Legislative Counsel’s Digest, from the chaptered bill.
(1) Existing law, including the General Corporation Law and the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law, specifies the formal requirements for filing corporate names and articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State. Existing law authorizes the Governor, or the Governor’s designee, to incorporate Golden State Energy as a nonprofit public benefit corporation for the purpose of owning, controlling, operating, or managing electrical and gas services for its ratepayers and for the benefit of all Californians.
This bill would prohibit the Secretary of State from reserving a corporate name or filing articles of incorporation using the name Golden State Energy unless those articles are for Golden State Energy, incorporated and operating as specified.
(2) The Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 permits the Wildlife Conservation Board to authorize the Department of Fish and Wildlife to accept federal grants and financial support from public or private sources and to sell, lease, or transfer certain real property, or an interest in real property, to implement the Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 and the California Riparian Habitat Conservation Act. The Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 permits the Wildlife Conservation Board to authorize the Department of Fish and Wildlife to accept federal grants and to receive financial support from public or private sources to be used for fish and wildlife habitat enhancement. Under the Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947, proceeds from those sources or transactions and also federal moneys made available for projects authorized by the Wildlife Conservation Board are required to be deposited in the Wildlife Restoration Fund.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to lease department-managed lands for agricultural and apiculture activities if certain conditions are met. Existing law requires moneys collected from those leases and associated fees to be deposited in the Wildlife Restoration Fund.
This bill would authorize all of these moneys to be deposited in either the Wildlife Restoration Fund or the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
(3) The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act generally requires the administrator for oil spill response, acting at the direction of the Governor, to implement activities relating to oil spill response, including emergency drills and preparedness, and oil spill containment and cleanup, and to represent the state in any coordinated response efforts with the federal government. The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act imposes regulatory duties on the administrator for oil spill response and the State Lands Commission relating to the transportation of oil within the state, and planning and programs to prevent and respond to oil spills. Existing law imposes various administrative civil and criminal penalties on a person that violates specified provisions of the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act.
This bill would define the terms “renewable fuel,” “renewable fuel production facility,” and “renewable fuel receiving facility” for purposes of the Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act and would include renewable fuel within the definition of “oil” for purposes of the act. By expanding the definition of oil, the bill would expand the scope of certain crimes, and would thereby impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make conforming changes.
The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act imposes an oil spill prevention and administration fee in an amount determined by the administrator to be sufficient to implement oil spill prevention activities, but not to exceed $0.065 per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products, and to be remitted to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act requires the oil spill prevention and administration fee to be imposed upon a person owning crude oil or petroleum products at the time that the crude oil or petroleum products are received at a marine terminal or refinery by specified modes of delivery from within or outside the state, as specified.
This bill would require the oil spill prevention and administration fee to be increased on October 1, 2021, to $0.085 per barrel of crude oil or petroleum products, and, commencing January 1, 2022, would impose the oil spill prevention and administration fee additionally on owners of renewable fuel, as specified. The bill would require the oil spill prevention and administration fee to be annually increased or decreased by a certain inflation measurement. The bill would impose similar duties on renewable fuel receiving facility operators and renewable fuel production facility operators regarding the collection and remittance of the oil spill prevention and administration fee that are imposed on marine terminal operators and refinery operators.
The Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and Administration Fees Law provides for the collection and administration of the oil spill prevention and administration fee and the oil spill response fee. Existing law requires filed returns under the Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and Administration Fees Law to be authenticated and makes certain actions relating to the filing of a return a crime.
This bill would make conforming changes to the Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and Administration Fees Law for the imposition of the oil spill prevention and administration fee on owners of renewable fuel. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to provide any and all information obtained under the Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and Administration Fees Law to the Department of Fish and Wildlife and authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to use any information obtained pursuant to these provisions to develop data on oil spill prevention, abatement, and removal within the state.
This bill, for purposes of the latter provisions, would replace references to the Department of Fish and Wildlife with the administrator for oil spill response.
(4) The Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995 requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish and oversee an environmental farming program and the Healthy Soils Program, as specified. Existing law establishes the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund and requires any moneys that are directed by law to be paid into the fund, unless otherwise specifically provided, to be expended solely for the enforcement of the law under which the moneys were derived.
This bill would create the Climate Smart Agriculture Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, which would consist of moneys made available from federal, state, industry, philanthropic, and private sources. The bill would continuously appropriate the moneys deposited into the Climate Smart Agriculture Account without regard to fiscal years to the Department of Food and Agriculture for purposes of the Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995. The bill would authorize the Controller to use the moneys in the Climate Smart Agriculture Account for cash flow loans to the General Fund, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to submit to the Legislature an overview of the Climate Smart Agriculture Account’s income and expenditures for any fiscal year in which moneys are received into or expended from the account, as specified.
By creating a continuously appropriated account, the bill would make an appropriation.
(5) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the PUC, on or before January 1, 2020, to establish the Wildfire Safety Division within the PUC to take specified actions related to wildfire safety. The California Energy Infrastructure Safety Act establishes the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety within the Natural Resources Agency, under the supervision of a director and deputy director appointed by the Governor, and provides that, on and after July 1, 2021, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety is the successor to, and is vested with, all of the duties, powers, and responsibilities of the Wildfire Safety Division of the PUC.
This bill would expand upon the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the director, deputy director, and the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, as provided. The bill would require that a regulated entity cooperate fully with the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety in any investigation conducted by the office, and to produce or allow inspection of any books, accounts, papers, records, including computer modeling, programs, and other digital records, kept by a regulated entity, a subsidiary or affiliate, or a corporation that holds a controlling interest in a regulated entity. The bill would expressly authorize representatives of the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety to enter and inspect regulated entity property, records, and equipment at any time and anywhere within the state. The bill would expand upon the enforcement authority of the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, including the authority to issue a notice of defect or violation to direct the regulated entity to correct any defect or noncompliance. The bill would provide that the decisions of the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety are subject to judicial review by a writ of review in the superior court and would provide that preference be given by the superior courts, the courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court to those cases seeking judicial review of those decisions.
This bill would require the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety to provide for the confidentiality of records, the protection of proprietary information, and the protection of the reasonable expectation of customers of public utilities in the privacy of customer-specific records maintained by the regulated entity.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
(6) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 authorizes the State Air Resources Board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources Board from a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law requires state agencies, before expending moneys appropriated by the Legislature from the fund, to prepare a record consisting of certain information regarding the expenditure.
The Administrative Procedure Act governs, among other things, the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law.
This bill would, until July 1, 2027, exempt from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act the adoption or use of guidelines or other standards by state agencies in administering programs that have received funding for the 2021–22, 2022–23, and 2023–24 fiscal years and have prepared the required record.
Existing law prohibits a person from knowingly setting or permitting agricultural burning unless the person has a valid permit from the agency designated by the State Air Resources Board to issue that permit in the area where the agricultural burning is to take place.
This bill would, upon appropriation of certain moneys, authorize the State Air Resources Board to administer a program to support incentives for alternatives to agricultural burning in the San Joaquin Valley and would exempt from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act the adoption or use of funding criteria or other guidelines expressly related to the granting of moneys under the program by the state board.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Joaquin Valley.
(7) Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to prepare, adopt, and submit building standards and other fire and life safety regulations to the California Building Standards Commission for approval establishing minimum requirements for the storage, handling, and use of hazardous materials. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to seek the advice of the Office of Emergency Services in establishing those requirements.
This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to seek the advice of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, rather than the Office of Emergency Services, in establishing those requirements. The bill would replace references in those provisions to “local fire chief” with “fire code official.”
Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to implement a unified hazardous waste and hazardous materials management regulatory program, known as the unified program. Existing law requires every county to apply to the Secretary for Environmental Protection to be certified to implement the unified program, and allows a city or local agency to implement the unified program, as a unified program agency, or UPA. Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to adopt, after public hearing and consultation with the Office of the State Fire Marshal and other appropriate public entities, regulations for minimum standards for business plans and area plans, and requires all business plans and area plans to meet the standards adopted by the Office of Emergency Services. Existing law requires a UPA, in consultation with local emergency response agencies, to establish an area plan for emergency response to a release or threatened release of a hazardous material within its jurisdiction. A UPA is required to submit a proposed area plan to the Office of Emergency Services, and the Office of Emergency Services is required to notify the UPA whether the area plan is adequate. Existing law requires a business that handles a hazardous material and that meets any of specified conditions to establish and implement a business plan for a response to a release or threatened release of the hazardous material.
This bill would revise and recast the unified program provisions to transfer certain responsibilities from the Office of Emergency Services to the Secretary for Environmental Protection, including requiring the secretary, rather than the Office of Emergency Services, to adopt those regulations for minimum standards for business plans and area plans and to administer the business plan and area plan provisions. The bill would replace references in the unified program provisions to “local fire chief” with “fire code official.”
Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to obtain and maintain state delegation of, and to implement, the federal accidental release prevention program. Pursuant to these provisions, a stationary source, as defined, with one or more processes that have certain substances present in more than a threshold quantity is required to prepare and submit a risk management plan if the administering agency makes a specified determination. Existing law defines “administering agency” for these purposes to mean a UPA.
Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services, on or before June 30, 1998, to review each regulated substance on a specified list, review the state threshold quantity for each regulated substance, and adopt certain regulations relating to regulated substances and state threshold quantities.
This bill would revise and recast these provisions to transfer state administration of the federal accidental release prevention program from the Office of Emergency Services to the California Environmental Protection Agency and to explicitly refer to an “administering agency” instead as a “UPA.” The bill would require the agency to undertake the above-specified actions relating to regulated substances and state threshold quantities periodically rather than on or before June 30, 1998. The bill would also make related and conforming changes.
Because the bill would make changes to provisions enforced by unified program agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(8) Existing law prohibits an urban and community water system, defined as a public water system that supplies water to more than 200 service connections, from discontinuing residential water service for nonpayment until a payment by a customer has been delinquent for at least 60 days. Existing law requires an urban and community water system to have a written policy on discontinuation of residential service for nonpayment, including, among other things, specified options for addressing the nonpayment. Existing law requires an urban and community water system to provide notice of that policy to customers, as provided.
The California Safe Drinking Water Act makes it a crime for any person to knowingly commit certain acts, including making a false statement or representation in any record submitted, maintained, or used for the purposes of compliance with the act, possessing a record required to be maintained by the act that has been altered or concealed, and destroying, altering, or concealing any record required to be maintained by the act.
This bill would establish the California Water and Wastewater Arrearage Payment Program in the State Water Resources Control Board. Pursuant to the program and following an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for these purposes, the State Water Resources Control Board would be required to survey community water systems to determine statewide arrearages and water enterprise revenue shortfalls and adopt a resolution establishing guidelines for application requirements and reimbursement amounts for those arrearages and shortfalls. If there are insufficient funds appropriated for purposes of the program, the bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board to disburse the funds on a proportional basis to each community water system applicant based on reported arrearages and shortfalls. If there are sufficient funds appropriated for purposes of the program, the bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board to establish a similar program for funding wastewater treatment provider arrearages and shortfalls with the remaining funds.
This bill would require a community water system to provide customers with arrearages accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic bill relief period, as defined, a notice that they may enter into a payment plan, as prescribed. The bill would prohibit a community water system from discontinuing water service due to nonpayment before September 30, 2021, or the date the customer misses the enrollment deadline for, or defaults on, a payment plan, whichever is later. The bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board to coordinate with the Department of Community Services and Development in allocating program funding to certain community water systems.
This bill would apply certain enforcement provisions of the California Safe Drinking Water Act, including the above-described crimes, to the foregoing provisions. The bill would thereby impose a state-mandated local program by expanding the application of a crime.
This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2025.
(9) Existing law, the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to annually designate convenience zones and, until January 1, 2022, authorizes the department to approve up to 5 limited-term recycling pilot projects that are designed to improve redemption opportunities in unserved convenience zones. The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act authorizes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to issue probationary operation certificates to pilot project recyclers for not more than 3 years and makes those recyclers eligible to apply for handling fees from the department. The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act makes these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2022, and repeals them on January 1, 2023. The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for specified purposes, including the amount necessary to pay handling fees. Existing law authorizes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, for the 2019–20 fiscal year to the 2021–22 fiscal year, inclusive, to expend up to a total of $5,000,000 to support the recycling pilot projects.
This bill would postpone to June 30, 2025, the date by which the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery may approve recycling pilot projects. The bill would increase the maximum number of pilot projects from 5 to 10 and the maximum number of operating years from 3 to 5. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on June 30, 2026, and would repeal them on January 1, 2027. The bill would extend to the 2025–26 fiscal year the authorization to expend up to a total of $5,000,000 from the fund to support pilot projects. By increasing expenditures from a continuously appropriated fund for these extensions, the bill would make an appropriation.
(10) Existing law, the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, establishes an integrated waste management program. Existing law requires each city, county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element, household hazardous waste element, and nondisposal facility element of an integrated waste management plan. The act requires the source reduction and recycling element to divert from disposal 50% of all solid waste subject to the element through source reduction, recycling, and composting activities, with specified exceptions. Existing law requires each jurisdiction to submit an annual report to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery summarizing the jurisdiction’s progress in reducing solid and household hazardous waste. Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to visit each jurisdiction not less than once each year to monitor the jurisdiction’s implementation and maintenance of its diversion programs.
