BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 741|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 741
Author: Huffman (D), et al.
Amended: 6/9/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/8/11
AYES: Wolk, Huff, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hancock, Hernandez,
Kehoe, La Malfa, Liu
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/9/11 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Onsite wastewater disposal
SOURCE : Irvine Ranch Water District
North Bay Water Association
DIGEST : This bill allows local sewer service providers,
at a property owners request, to construct sewer
improvements on private property and charge the property
owner for the costs.
ANALYSIS : Under the Community Facilities Law of 1911,
cities, counties, and special districts may charge sewage
connection fees.
At the request of a property owner whose property is
included within an assessment district for the construction
of sewer lines, the governing board of any local government
that is authorized to acquire, construct, maintain, and
CONTINUED
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operate sanitary sewers and sewerage systems may construct
all necessary plumbing to connect the property to the
adjoining street public sewer system. The person employed
by the governing board to do the work has a lien upon the
property, for work done and materials furnished. The work
done and materials furnished are deemed to have been done
and furnished at the request of the property owner. The
governing board may pay some or all of the cost or price of
the connection to the person or persons who furnished
labor, materials, or equipment. If the governing board
pays the cost or price of the connection, it succeeds to
and has all the rights, including the lien, of the person
or persons against the property and the property owner.
Alternatively, the governing body may, by an ordinance
approved by two-thirds vote of its members:
Fix the cost of improvement for connection to the sewer
facilities,
Fix the times at which such costs are due,
Provide for the payment of the costs prior to the
construction and connection or in installments over a
period, not to exceed 15 years,
Provide the interest rate, not to exceed six percent,
charged on the unpaid balance, and
Provide that the amount of the costs and the interest
shall constitute a lien against the parcels on which
facilities are constructed.
By ordinance approved by two-thirds vote, the members of a
local legislative body may:
Fix fees or charges for the privilege of connecting to
its sewer facilities constructed by the entity,
Fix the time when the fees or charges are due,
Provide for the payment of the fees or charges prior to
connection or in installments over a period of not to
exceed 30 years,
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Provide the interest rate, not to exceed 12%, to be
charged on the unpaid balance, and
Provide that the amount of the fees or charges and the
interest are a lien against the parcels of land to which
the facilities are connected.
Before making the fees or charges a lien against the land,
the legislative body must notify the property owners and
must include:
The schedule of fees or charges to be imposed.
A description of the property subject to the fees or
charges.
The time at which the fees or charges are due.
The number of installments in which the fees or charges
shall be payable.
The interest rate, not to exceed 12 percent, to be
charged on the unpaid balance.
That the fees or charges and interest will become a lien
against the parcels to which the facilities are
furnished.
The time and place of the public hearing at which persons
may present objections regarding the imposition of the
fees or charges as a lien.
Local officials want to use these statutes to help property
owners finance the costs of repairing or replacing sewer
laterals or converting a property from a septic system to a
sewer system.
This bill authorizes an entity to use procedures in
specified statutes, whether or not an order or other action
has been issued or taken for an abatement of contamination
created by sewage disposal, to either:
Convert properties from onsite septic systems and connect
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them to a sewer system, or
Replace or repair existing sewer laterals connecting
pipes to a sewer system.
The specified statutes:
Allow a property owner to request an entity's governing
board to construct all necessary plumbing to connect
property to the adjoining sewer system,
Detail the procedures by which an entity can charge the
property owner for the costs of construction, and
Require that the amount of the costs and interest
constitute a lien against the property.
This bill defines an "entity" as a county, city and county,
city, sanitary district, county sanitation district, county
service area, sewer maintenance district, and any other
public corporation and district authorized to acquire,
construct, maintain, and operate sanitary sewers and
sewerage systems.
This bill specifies that septic-to-sewer conversion
improvements and costs may include, pipes, pumps and other
equipment, septic system abandonment, and associated sewage
treatment capacity. This bill also specifies that the cost
of lateral replacement or repair shall constitute the cost
of an improvement for connection to a sewer system.
This bill specifies that the term "assessment district," as
used in statutes referenced in the bill, also means an
improvement district or any other area served by the
entity's sewer collection system. This bill specifies that
the term "ordinance," as used in statutes referenced in the
bill, also means a resolution.
This bill declares that its authority is in addition to, is
not in derogation of, and does not affect, any authority
granted by other law relating to recovering the cost
incurred by an entity for connecting properties to the
public sewer system, or the entity's exercise of powers
pursuant to any other law. This bill is deemed to provide
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a complete and supplemental method for exercising the
powers authorized by this section, and is deemed
supplemental to the powers conferred by other applicable
laws.
Comments
Antiquated or damaged sewer laterals or septic systems can
leak sewage into the ground, harming the environment and
threatening public health. Faulty sewer laterals can allow
excessive infiltration and inflow of groundwater and
stormwater into the lateral, leading to spills and backups
into homes, streets, and watersheds. Faulty septic systems
can contaminate surface waters and groundwater with
pathogens and nitrates. The improvements required to
correct these problems are costly. A sewer lateral
replacement may cost between $1,500 and $4,000. The
estimated cost of converting from a septic system to a
sewer connection ranges from $2,000 to $14,000. Because
commercial loans for sewer and septic improvements can be
expensive, local officials want to accelerate upgrades to
sewer and septic systems by loaning money to private
property owners at below-market interest rates. This bill
provides local officials with another tool to help property
owners pay for sewer upgrades that protect water quality
and public health.
Related legislation . AB 2182 (Huffman, 2010), which
authorized the use of contractual assessments to finance
the installation of onsite sewer and septic improvements on
private property, was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
He stated that he did not support expanding contractual
assessment programs to include sewer improvements. By
building upon existing statutes that authorize sewer
agencies to connect private property to a sewer at a
property owner's request and recover the costs through the
property tax bill, AB 741 takes a different approach to
providing public financing for sewer lateral improvements.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/9/11)
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Irvine Ranch Water District (co-source)
North Bay Water Association (co-source)
Association of California Water Agencies
California Association of Realtors
California Association of Sanitation Agencies
California Fence Contractors' Association
California Municipal Utilities Association
California Special Districts Association
California State Association of Counties
City of San Diego
Cucamonga Valley Water District
Desert Water Agency
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Eastern Municipal Water District
El Dorado Irrigation District
Engineering Contractor's Association
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Marin Builders Association
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Municipal Water District of Orange County
Novato Sanitary District
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Santa Margarita Water District
Sierra Club
Sonoma County
Sonoma County Water Agency
South Coast Water District
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/9/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
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NO VOTE RECORDED: Butler, Garrick, Gorell, Monning, Smyth,
Vacancy
AGB:mw 6/9/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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