Granted Lands' Statutes

Upon admission to the Union in 1850 California acquired nearly four million acres of sovereign tidelands and submerged lands underlying the State’s navigable waterways (ocean, bays, lakes and rivers). All sovereign lands are impressed with the Common Law Public Trust, which is a sovereign property right held by the State or its delegated trustees for the benefit of all the People. 

Commencing in 1851 and continuing to the present, the California Legislature has periodically transferred portions of the State’s prime waterfront lands to local or specific governmental entities for management purposes.  These statutory tide and submerged land grants are held in trust for public trust purposes, including water-related commerce, navigation, fishing, water-related visitor serving and recreational uses, environmental protection, open space, and preservation of scenic areas.  The State created these trusts to be held and managed by these grantees for the benefit of all the people of California by placing them in statutory trusts. The specific terms and conditions of these trust grants vary. 

As to any particular trustee, the terms of their trust are derived from both the original and all supplementary and amendatory legislation, as well as general legislation and case law applying to all such trust grants.  The usual granting language utilized by the Legislature has the effect of conveying the State’s legal title to the described public trust lands, subject to the statutory terms and conditions, the Common Law Public Trust Doctrine and the California Constitution.  The statutory grantee acts as a trustee, both as to the lands themselves and as to the revenues derived therefrom and the trust is held and managed by the trustee, for the benefit of the entire State.  These grantees have a fiduciary duty, as trustees for the people of the State, to manage their trust lands and assets in a manner consistent with their statutory trust grant, the Common Law Public Trust Doctrine and the California Constitution. The State remains the trustor of the grant and the People of the State the beneficiaries.

Since 1938, the California State Lands Commission (Commission) has been vested with direct jurisdiction and authority over all ungranted sovereign lands and all remaining State authority involving the management of granted trust lands. This includes ensuring that revenue generated from the use of these lands is used for purposes that further the public trust. There are currently 85 Legislative Grants to other, primarily local, governments and over 450 statutes effectuating these grants. This site provides a listing of those granting statutes.

For further information, contact:
Michelle Andersen, Granted Lands Coordinator
916-574-0200 Michelle.Andersen@slc.ca.gov