BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1422| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1422 Author: Perea (D), et al. Amended: 6/28/12 in Senate Vote: 27 - Urgency SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMM. : 6-0, 7/2/12 AYES: Pavley, La Malfa, Cannella, Fuller, Kehoe, Wolk NO VOTE RECORDED: Evans, Padilla, Simitian SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant SUBJECT : 2012 Water Bond SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill (1) amends the chaptered versions of SB 2X7 (Cogdill, Chapter 3, Statutes of 2009-10 Seventh Extraordinary Session), AB 153 (Hernandez, Chapter 226, Statutes of 2010), and AB 1265 (Caballero, Chapter 126, Statutes of 2010) to delay the water bond to the November 4, 2014 ballot, (2) deletes the provisions specifying the label, title, and summary to be included in the ballot pamphlet, and (3) states that the bill calls an election within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. ANALYSIS : CONTINUED AB 1422 Page 2 Existing law: 1. Creates the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $11,140,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a safe drinking water and water supply reliability program. 2. Provides for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the November 6, 2012 statewide general election. This bill: 1. Amends the chaptered versions of SB 2X7 (Cogdill), AB 153 (Hernandez), and AB 1265 (Caballero) to delay the water bond to the November 4, 2014 ballot. 2. Deletes the provisions specifying the label, title, and summary to be included in the ballot pamphlet. 3. States that the bill calls an election within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. Background SB 2X7 (Cogdill) was part of the water package passed in the 2009-10 Seventh Extraordinary Session. The bill proposed to place before the voters in November 2010, the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010, which would authorize $11.14 billion in general obligation bonds to fund various water resources programs and project. The funding is as follows: $455 M Chapter 5.Drought Relief $1,050 Chapter 6.Water Supply Reliability $2,250 Chapter 7.Delta Sustainability $3,000 Chapter 8.Statewide Water System Operational Improvement $1,785 Chapter 9.Conservation And Watershed Protection CONTINUED AB 1422 Page 3 $1,000 Chapter 10.Groundwater Protection And Water Quality $1,250 Chapter 11.Water Recycling Program $11,140 M Total SB 2X7 also specified the label, title, and summary to be included in the ballot pamphlet. Provisions of the proposed water bond were amended twice in 2010: AB 153 (Hernandez) amended the provisions governing allowable uses of funds for the San Gabriel Valley groundwater clean-up program. AB 1265 (Caballero) delayed the placement of the water bond before voters to the November 6, 2012 general election, changed the title of the bond to the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012, and made conforming changes throughout the bill. The bill also amended the provisions governing joint power authority (JPA) participation in surface storage projects. Both bills also included provisions regarding how the Secretary of State was to incorporate the amendments made by those bills into the measure placed before the voters. In January 2011, the Court of Appeal of the State of California, in Jarvis v Bowen, wrote: "The question posed is whether, in enacting the 'Safe, Reliable, High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century' to submit the measure to voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008 general election, the Legislature acted lawfully when it specified the ballot label, title and summary to be used and precluded the Attorney General from revising the language other than to include a financial impact statement. The answer is 'No.'" "Simply stated, the Legislature cannot dictate the ballot label, title and official summary for a statewide measure ?" Article IV, Section 8, subdivision (c), paragraph (3) of the California Constitution states, "Statutes calling elections, statutes providing for tax levies or CONTINUED AB 1422 Page 4 appropriations for the usual current expenses of the State, and urgency statutes shall go into effect immediately upon their enactment." FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 7/2/12) Association of California Water Agencies Audubon California Calaveras County Water District California Alliance for Jobs California Association of Sanitation Agencies California Building Industry Association California Chamber of Commerce California Conference of Carpenters California Farm Bureau Federation California Municipal Utilities Association California Water Association Calleguas Municipal Water District Castaic Lake Water Agency CH2M HILL Cucamonga Valley Water District Dublin San Ramon Services District Eastern Municipal Water District Friant Water Authority Glendale Water and Power Imperial Irrigation District Inland Empire Utilities Agency Kern County Water Agency Las Virgenes Municipal Water District Latino Water Coalition Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Mojave Water Agency Municipal Water District of Orange County Northern California Water Association Orange County Water District San Diego County Water Authority San Francisco Public Utilities Commission San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority Santa Clara Valley Water District Sonoma County Water Agency CONTINUED AB 1422 Page 5 The Nature Conservancy Three Valleys Municipal Water District United Water Conservation District Upper San Gabriel Valley WateReuse California Western Growers Association Western Municipal Water District Westlands Water District ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to a coalition of water and business interests, "Although voters do agree that investments in water infrastructure and environmental restoration enhancements are needed, 2012 is not the year to pass a water bond. This is in part because of the current state of the economy. The key is to pass a simple bill to delay the bond to 2014. CTW:m 7/3/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED