BILL NUMBER: AB 467 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 12, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Stone
FEBRUARY 19, 2013
An act to add Division 30.5 (commencing with Section
81100) to the Water Code, relating to water quality.
An act to amend Section 14581 of the Food and Agricultural Code,
relating to the Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 467, as amended, Stone. Freshwater Protection Act.
Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board.
Existing law governs the manufacture and distribution of
fertilizing materials, as defined, including licensing, labeling, and
inspection, and requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to
enforce these provisions. Existing law establishes, within the
Department of Food and Agriculture, the Fertilizer Inspection
Advisory Board to advise the secretary and make recommendations on
all matters pertaining to these provisions, as specified. The board
consists of 9 persons appointed by the secretary, 8 of whom are
required to be licensed pursuant to these provisions and subject to
the payment of a specified inspection fee, and one of whom is
required to be a public member.
This bill would revise the composition of the board to require
only 3 members of the board to be licensed pursuant to these
provisions and subject to the payment of the inspection fee. The bill
would require the board to be composed of 3 farmers or farmer
representatives, at least one of whom is an organic farmer or the
representative of an organic farming program, one member who
represents the academic community, one member who is an environmental
expert with knowledge relevant to the board's function, and one
public member who represents a community whose primary source of
drinking water exceeds the maximum contaminant level for nitrate.
Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State
Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water
quality control boards are the principal state agencies with
authority over matters relating to water quality. The state board and
the regional boards prescribe waste discharge requirements for the
discharge of waste that could affect the quality of the waters of the
state. Existing law authorizes local agencies to adopt groundwater
management laws that include contamination cleanup provisions.
This bill would establish the Freshwater Protection Fund in the
State Treasury, under the administration of the state board, and
would provide that money in the fund at the close of the fiscal year
shall remain in the fund and shall not revert to the general fund.
This bill would require the state board, upon appropriation, to
expend moneys from the fund for various purposes generally relating
to groundwater and water quality. This bill would require the state
board, in expending moneys from the fund, to prioritize programs that
provide drinking water solutions for disadvantaged and severely
disadvantaged communities.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 14581 of the Food
and Agricultural Code is amended to read:
14581. (a) There is, in the department, a
Fertilizer Inspection Advisory Board consisting of nine persons
appointed by the secretary, eight of whom shall be licensed
under this chapter and subject to the payment of the inspection fee
in accordance with this chapter, and one of whom shall be a public
member. The which shall be composed of the following
individuals:
(1) Three members who are licensed under this chapter and subject
to payment of the inspection fee.
(2) Three members who are farmers or farmer representatives, at
least one of whom is an organic farmer or a representative of an
organic farming program.
(3) One member who represents the academic community.
(4) One member who is an environmental expert with knowledge
relevant to the board's function.
(5) One member of the public who represents a community whose
primary source of drinking water exceeds the maximum contaminant
level for nitrate.
(b) The members of the board
shall receive no compensation, but are entitled to payment of
necessary traveling expenses in accordance with the rules of the
Department of Human Resources. These expenses shall be paid out of
appropriations made to the department pursuant to this chapter.
SECTION 1. Division 30.5 (commencing with
Section 81100) is added to the Water Code, to read:
DIVISION 30.5. Freshwater Protection Act
81100. (a) There is in the State Treasury a Freshwater Protection
Fund.
(b) The Treasurer may receive money or other assets from any
source for deposit into the fund, including gifts, grants, and
bequests.
(c) Moneys in the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall
remain in the fund and shall not revert to the General Fund.
(d) The board shall be the administrator of the fund for auditing
purposes.
(e) The board shall expend moneys from the fund, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, only for one or more of the
following purposes:
(1) Direct assistance.
(2) Indirect assistance.
(3) Emergency response and removal of potential sources of
contamination.
(4) Natural resource protection.
(5) Administrative costs. Expenditures pursuant to this paragraph
shall not exceed 20 percent of the annual appropriation from the
fund.
(f) The board shall, in expending moneys from the fund, prioritize
programs that provide drinking water solutions for disadvantaged and
severely disadvantaged communities.
81101. (a) "Administrative costs" includes, but is not limited
to, costs incurred during any of the following:
(1) Groundwater monitoring for fertilizers.
(2) Development and enforcement of natural resource protection
rules.
(3) Coordination of programs under this division with the United
States Environmental Protection Agency and state programs to protect
human and environmental health.
(4) Management of fertilizer sales information.
(b) "Direct assistance" includes, but is not limited to, any of
the following:
(1) Programs that provide sustainable, affordable, accessible
drinking water solutions for disadvantaged and severely disadvantaged
communities, including those communities served by drinking water
systems between 2 and 14 connections and by private wells.
(2) Programs that provide for alternate drinking water supplies or
treatment, including consolidation with an existing noncontaminated
water system.
(3) Programs that provide for closure of wells that may impact
groundwater, such as abandoned, improperly constructed, or drainage
wells.
(4) Programs devoted to integrated natural resources conservation
that encourage the judicious use of fertilizers and other
agricultural inputs and practices that are protective of water
quality.
(5) Programs that provide monitoring of private wells to detect
fertilizers or fertilizers with other contaminants.
(6) Programs that enhance investment of private and federal funds
in fertilizer management and remediation for freshwater protection.
(7) Programs that provide verification of actions taken pursuant
to this section.
(8) Other programs established pursuant to this division.
(c) "Indirect assistance" includes, but is not limited to, any of
the following:
(1) Programs that provide education about fertilizers and
fertilizer management.
(2) Programs that provide technical assistance on fertilizers and
fertilizer management.
(3) Programs that provide for the promotion and implementation of
onsite evaluation systems and freshwater protection practices.
(4) Research programs for the determination of the impacts of
alternate management practices.
(5) Research programs for the determination of natural resources
sensitivity and vulnerability to contamination.