BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 685 (Eng)
Hearing Date: August 16, 2012 Amended: January 13, 2012
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: NR&W 5-3
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 685 establishes in law a state policy that all
residents of the state have a right to clean, affordable, and
accessible water for human consumption. The bill directs
relevant state agencies to implement the policy.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Department of Public Health $150
$150Special *
review of regulations
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SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Current law establishes a policy of the state that the use of
water for domestic purposes is the highest use of water under
the state's water rights system. In addition, the findings and
declarations included in AB 21 (Sher, 1989) declare that "every
citizen of California has the right to pure and safe drinking
water."
The Department of Public Health regulates domestic water systems
and also provides grant and loan funds to water system operators
for projects to protect, improve, and expand drinking water
supplies. The Department of Water Resources also provides a
variety of grant and bond funds to water supply systems for
projects that relate to drinking water supplies. The State Water
Resources Control Board regulates discharges into state waters
and other issues relating to water rights and water quality.
AB 685 establishes in the law the policy of the state that
"every human being has the right to clean, affordable, and
accessible water for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary
AB 685 (Eng)
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purposes that is adequate for the health and well-being of the
individual and family". The bill requires state agencies,
including the Department of Public Health, the Department of
Water Resources, and the State Water Resources Control Board, to
implement the policy upon revising, adopting, or establishing
policies, regulations, and grant criteria to further the policy.
The bill specifies that it only applies to water supplies for
individuals, not for new development. The bill also directs that
implementation of the bill shall not infringe on the rights or
responsibilities of any public water system.
The Department of Public Health indicates that it will need
additional staff to review and potentially revise existing grant
guidelines or regulations, as required under the bill. The
Department of Water Resources and the State Water Resources
Control Board indicate that their costs to implement the bill
can be absorbed within existing resources.
It is possible that the bill's provisions could be interpreted
by a court as creating an enforceable right, such that the state
would be required to ensure that individuals have access to
clean drinking water at the state's expense. For example, in a
case where a drinking water source has been polluted and there
is no responsible party that can pay for the cleanup, a court
could find that the State Water Resources Control Board is
required to ensure that the pollution is remediated. The
likelihood of such a decision is unknown. If such a decision
were to occur, the costs to the state could be significant.
This bill is similar to AB 1242 (Ruskin, 2010) which was vetoed
by Governor Schwarzenegger.
The proposed committee amendments would require state agencies
only to consider the new state policy.