Court Rules CA Coastal Comission Illegal

"The state had appealed an April 2001 ruling by a Sacramento Superior Court judge on a lawsuit filed by Marine Forests Society, a nonprofit group that wanted to use old tires to create an artificial reef off Newport Beach to develop fish habitat.The society argued the commission violates the state Constitution's separation of powers clause because legislative leaders appoint eight of the 12 commissioners and can remove them at will.That system makes the commission, in effect, "a legislative committee," not the executive branch agency the state contends it is, the society's lawyers said."