BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 200
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 12, 2012

                   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
                                Jared Huffman, Chair
                      SB 200 (Wolk) - As Amended:  June 4, 2012

           SENATE VOTE  :   38-0
           
          SUBJECT  :   Delta levee maintenance: cost reimbursement

           SUMMARY  :   Extends, until July 1, 2018, the authority of the 
          California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to reimburse up 
          to 75% of the costs in excess of $1,000 per mile that are 
          incurred in any year for Delta levee maintenance.  Requires that 
          reimbursements be consistent with the long-term management plan 
          for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta Plan) adopted and 
          implemented by the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC).

           EXISTING LAW  authorizes DWR, until July 1, 2013, to reimburse up 
          to 75% of the annual Delta levee maintenance costs over $1,000 
          per mile.  After July 1, 2013, the rate reverts to a 50% maximum 
          reimbursement percentage and the maximum total reimbursement 
          from the General Fund is capped at $2 million annually.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  The Senate Appropriations Committee staff 
          analysis states that an increase in the maximum state cost share 
          for maintenance projects will put pressure on existing bond 
          funds, which can be used for a variety of flood control 
          projects, including Delta subventions. The total cost pressures 
          are unknown, because the number and size of future funding 
          requests from local districts are unknown.

           COMMENTS  :   

          In 2005, the Legislature required DWR to conduct a study of the 
          potential impacts of subsidence, earthquakes, floods, and 
          climate change on the Delta and evaluate options for addressing 
          those impacts.  That study, known as the Delta Risk Management 
          Study (DRMS), was to be completed by January 1, 2008.  In 2006, 
          the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 798 (Wolk).  
          That bill included a provision extending the 75 % Delta 
          subvention reimbursement rate to July 2010.  Part of the 
          justification was that changing the rate was premature, given 
          that DWR had not completed the DRMS.









                                                                  SB 200
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          In 2009, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed Senate 
          Bill 1 (Simitian) Chapter 5, Statutes of the 2009-10 Seventh 
          Extraordinary Session.  SB 1 X7 codified the coequal goals for 
          the Delta of providing a more reliable water supply for 
          California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta 
          ecosystem.  It also required the coequal goals be achieved in a 
          way that protects and enhances the cultural, recreational, 
          natural resource and agricultural values of the Delta as a 
          place.  In addition, SB 1 X7 created the DSC and mandated it 
          adopt and implement by January 1, 2012, a Delta Plan that meets 
          the coequal goals.  Among its many requirements for inclusion in 
          the Delta Plan, SB 1 X7 set stated that the DSC, in consultation 
          with the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB), 
          recommend "priorities for state investments in levee operation, 
          maintenance, and improvements in the Delta, including both 
          levees that are a part of the State Plan of Flood Control and 
          nonproject levees."

          In 2010, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 808 
          (Wolk), Chapter 23, which, among other provisions, extended the 
          75% Delta subvention rate to July 2013.  Part of the 
          justification was that changing the rate was premature, given 
          that the Council had not had sufficient time to complete the 
          Delta Plan.  

          On May 14, 2012, the DSC staff released the sixth and final 
          staff draft of the Delta Plan (Final Draft).  The Final Draft 
          contains both enforceable "policies" and unenforceable 
          "recommendations."  Chapter 7 of the Final Draft, entitled 
          Reduce Risk to People, Property, and State Interest in the 
          Delta, includes an enforceable policy that the DSC, in 
          consultation with DWR, the CVFPB, and the California Water 
          Commission, "shall develop priorities for State investments in 
          Delta levees by January 1, 2015" and that upon "completion these 
          priorities shall be considered for incorporation in the Delta 
          Plan."  This bill requires that future reimbursements will be 
          made consistent with the Delta Plan, once it is adopted.

           Supporting arguments  :  The author points out that the statutory 
          provision increasing the maximum cost share from 50% to 75% is 
          due to expire on July 1, 2013 and that "because of the dire 
          financial conditions of most local Delta levee agencies, and the 
          important tie to California's drinking water supply and other 
          infrastructure, the 75% State cost-share is necessary to 
          continue protecting Delta levees."  Supporters also state that 








                                                                  SB 200
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          this bill "will help ensure that local reclamation districts, 
          particularly the smaller ones, can continue to maintain their 
          levees within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region - an area 
          of statewide significance not only for water but agriculture, 
          energy, transportation and economic interests.  Providing the 
          necessary flood protection will help ensure the sustainability 
          of this critical region to the state."

          There is no opposition to this bill.
           
          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          Association of California Water Agencies
          California Chamber of Commerce
          California Special Districts Association
          California State Association of Counties
          Central Valley Flood Control Association
          Delta Counties Coalition
          East Bay Municipal Utility District
          Planning and Conservation League
          Regional Council of Rural Counties
          Solano County Water Agency

           Opposition 
           
          None on file 

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