill to transfer land from the California Department of Transportation to state parks last week, laying the foundation for the Devil's Slide tunnel project.
After passing 65-to-14 on the Assembly floor, Senate Bill 792 now heads for a vote this week at the state Senate. Pending approval there, the law will go to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for his signature.
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Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, was instrumental in getting the bill through the Assembly and is hopeful it will meet a similar fate in the Senate later this week.
"This is something that is extremely important to the coastal area of San Mateo County," Yee said.
Yee faced an uphill battle in convincing his colleagues in the Legislature of the importance of the land transfer.
"The Legislature takes a dim view of giving land away to anybody whatsoever, even to another department," Yee said.
"Assets are important, we look at that very carefully because they can be used to take care of whatever budget needs a department may have. The difference, however, is that this piece of land is really not worth a whole lot to Caltrans whatsoever. It is surrounded by park area."
If this law passes, it should dispel any fears the California Coastal Commission raised in an appeal earlier this month on the Devil's Slide tunnel project. Commis-
sioners who filed the appeal were concerned that the public land transfer wasn't a requirement for the project to move forward. They want a more concrete guarantee that the land will be protected.
"There's no way that that piece of property is going to be given and used in any way other than for a public purpose whatsoever. Even if Caltrans wanted to do something with it, they're somewhat limited because the land is surrounded by public park land," Yee said.
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