BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 30
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 10, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    AB 30 (Perea) - As Amended:  January 24, 2013

          Policy Committee:                              Environmental  
          Safety and Toxic Materials                    Vote: 5-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill revises the Small Community Grant (SCG) program  
          administered by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).  
           Specifically, this bill eliminates the December 31, 2013 sunset  
          of provisions that allow SWRCB to collect an annual charge  
          in-lieu of interest on loans from the Clean Water State  
          Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and deposit the revenue in the SCG Fund  
          for waste water grants in small or disadvantaged communities.   

          This bill also removes the current $50 million limitation on the  
          total revenue collected from the in-lieu charge and allocated to  
          the SCG Fund. The SWRCB may stop collecting the in-lieu charge  
          if the board determines the charge is inconsistent with federal  
          law.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Potentially millions of dollars could shift from the CWSRF to  
            the SCG fund. 
            On-going, absorbable costs for the SWRCB to continue  
            administering the SCG program that would otherwise be spent  
            administering the CWSRF.

            According to the SWRCB, as of 12/31/12, there was $16,413,960  
            in the SCG Fund.  Of that amount, $4 million was loaned to the  
            GF and $7,308,401 is committed to wastewater projects.

          2)The SWRCB collected approximately $5 million in FY 2010/11 and  
            $7 million in FY 2011/12 from in-lieu charges.  It is  
            estimated that the SWRCB will collect a total of $30 million  
            for the SCG fund by 2014.  With the elimination of the sunset  








                                                                  AB 30
                                                                  Page  2

            date, it is estimated the SCG fund will reach $50 million by  
            the end of 2018.   

            Annual interest from CWSRF loans is deposited back into the  
            fund to be available for future loans.  Removing the $50  
            million cap may at some point result in insufficient funds in  
            the CWSRF.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose.   This bill provides grants for disadvantaged and  
            small communities in need of wasterwater collection, treatment  
            or disposal projects necessary to protect drinking water and  
            upgrade aging systems.  

          2)Background.  The CWSRF has historically been a loan-only  
            program inaccessible to low-income communities that require  
            grants to finance critical wasterwater projects.   
            AB 2356 (Arambula) Chapter 609, Statutes of 2008, created the  
            Clean Water State Revolving Fund  (CWSRF) Small Community  
            Grant (SCG) Fund, which authorized the SWRCB to assess an  
            annual charge on existing CWSRF financing agreements for  
            deposit into the SCG Fund.  The annual charge is in lieu of  
            interest that would otherwise be charged in association with a  
            CWSRF financing agreement.    

                  






           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081