BILL NUMBER: AB 1200	CHAPTERED  10/06/05

	CHAPTER  573
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  OCTOBER 6, 2005
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  OCTOBER 6, 2005
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 31, 2005
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 16, 2005
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 15, 2005
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 23, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 27, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 31, 2005

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Laird
   (Principal coauthors: Senators Alquist and Simitian)

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2005

   An act to add Sections 139.2 and 139.4 to the Water Code, relating
to water.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1200, Laird  Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
   Existing law, the California Bay-Delta Authority Act, requires the
California Bay-Delta Authority and certain implementing agencies to
carry out programs that address the goals and objectives of the
CALFED Bay-Delta Program Record of Decision, dated August 28, 2000,
on behalf of the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Estuary.
   This bill would require the Department of Water Resources to
evaluate the potential impacts on water supplies derived from the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta resulting from subsidence, earthquakes,
floods, changes in precipitation, temperature, and ocean levels, and
a combination of those impacts. The bill would require the Department
of Water Resources and the Department of Fish and Game to identify,
evaluate, and comparatively rate the principal options available to
implement certain objectives that relate to the delta or the
Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems. The bill would require the
departments to jointly report to the Legislature and the Governor the
results of their evaluations and comparative ratings, as specified,
no later than January 1, 2008.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Substantial water supplies are derived from the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta for the greater Silicon Valley area, Alameda County,
eastern Contra Costa County, Napa County, Solano County, the San
Joaquin Valley, and southern California.
   (b) In a document entitled "Seismic Stability of Delta Levees,"
the Department of Water Resources estimated that a single 100-year
earthquake would result in three to 10 delta levee breaks and that a
single 1,000-year earthquake would result in 18 to 82 delta levee
breaks.
   (c) A report to the California Bay-Delta Authority Independent
Science Board estimated that sea-level rise caused by climate change,
continuing subsidence of delta lands, floods, and earthquakes have a
64 percent probability of resulting in catastrophic flooding of
delta islands over the next 50 years.
   (d) The state's economy, and the governmental programs that are
dependent on a healthy economy and a healthy environment, cannot
afford a catastrophic disruption of the water supplies derived from
the delta.
   SEC. 2.  Section 139.2 is added to the Water Code, to read:
   139.2.  The department shall evaluate the potential impacts on
water supplies derived from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta based on
50-, 100-, and 200-year projections for each of the following
possible impacts on the delta:
   (1) Subsidence.
   (2) Earthquakes.
   (3) Floods.
   (4) Changes in precipitation, temperature, and ocean levels.
   (5) A combination of the impacts specified in paragraphs (1) to
(4), inclusive.
  SEC. 3.  Section 139.4 is added to the Water Code, to read:
   139.4.  (a) The department and the Department of Fish and Game
shall determine the principal options for the delta.
   (b) The department shall evaluate and comparatively rate each
option determined in subdivision (a) for its ability to do the
following:
   (1) Prevent the disruption of water supplies derived from the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
   (2) Improve the quality of drinking water supplies derived from
the delta.
   (3) Reduce the amount of salts contained in delta water and
delivered to, and often retained in, our agricultural areas.
   (4) Maintain delta water quality for delta users.
   (5) Assist in preserving delta lands.
   (6) Protect water rights of the "area of origin" and protect the
environments of the Sacramento-San Joaquin river systems.
   (7) Protect highways, utility facilities, and other infrastructure
located within the delta.
   (8) Preserve, protect, and improve delta levees.
   (c) The Department of Fish and Game shall evaluate and
comparatively rate each option determined in subdivision (a) for its
ability to restore salmon and other fisheries that use the San
Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary.
   (d) On or before January 1, 2008, the department and the
Department of Fish and Game shall jointly report to the Legislature
and Governor, in writing, with regard to the results of the
evaluation required by Section 139.2 and the comparative ratings
required by subdivisions (b) and (c).