BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 301|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 301
Author: Fuentes (D), et al
Amended: 8/17/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 7-3, 6/10/09
AYES: Alquist, Cedillo, DeSaulnier, Leno, Maldonado,
Negrete McLeod, Wolk
NOES: Strickland, Aanestad, Cox
NO VOTE RECORDED: Pavley
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/22/09
AYES: Simitian, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal, Pavley
NOES: Runner, Ashburn
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-4, 8/12/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Emmerson, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 49-27, 5/11/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Vended water
SOURCE : Food and Water Watch
DIGEST : This bill requires applicants for licenses to
bottle water in California report the volume of the water,
the source, and the county of the source to the Department
of Public Health, and requires the Department of Public
Health to compile this information and make it available to
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the public.
ANALYSIS : Existing federal law authorizes the Federal
Food and Drug Administration to regulate standards for
bottled water products in interstate commerce, under the
Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
Existing federal law authorizes the United States
Environmental Protection Agency to regulate standards for
tap water, under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Existing state law establishes the Department of Public
Health (DPH), Food and Drug Branch, which is responsible
for licensing and regulating manufacturers of bottled water
and providers of vended water.
The Sherman Food, Drug, and cosmetics Law prescribes
various quality and labeling standards for bottled water
and vended water, and limits the levels of certain
contaminants that may be contained in those water products.
Existing state law requires a water-bottling plant to
annually prepare a bottled water report, including
information about the source of the bottled water (i.e., a
spring, drilled well, or municipal water supply), as a
condition of licensure. Existing law requires that the
report include a brief description of the treatment process
used for producing the bottled water.
Existing state law requires DPH to charge and collect a fee
for each license application submitted, in an amount
reasonably necessary to produce sufficient revenue for
DPH's enforcement efforts, and in accordance with a
prescribed fee schedule.
This bill:
1.Requires those applicants who apply for a license as a
water-bottling plant or a private water source in the
state, to provide to DPH:
A. The total volume of the water bottled or sold for
wholesale or retail use during a specified time
period preceding the application submission, or an
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estimate of the total volume of water the applicant
expects to bottle or sell during the period of
licensure.
B. Whether the source of the water was a public or
private water agency, or artesian well, lake, river,
or spring.
C. The county where the source of water is located.
2.Requires DPH to annually compile a listing of this
information and make it available to the public.
3.Requires DPH to ensure the report does not contain
duplicative data as to applicants who apply for both a
water-bottling plant license and a private water source
license.
4.Stipulates that water from a private water source that is
sold or delivered to a water-bottling plant shall be
reported separately from water sold or delivered for
other uses from that same water source.
Background
According to DPH, bottled water is sold or distributed to
consumers in sealed containers for drinking, culinary, or
other purposes involving a likelihood of being ingested by
humans. Bottled water must be bottled only at a licensed
water bottling plant. Vended water is water dispensed by a
water vending machine, retail water facility (or store),
water from a private water source, or water delivered by a
water hauler for drinking, culinary, or other purposes
involving a likelihood of being ingested by humans. Vended
waster does not include bottled water.
The governor proclaimed a Water Shortage State of Emergency
in February 2009, claiming that the state is in its "third
consecutive year of drought," where he described that "the
rainfall and snowpack deficits in each year of the current
drought have put California further and further behind in
meeting essential water needs." The drought is also
affecting our agriculture industry. According to the
governor, "the lack of water has forced California farmers
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to abandon or leave unplanted more than 100,000 acres of
agricultural land" which could cost Californians jobs and
increase food prices. Continued unchecked depletion of the
potable water supply could also pose a threat to our
emergency preparedness efforts, which could make residents
even more vulnerable during a disaster.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
Compiling and $50 $40 $40
General
publicizing information
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/10)
Food and Water Watch (source)
Alliance for Democracy
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees
Amigos de los Rios
Breast Cancer Fund
California Apollo Alliance
California Coastkeeper Alliance
Center on Policy Initiatives
Clean Water Action
Concerned Citizen's Coalition of Stockton
Concerned McCloud Citizens
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights Environmental Working
Group
Friends of the Los Angeles River
McCloud Watershed Council
Movement Generation
Planning and Conservation League
San Diego Area Municipal Employees Union
San Diego Bay Council
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Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment
Santa Monica Baykeeper
Southern California Watershed Alliance
TreePeople
Tuolumne River Trust
Urban Semillas
Wildcoast
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/16/10)
Department of Public Health
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters contend that credible
and transparent information would help both the public and
decision makers to understand more accurately the impacts
of proposed bottle-water facilities in California. Without
this information, local communities and decision makers may
now know exactly how much of their local water supply is
sold and transported out of the local area.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : DPH does not believe that this
bill will provide any improvement in public health
protection to California consumers. DPH feels that the
information they already collect regarding the identity of
source water from bottlers is sufficient to ensure quality.
DPH also believes the information they are being asked to
collect may be considered proprietary, because it can act
as an indicator of the company's financial health.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez,
Hill, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Yamada, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Emmerson, Fletcher,
Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey,
Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello,
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Nielsen, Silva, Audra Strickland, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Duvall, Galgiani, Huber, Smyth
CTW:mw 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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