BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó





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          |                                                                 |
          |         SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER         |
          |                   Senator Fran Pavley, Chair                    |
          |                    2013-2014 Regular Session                    |
          |                                                                 |
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          BILL NO: AB 2446                   HEARING DATE: June 24, 2014
          AUTHOR: Waldron                    URGENCY: No
          VERSION: May 28, 2014              CONSULTANT: Dennis O'Connor
          DUAL REFERRAL: No                  FISCAL: No
          SUBJECT: Standby charges: San Luis Rey Municipal Water District.
          
          BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW

          The Municipal Water District Act authorizes a municipal water  
          district, by ordinance, to establish a water standby assessment  
          or availability charge in the District or in any improvement  
          district each fiscal year, to which water is made available by  
          the District, whether the water is actually used or not.  The  
          standby assessment or availability charge is limited to ten  
          dollars ($10) per acre per year for each acre of land on which  
          the charge is levied or ten dollars ($10) per year for a parcel  
          less than one acre.

          The Municipal Water District Act also authorizes the specific  
          agencies to impose, in any improvement district situated within  
          the district, a standby fee of up to ($30) per acre per year for  
          land on which the charge is levied or thirty dollars ($30) per  
          year for a parcel less than one acre. The proceeds from any  
          standby assessment or availability charge in excess of ten  
          dollars ($10) per acre per year or ten dollars ($10) per year  
          for a parcel less than one acre shall only be used for the  
          purposes of the improvement district.  Those specific agencies  
          are:  Eastern MWD, Western MWD of Riverside County,  
          ElsinoreValley MWD, Rincon Del Diablo MWD, Ramona MWD, Rainbow  
          MWD, Lake Hemet MWD, and the Otay MWD.

          There is no sunset on those provisions

          In 1989, the legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 1157  
          (Bergeson).  That bill authorized the San Luis Rey Municipal  
          Water District to levy an annual standby assessment or  
          availability charge within any improvement district thereof not  
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          to exceed $30 per acre or parcel less than an acre, but the  
          proceeds from any such charge in excess of $10 is required to be  
          used only for the purposes of the improvement district.  That  
          provision would sunset January 1, 2000.

          The sunset has been extended twice:  Once, in 1999 by SB 807  
          (Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources), which extended  
          the sunset to January 1, 2005; and again in 2004 by AB 2733  
          (Strickland), which extended the sunset to January 1, 2015.

          PROPOSED LAW
          
          This bill would remove the sunset clause on San Luis Rey's  
          ability to impose a standby fee of up to $30 per acre, thereby  
          making that provision permanent.
































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          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT

          According to the San Luis Rey Municipal Water District, "we are  
          sponsoring this special legislation that seeks to continue what  
          Water Code sec. 71631.7 currently provides and has provided to  
          us for many years.  The amendment of removing a sunset provision  
          was done at the suggestion of folks on the Assembly side, and  
          makes sense because we have had this statute for so long and, as  
          pointed out by a consultant on the Assembly side, the other  
          water entities in this series of statutes (Water Code sec.  
          71631) do not have sunset provisions in their special statutes."

          "This legislation is critical to our fiscal stability, and it  
          has the wide support of our landowners, including the Pala Band  
          of Mission Indians, as well as other groups such as the Farm  
          Bureau and California Special Districts Association."

          ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: None
          
          COMMENTS: None 

          SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: None 

          SUPPORT
          San Luis Rey Municipal Water District (Sponsor)
          California Special Districts Association
          Farm Bureau San Diego
          Pala Band of Mission Indians
          Individuals (8)

          OPPOSITION: None Received
















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