This bill would authorize, instead of require, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to visit each jurisdiction once each year, but would require the department to do so no less than once every four years, to monitor the jurisdiction’s implementation and maintenance of its diversion programs.
(11) Existing law gives control of the state park system to the Department of Parks and Recreation, and requires the Director of Parks and Recreation to promote and regulate the use of the state park system in a manner that conserves the scenery, natural and historic resources, and wildlife for the enjoyment of future generations. Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to collect fees, rents, and other returns for use of any state park system area, as provided. Existing law prohibits the Department of Parks and Recreation from collecting from any group of pupils in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, or their escorts, any fee, rental, or other return for use of any unit in the state park system when the group is visiting the area pursuant to a school outing or field trip under the direction of a school personnel, as provided. Existing law establishes the “Golden Bear Pass” as a discount program available to persons, upon application and payment of $5 to the Department of Parks and Recreation, who meet specified criteria for use of state park facilities, as specified.
This bill would require the Department of Parks and Recreation, until July 1, 2024, to waive the $5 fee described above to obtain the “Golden Bear Pass.” The bill would also authorize the Department of Parks and Recreation, on or before September 1, 2021, to establish a “California State Park Adventure Pass” to be available, upon application to the department, to any child in the 4th grade, or 4th grade equivalent, who is a California resident. The bill would authorize the Department of Parks and Recreation, on and after September 1, 2021, to waive the day use entrance fees to an eligible unit of the state park system, as determined by the department, for any child who holds a valid “California State Park Adventure Pass,” as provided. The bill would require the Department of Parks and Recreation to post specified information relating to the “California State Park Adventure Pass” on its internet website. The bill would repeal the provisions relating to the “California State Park Adventure Pass” on July 1, 2024.
(12) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to develop and implement the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program to award moneys for projects that will benefit electricity ratepayers, lead to technological advancement and breakthroughs, and result in a portfolio of projects that is strategically focused and sufficiently narrow to make advancement on the most significant technological challenges, as specified. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to use a sealed competitive bid as the preferred method to solicit project applications and award funds pursuant to the EPIC program. Existing law authorizes the Energy Commission to use a sole source or interagency agreement method if a project cannot be described with sufficient specificity, as specified.
This bill would no longer require that those competitive bids be sealed. The bill would authorize the Energy Commission to use a sole source or interagency agreement method to instead noncompetitively award funding for a project if the project has a reasonable cost and satisfies specified criteria. The bill would, until July 1, 2025, authorize the Energy Commission to award, through a noncompetitive method, follow-on funding for projects that meet specified criteria, including the EPIC program’s eligibility requirements and that the projects have been funded, at least in part, through the EPIC program.
Existing law requires the Energy Commission to prepare and submit an annual report to the Legislature on the projects funded through the EPIC program.
This bill would require that the annual report include a brief description of each project for which follow-on funding was awarded in the immediately prior calendar year.
(13) Existing law requires the Energy Commission to develop, implement, and administer the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Program to provide for a full range of research, development, and demonstration activities that, as determined by the Energy Commission, are not adequately provided for by competitive and regulated markets. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to annually submit to the Legislature a report, no later than March 31 of each year, on awards made pursuant to the program and progress toward achieving specified goals, including information on the types of projects funded, an evaluation of the success of funded projects, and recommendations for improvements to the program, as specified.
This bill would require the Energy Commission to instead annually submit that report to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee no later than October 31 of each year. The bill would revise the contents of the report to instead include specified information relating to the program’s impacts and benefits, allocation of funding, projects, funding initiatives and activities, and changes to spending guidelines or eligible projects, as specified.
Existing law creates the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Fund in the State Treasury to contain Energy Commission moneys from all interest, repayments, disencumbrances, royalties, and any other proceeds appropriated, transferred, or otherwise received for purposes pertaining to public interest research, development, and demonstration.
Existing law imposes a surcharge on all natural gas consumed in the state to fund certain low-income assistance programs, cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation activities, and public interest research and development not adequately provided by the competitive and regulated markets, as specified. Existing law requires a public utility gas corporation, as defined, to collect the surcharge from natural gas consumers, as specified. Under existing law, the moneys from the surcharge are deposited into the Gas Consumption Surcharge Fund and are continuously appropriated to specified entities, including to the PUC, or to an entity designated by the PUC, to fund certain energy-related programs. If the Energy Commission is so designated by the PUC, existing law requires the Controller to transfer the designated moneys into a separate subaccount in the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Fund to pay the Energy Commission for its costs of administering those programs. Existing law authorizes the Energy Commission to administer those programs pursuant to the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Program.
