BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1278| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 1278 Author: Wolk (D) Amended: 8/20/12 Vote: 21 SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMM. : 8-0, 4/10/12 AYES: Pavley, La Malfa, Cannella, Fuller, Kehoe, Padilla, Simitian, Wolk NO VOTE RECORDED: Evans SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/25/12 AYES: Wolk, Dutton, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, La Malfa NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuller, Liu SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/24/12 AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price, Steinberg SENATE FLOOR : 38-0, 5/30/12 AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman, Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Strickland ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 8/22/12 - See last page for vote CONTINUED SB 1278 Page 2 SUBJECT : Planning and zoning: flood protection: Sacramento- San Joaquin Valley SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill revises flood hazard planning and development requirements for those cities and counties located in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley. Assembly Amendments require, on or before July 2, 2013, and for the purpose of providing information to cities and counties necessary for their determinations relating to level of flood protection, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to release floodplain maps that identify at a minimum the facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control and the available data as to the water surface elevation of flooding in urban areas in the event of the failure of the facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control during flooding that has a 1-in-200 chance of occurring in any given year. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Requires each city and county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley to amend its general plan, as specified, within 24 months of the adoption of the Flood Plan by the Central Valley Flood Protection Board. Existing law requires the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, the DWR, and local flood agencies to collaborate with cities or counties by providing the cities and counties with information and other technical assistance to assist with complying with these requirements. 2. Prohibits a city or county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley from entering into a development agreement for property that is located in a flood hazard zone unless the city or county makes specified findings, including, among others, that certain conditions have been imposed by the city or county. CONTINUED SB 1278 Page 3 3. Requires the DWR to develop preliminary maps for the 100- and 200-year flood plains protected by project levees, as specified, and to provide the preliminary maps to cities and counties within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley. 4. Specifies that DWR shall provide financial assistance for the purpose of mapping flood protection of nonproject levees, not all flood-related general plan update costs. This bill: 1. Defines "undetermined risk area" to mean "an urban or urbanizing area within a moderate flood hazard zone, as delineated on an official flood insurance rate map issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has not been determined to have an urban level of protection." 2. Includes within the definition of "urban level of flood protection" the "level of protection that is necessary to withstand flooding from a leveed riverine system," as specified, and states that "urban level of flood protection" shall not mean "shallow flooding of flooding from local drainage that meets the criteria of the national Federal Emergency Management Agency standard of flood protection." 3. Defines "National Federal Emergency Management Agency standard of flood protection" to mean "the level of flood protection that is necessary to withstand flooding that has a 1-in-100 chance of occurring in any given year using criteria development by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for application in the National Flood Insurance Program." 4. Revises the existing requirement for each city and county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley to amend its general plan by requiring each city and county within the Sacramento- San Joaquin Valley, within 24 months of July 2, 2013, to amend its general plan to additionally contain both of the following: CONTINUED SB 1278 Page 4 A. Revises the requirement to include the data and analysis contained in the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan, including, but not limited to, the locations of the facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control and the locations of the real property protected by those facilities, pursuant to existing law; and B. Adds in a new requirement to include the locations of flood hazard zones, including, but not limited to, locations mapped by the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map or the Flood Hazard Boundary Map, locations that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, locations of undetermined risk areas, and locations mapped by a local flood agency or flood district. 5. States that an undetermined risk area shall be presumed to be at risk during flooding that has a 1-in-200 chance of occurring in any given year unless deemed otherwise by the State Plan of Flood Control, an official National Flood Insurance Program rate map issued by FEMA, or a finding made by a city or county based on a determination of substantial evidence by a local flood agency. 6. Clarifies that the bill's provisions shall not be construed to limit or remove any liability of a city or county prior to the amendment of the general plan or the zoning ordinance, except as provided. 7. Revises the due date for each city and county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley to amend its zoning ordinance so that it is consistent with the amended general plan, to occur not more than 12 months after the amendment of its general plan. 8. Adds a new exception to the existing prohibition that a legislative body of a city or county within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley cannot enter into a development agreement for property that is located within a flood hazard zone, unless the city or county finds, based on substantial evidence in the record, that the property in an undetermined risk area has met the urban level of flood protection based on substantial CONTINUED SB 1278 Page 5 evidence in the record. 9. Requires, on or before July 2, 2013, and for the purpose of providing information to cities and counties necessary for their determinations relating to level of flood protection, DWR to release floodplain maps that identify at a minimum the facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control and the available data as to the water surface elevation of flooding in urban areas in the event of the failure of the facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control during flooding that has a 1-in-200 chance of occurring in any given year. 10.Requires, concurrent with the release of these maps and for the purposes of assisting local agencies in determining their level of flood protection, DWR to make available levee reliability data for the facilities of the State Plan of Flood Control identified in the maps. 11.States that DWR's issuance of floodplain maps shall not be subject to any of the following, including the review and approval of the Office of Administrative Law, the California Environmental Quality Act, or the California Endangered Species Act, as specified. 12.States that the state, or any state agency, shall not be liable for any claim based upon the exercise or performance of a discretionary or ministerial function or duty on the part of a state agency or a state employee or officer in carrying out the provisions of the bill. 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, Statutes of 2007 that requires the Central Valley Flood Protection Board to adopt the 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 CONTINUED SB 1278 Page 6 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 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. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill contains the following costs: 1. Minor and absorbable costs to DWR to develop the detailed maps required in this bill (General Fund (GF), special fund, bond funds). 2. Unknown cost pressures, likely in the millions of dollars, beginning in 2013-14 through 2015-16, for financial assistance to cities and counties to update their General Plans pursuant to the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan. SUPPORT : (Verified 8/22/12) American Planning Association Association of California water Agencies California Building Industry Association California State Association of Counties Central Valley Flood Control Association City of Sacramento City of Stockton Counties of Contra Costa, Sacramento, and San Joaquin League of California Cities CONTINUED SB 1278 Page 7 Regional Council of Rural Counties ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "Cities and counties within the Central Valley currently do not have access to reliable information on flood risks to their communities. SB 1278 helps ensure that these communities are able to work with the state to develop the flood risk information necessary to make informed and responsible land use decisions." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 8/22/12 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Roger Hernández CTW:dm 8/22/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED