BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 119
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 119 (Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee)
As Amended April 16, 2013
Majority vote
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 7-0 HEALTH
19-0
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|Ayes:|Alejo, Dahle, Bloom, |Ayes:|Pan, Logue, Ammiano, |
| |Donnelly, Perea, Stone, | |Atkins, Bonilla, Bonta, |
| |Ting | |Chesbro, Gomez, Roger |
| | | |Hernández, Rendon, |
| | | |Maienschein, Mansoor, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nazarian, |
| | | |Nestande, V. Manuel |
| | | |Pérez, Wagner, |
| | | |Wieckowski, Wilk |
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APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Hall, Holden, Linder, |
| |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
| | |
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SUMMARY : Modifies the current approval process by the
Department of Public Health (DPH) for in-home water treatment
devices. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires DPH to approve for sale water treatment devices that
make health claims, provided that the manufacturer of the
device submits specified information to the department.
2)Requires submittal of the manufactures and water treatment
device certification information to DPH along with an annual
fee.
3)Allows DPH to charge an annual fee up to $4,000 per water
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treatment device manufacture.
4)Authorizes DPH to set and adjust the fee on the treatment
device manufacturer by publishing the fee announcement on its
Internet Web site. The fee modification would not be subject
to the rulemaking procedure of the Administrative Procedures
Act.
5)Provides that the fees collected by DPH may be used to
maintain a Web site of water treatment devices and for the
enforcement of the approval requirements by State or local
health officials.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires a water treatment device manufacturer who claims that
a drinking water treatment device will reduce contaminants or
makes other health related performance claims, to be certified
by the DPH as to the efficacy of the device (Health and Safety
(H & S) Code Section 116830).
2)Requires water treatment device manufacturers to pay a fee to
the DPH for each treatment device application for
certification (H & S Code Section 116850).
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, the proposed $4,000 fee on manufacturers is
sufficient to fund the administrative costs to DPH. An
estimated 35 manufacturers will pay the $4,000 fee annually
resulting in $140,000 revenue collected by DPH. The current fee
is $1,200 for the initial approval, with a $400 renewal each
year for up to four years per device (rather than manufacturer).
The new fee will result in reduced revenues offset by a
corresponding decrease in workload.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill . According to the author, "This bill is
intended to streamline DPH's existing water treatment device
certification program, as the current certification program
provides no additional value to California consumers and has
prevented many residents, particularly those living in areas
where centralized water treatment plants are cost-prohibitive,
from being able to purchase state-of-the-art at-home water
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treatment devices."
California household water treatment devices . According to the
DPH, there are currently hundreds of California-certified
drinking water treatment devices. Certified devices include
"point of use" and "point of entry" systems, which range from
pour-through pitchers and faucet-mount, carbon-filter systems to
reverse osmosis, ultraviolet disinfection and household water
softeners.
Contaminants removed by certified devices include organic
chemicals such as methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE),
pesticides, herbicides and solvents; inorganics such as lead,
mercury, and perchlorate; and waterborne pathogens, such as
bacteria, virus and protozoan cysts, such as Giardia and
Cryptosporidium.
According to Clean Water Action, a proponent of the bill, "The
current program requires CDPH to independently certify each
point-of-use water treatment device before it can be sold in
retail outlets in the state. While the purpose of this program
was laudable, in fact the certification program provides no
added value, as it simply duplicates testing already performed
by third party accrediting entities and serves to delay the
availability of new devices in the state. The list of certified
devices maintained by CDPH on its website is of value, but is
out of date almost as soon as it is posted."
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0000475