This bill would provide that moneys in that subaccount in the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Fund are continuously appropriated to the Energy Commission for its costs of administering those energy-related programs, thereby making an appropriation.
(14) Existing law establishes the California High-Cost Fund-A Administrative Committee Fund, the California High-Cost Fund-B Administrative Committee Fund, the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service Trust Administrative Committee Fund, the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program Administrative Committee Fund, the Payphone Service Providers Committee Fund, the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund, and the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) in the State Treasury. Existing law, except as provided, prohibits any moneys that are deposited in those funds from being used by the state for any purpose other than as specified.
This bill would authorize loans to be made between those funds, upon approval of the Director of Finance.
(15) Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, sets forth the emergency powers of the Governor under its provisions and empowers the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency for certain conditions, including drought. During a state of emergency, existing law authorizes the Governor to suspend any regulatory statute, or statute prescribing the procedure for conduct of state business, or the orders, rules, or regulations of any state agency where the Governor determines and declares that strict compliance with any statute, order, rule, or regulation would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the emergency.
This bill would authorize specified state agencies, defined as implementing agencies, to, subject to an appropriation for these purposes, make grants and direct expenditures for interim or immediate relief in response to conditions arising from a drought scenario to address immediate impacts on human health and safety and on fish and wildlife resources and to provide water to persons or communities that lose or are threatened with the loss or contamination of water supplies. The bill would define drought scenario as when the Governor has issued a proclamation of a state of emergency pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act based on drought conditions or when the State Water Resources Control Board determines, subject to specified requirements, that drought conditions necessitate urgent and immediate action to ensure availability of safe drinking water, to protect public health and safety, or to avoid serious and irreparable harm to fish or wildlife.
This bill would, subject to an appropriation to an implementing agency to provide grants and direct expenditures for interim or immediate relief to drought scenarios, authorize the implementing agency to, among other things, provide advance payment of up to 25% of grant funds awarded to certain entities.
This bill would authorize implementing agencies to adopt guidelines to implement the bill’s provisions. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2024.
(16) Existing law establishes the CalConserve Water Use Efficiency Revolving Fund and provides that moneys in the fund are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Department of Water Resources for the purpose of water use efficiency projects. Existing law requires moneys in the CalConserve Water Use Efficiency Revolving Fund to be used for purposes that include, but are not limited to, at or below market rate loans to local agencies, as defined, and permits the Department of Water Resources to enter into agreements with local agencies that provide water or recycled water service to provide loans.
Existing law, the Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, approved by the voters as Proposition 1 at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, authorizes, among other things, the issuance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $7,120,000,000 to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. Proposition 1 provides the sum of $810,000,000 is to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditures on, and competitive grants and loans to, projects that are included in and implemented in an adopted integrated regional water management plan and respond to climate change and contribute to regional water security. Proposition 1 authorizes the use of $100,000,000 of those funds for direct expenditures, for grants and loans, and for certain water conservation and water use efficiency plans, projects, and programs, including urban water conservation plans, projects, and programs implemented to achieve specified water use targets.
Existing law provides for the transfer to the CalConserve Water Use Efficiency Revolving Fund the sum of $10,000,000 of the proceeds of bonds issued pursuant to Proposition 1 for water conservation and water use efficiency projects and programs to achieve those urban water use targets. Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to use $5,000,000 of those funds for a pilot project for local agencies to provide water efficiency upgrades to eligible residents at no upfront cost and $5,000,000 for local agencies to provide low-interest loans to customers to finance the installation of onsite improvements to repair or replace cracked or leaking water pipes to conserve water. Existing law authorizes the Department of Water Resources to implement these requirements by providing to a local agency a zero-interest loan of up to $3,000,000. Existing law requires a local agency that receives a loan from the fund to exercise reasonable efforts to recover the costs of the loan, and authorizes the Department of Water Resources to waive up to 10% of the repayment amount for costs that could not be recovered by a local agency.
This bill would reduce the sum transferred to the CalConserve Water Use Efficiency Revolving Fund from the proceeds of bonds issued pursuant to Proposition 1 to $3,000,000, and delete the requirements regarding the use of transferred funds for a pilot program for local agencies to provide water efficiency upgrades and for local agencies to provide low-interest loans to finance the installation of certain improvements to conserve water. The bill would eliminate the $3,000,000 cap on a zero-interest loan provided by the Department of Water Resources to a local agency to implement this requirement.
(17) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.
(18) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.