BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1194
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 11, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                 AB 1194 (Block) - As Introduced:  February 18, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              HealthVote:17 - 0 

                        E.S.T.M.                                9 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill makes changes to the California Safe Drinking Water 
          Act (SDWA) in order to conform to federal law. Specifically, 
          this bill: 

          1)Revises the definition of "human consumption" to include 
            cooking, which includes preparing food and washing dishes.

          2)Exempts, from regulation, public water systems that sell water 
            to users through a submetered distribution system if the water 
            supply is obtained from a public water system under certain 
            limited circumstances.

          3)Repeals existing law that requires the Department of Public 
            Health (DPH) to exempt noncommunity water systems that meet 
            specified criteria from water quality requirements.

          4)Revises penalty provisions, including authorizing DPH to levy 
            a penalty of up to a $1,000 per day per violation against 
            public water systems that are in violation of drinking water 
            standards, regulations, permits, citations or orders.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)There are no significant costs associated with this 
            legislation. However, DPH could possibly see an increase in 
            revenue due to an increase in the maximum limits DPH can 
            assess for administrative penalties. 

          2)Failure to conform California's safe drinking water laws to 








                                                                  AB 1194
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            federal law could result in a loss of over $100 million in 
            federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding.  

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . This bill, sponsored by DPH, is intended to conform 
            the state's drinking water laws to federal laws and 
            regulations. According to the author, as a state with 
            federally delegated authority (referred to as a primacy 
            state), California's laws and regulations must conform to the 
            federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and be no less 
            stringent than federal safe drinking water regulations.  
             
             The author states that EPA could reduce or withhold DPH's 
            funding for implementing a drinking water primacy program and 
            for public water system infrastructure improvements, which 
            would hinder systems' ability to provide safe drinking water.  
            The author further states that a loss of funding would hinder 
            DPH's ability to carry out its regulatory activities through 
            the DWP.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 
          319-2081