BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1450
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 1450 (Simitian)
          As Amended  August 16, 2010
          2/3 vote.  Urgency

           SENATE VOTE  :Not relevant 
           
           WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE   12-1  APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Huffman, Fuller,          |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway,          |
          |     |Anderson, Arambula, Tom   |     |Bradford,                 |
          |     |Berryhill, Blumenfield,   |     |Charles Calderon, Coto,   |
          |     |Caballero, De La Torre,   |     |Davis,                    |
          |     |Fletcher, Gatto, Bonnie   |     |De Leon, Gatto, Hall,     |
          |     |Lowenthal, Salas          |     |Harkey, Miller, Nielsen,  |
          |     |                          |     |Norby, Skinner, Solorio,  |
          |     |                          |     |Torlakson, Torrico        |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Yamada                    |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

           SUMMARY  :   Allows the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) to use  
          expedited contracting processes for development of a long-term  
          management plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary  
          (Delta Plan), which is due January 1, 2012.  Specifically,  this  
          bill  :   


          1)Allows the DSC to use competitive and streamlined processes to  
            hire either consultant services or architectural and  
            engineering (A&E) services. 

          2)States that those contracts will be for the purposes of:


             a.    preparing the Delta Plan and associated environmental  
               review;

             b.    performing its responsibilities, or the  
               responsibilities of the Delta Independent Science Board,  
               with regard to the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP);









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             c.   determining the consistency of state and local public  
               agency actions with the Delta Plan; or,


             d.   performing scientific review to inform water and  
               environmental decision-making in the Sacramento-San Joaquin  
               Delta Estuary (Delta). 


           EXISTING LAW  :  

          1)Establishes the DSC to develop and implement a plan to achieve  
            the co-equal goals of providing a more reliable water supply  
            for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the  
            Delta ecosystem.

          2)Requires the DSC to act as a responsible agency under the  
            California Environmental Quality Act with respect to the BDCP  
            environmental impact report.


          3)Requires the DSC to include the BDCP in the Delta Plan if the  
            Department of Fish and Game (DFG) determines that the BDCP  
            meets Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (NCCPA)  
            requirements.

          4)Requires the DSC to determine if state and local public agency  
            actions are consistent with the Delta Plan. 

          5)Places the DSC in an oversight role regarding implementation  
            of the BDCP by requiring the Department of Water Resources, or  
            any successor agency charged with BDCP implementation, to  
            report to the DSC on the implementation of the BDCP. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee analysis, potential, minor administrative cost savings  
          to the council resulting from simplified contracting procedures.

           COMMENTS  :   The Delta is the largest estuary on the West Coast.   
          It is both a haven for plants and wildlife and critical to  
          California's economy, providing part of the drinking water  
          supplies for two-thirds of Californians and irrigation water for  
          over 7 million acres of highly productive agricultural land.   
          Since late 2004, scientific and public attention has focused on  








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          the unexpected collapse of several Delta fish species that are  
          considered indicators of the estuary's health.  

          Solutions to balance the competing uses of the Delta and the  
          degradation of its ecosystem have been elusive.  On September  
          17, 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger created a new effort by  
          Executive Order, the Delta Vision, to develop a durable vision  
          for sustainable management of the Delta.  SB 1 (Simitian),  
          Chapter 5, Statutes of 2009-10 Seventh Extraordinary Session,  
          implemented many of the Delta Vision strategies including  
          creating the DSC as the governing body mandated to develop the  
          Delta Plan, a comprehensive long-term management strategy for  
          the Delta.  Because of the pressing condition of the Delta, the  
          Legislature required the DSC to adopt and begin implementing the  
          Delta Plan by January 1, 2012.  

          During a May 11, 2010, Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife  
          Committee oversight hearing on the DSC and the Bay Delta  
          Conservation Plan, the issue was raised as to whether  
          traditional contracting procedures are adequate given the  
          expedited time frames for the DSC to develop and implement the  
          Delta Plan and carry out of its various oversight functions.   
          This bill is intended to provide a streamlined contracting  
          process to help meet those expedited time frames.  

          Amendments to this bill address concerns raised by  
          representatives of A&E firms.  In particular, the amendments  
          differentiate between consultant services and A&E services  
          contracts and require that contracts for A&E services still  
          follow what is known as the Qualification Based Selection (QBS)  
          process (commencing with Government Code Section 4525), which  
          mandates A&E firms are selected competitively but based on  
          qualifications rather than lowest bid.  The amendments also  
          maintain the ability of the DSC to expedite those A&E contracts  
          by exempting the DSC from the QBS statute's requirements to  
          adopt regulations prior to contracting.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)  
          319-2096   


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