BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2409| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ CONSENT Bill No: AB 2409 Author: Nestande (R), et al Amended: 6/15/10 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/9/10 AYES: Pavley, Cogdill, Huff, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Padilla, Wolk NO VOTE RECORDED: Hollingsworth, Simitian ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/22/10 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Urban water suppliers: water shortage contingency SOURCE : California Spa & Pool Industry Education Council DIGEST : This bill requires, commencing with the urban water management plan update due December 31, 2015, water contingency analyses included in urban water management plans to analyze and define water features artificially supplied with water, such as ponds, lakes, waterfalls and fountains, separately from swimming pools and spas. ANALYSIS : Existing law CONTINUED AB 2409 Page 2 1. Requires Urban Water Management Plans to include an urban water shortage contingency analysis, with required elements identifying stages of actions to be taken in response to water supply shortages, and including mandatory actions to be taken against certain water use practices during water shortages. 2. Requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to update the state model water efficient landscaping ordinance through regulation by January 1, 2009, and requires all local agencies by January 1, 2010 to adopt the updated model ordinance or another ordinance at least as effective. Makes the updated model ordinance effective within the jurisdiction of a local agency if the local agency has not adopted it's own ordinance by January 1, 2010. The model ordinance defines water features to include ponds, lakes, waterfalls, fountains, artificial streams, spas and swimming pools (where water is artificially supplied). 3. Requires a 20 percent reduction in urban per capita water use in California by December 31, 2020. Requires the state to make incremental progress towards this goal by reducing per capita water use by at least 10 percent on or before December 31, 2015. Requires each urban retail water supplier to develop urban water use targets and an interim urban water use target. This bill requires, commencing with the urban water management plan update due December 31, 2015, water contingency analyses included in urban water management plans to analyze and define water features artificially supplied with water, such as ponds, lakes, waterfalls and fountains, separately from swimming pools and spas. Background The Water Conservation in Landscaping Act, (AB 325 of 1990), required DWR to appoint and work with an advisory task force to develop a state model local water efficiency in landscaping ordinance, and required each local agency to adopt a water efficiency in landscaping ordinance by January 1, 1993, or to adopt findings as to why an ordinance was unnecessary. AB 2717 (Laird), enacted in CONTINUED AB 2409 Page 3 2004, requested the California Urban Water Conservation Council to convene a stakeholder workgroup to make recommendations on water efficiency in urban landscaping. The task force report was released in December of 2005 and contained 43 recommendations. AB 1881 (Laird), enacted in 2006, enacted a number of the recommendations of the task force, required DWR to update the model ordinance by January 1, 2009 by regulation, and required local agencies by January 1, 2010 to adopt the updated model ordinance or another ordinance at least as effective in achieving water conservation and efficiency. If a local agency does not adopt its own ordinance by January 1, 2010, then the model ordinance automatically takes effect within that local jurisdiction. DWR's new regulations updating the model water efficiency landscaping ordinance became effective on September 10, 2009, and are contained in the California Code of Regulations, Title 23, Sections 490-495.1. The regulations, among other things, require applicants for new construction and landscape rehabilitation projects to submit a landscaping documentation package to the local agency. The landscaping documentation package is required to include specified elements, including a water budget calculation, with a maximum applied water allowance and an estimated total water use. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/14/10) California Spa & Pool Industry Education Council (source) California Park and Recreation Society ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According tot eh Sponsor, "AB 2409 aims to correct a dangerous precedent in regulations adopted by the Department of Water Resources. Those regulations combine in the definition of 'water feature' decorative fountains, ponds and streams with swimming pools and spas for purposes of the Model Efficient Water Landscape Ordinance. We are concerned that the 'water feature' definition could be adopted by local agencies for drought ordinances and inadvertently lead to swimming pools CONTINUED AB 2409 Page 4 and spas being ordered to shut down in certain emergency situations. AB 2409 will resolve any confusion in this area by amending the Urban Water Management Planning Act to provide that decorative water features be treated separately from swimming pools and spas." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Blumenfield, Caballero, Huber, Huffman, Norby, Vacancy CTW:do 6/15/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED