BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair


          SB 1278 (Wolk) - Planning and zoning: flood protection: 
          Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley.
          
          Amended: May 1, 2012            Policy Vote: NR&W 8-0, Gov&F 7-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: May 24, 2012      Consultant: Marie Liu
          
          SUSPENSE FILE.  AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.

          
          Bill Summary: SB 1278 would require the Department of Water 
          Resources (DWR) to release maps indicating areas protected by 
          the State Plan of Flood Control; offer financial assistance, to 
          the extent funds are available, to assist local governments in 
          updating their general plans to reflect the soon to be released 
          Central Valley Flood Protection Plan; and extends existing 
          deadlines for the general plan updates. 

          Fiscal Impact: 
               Minor and absorbable costs from Prop 84 or Prop 1E bonds 
              (General Fund) in 2012-13 for the development of maps 
              indicating areas protected by the State Plan of Flood 
              Control.
               Unknown cost pressures likely in the hundreds of 
              thousands, beginning in 2013-14 through 2015-16, for 
              financial assistance to cities and counties to map areas 
              protected by non-project levees.

          Background: In 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a six-bill 
          flood package with the general purposes of identifying the areas 
          of the state with the greatest flood risk and to reduce those 
          risks. Among the package was SB 5 (Machado) Chapter 364/2007 
          that required the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (board) 
          to adopt the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan (Flood Plan), 
          an integrated flood management plan for the Sacramento-San 
          Joaquin River Flood Management System, by July 1, 2012. Within 
          24 months of the adoption of the Flood Plan (i.e. no later than 
          July 1, 2014), cities and counties are required to amend their 
          general plans to incorporate data and analysis from the Flood 
          Plan. And within 12 months of amending its general plan (i.e. no 
          later than July 1, 2015), a city or county must also update 
          their zoning ordinances to be consistent with the revised 








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          general plan. Once the general plan and zoning ordinances have 
          been updated, the local government is prohibited from allowing 
          development on property within a flood hazard zone unless the 
          city or county makes certain determinations.

          The State Plan of Flood Control is a document of existing state 
          and federal flood control works, protection systems, lands, 
          programs, plans, conditions, modes of operations, and 
          maintenance of the Sacramento River Flood Control Project, 
          Sacramento River, and the San Joaquin River watersheds.










































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          Proposed Law: This bill would require:
               DWR to issue maps indicating the areas protected by the 
              State Plan of Flood Control by July 2, 2013. Within 24 
              months of this deadline (i.e. July 2, 2015), local 
              governments would need to update their general plans to 
              reflect the Flood Plan 
               DWR to provide financial assistance to cities and counties 
              for their general plan updates to the extent funding is 
              available for this purpose.
               A local government to determine that property in an 
              undetermined risk area has met the urban level of flood 
              protection before it may be developed.

          Staff Comments: This bill would require DWR to issue maps 
          indicating areas protected by the State Plan of Flood Control. 
          Existing statute already requires DWR to provide a description 
          of the population and property protected by facilities in the 
          State Plan of Flood Control. As this is the necessary 
          information to develop maps, this requirement has minor and 
          absorbable costs. This bill would set a deadline for this 
          requirement, which is consistent with DWR's current intentions. 
          DWR notes potential concerns that explicitly requiring DWR to 
          produce maps exposes DWR to liability if the maps prove to be 
          incorrect.

          This bill would also require DWR to provide financial assistance 
          to cities and counties for their general plan updates, to the 
          extent funds are available. At least 35 cities and counties in 
          the San Joaquin Valley will need to update their general plans 
          when the Flood Plan is released. Given that general plan updates 
          can easily cost local governments the hundreds of thousands to 
          over a million dollars, the cost pressure of this provision is 
          unknown, but likely to be in the millions of dollars.

          Recommended Amendments: Staff notes the need for technical 
          amendments: (1) GC Section 65302.9 requires DWR to issue maps 
          for areas protected by the State Plan of Flood Control by July 
          2, 1013. WC Section 9610 has this same requirement, but by July 
          1, 2013; and (2) Instead of saying within 24 months of July 2, 
          2013, it would be clearer to simply reference July 2, 2015.

          Proposed Author Amendments: Specify that DWR shall provide 
          financial assistance for the purpose of mapping flood protection 
          of nonproject levees, not all flood-related general plan update 








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          costs.