BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2738
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 14, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2738 (Committee on ESTM) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
Policy Committee: Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials Vote: 6-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This omnibus committee bill revises hazardous materials and safe
drinking water provisions of recently enacted statutes.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Modifies the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of
1986 (Proposition 65) as follows:
a) Clarifies the provisions of Proposition 65 that require
the noticing party to inform the alleged violator of his or
her right to cure the violation.
b) Specifies that the party alleging a Proposition 65
violation must send the notice of special compliance
informing an alleged violator of the right to correct the
violation, if any of the alleged violations in the 60-day
notice are subject to the right to cure.
2)Modifies the use of funds generated from the fees paid by
applications for loans from the Safe Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund (SDWSRF) as follows:
a) Authorizes the use of the administrative fee charged to
recipients of SDWSRF loans to reimburse the Department of
Public Health (DPH) for the costs of reviewing and
approving applications, and the loan disbursement fee to
reimburse the DPH for all other costs.
b) Authorizes the DPH to annually adjust the fee schedule.
3)Removes duplicate references to the American National
AB 2738
Page 2
Standards Institute (ANSI) for the DPH Point-of-Use Water
Treatment Device Certification.
FISCAL EFFECT
Increased annual costs to DPH in the $200,000 range (SDWSRF) to
calculate, review, and track application and loan disbursement
fees.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. This bill addresses issues resulting from
legislation enacted in 2013 including AB 2227 (Gatto) related
to Proposition 65, AB 21 (Alejo) related to emergency drinking
water grants, and AB 119 (ESTM Committee) related to
point-of-use water treatment devices.
2)Proposition 65, AB 227 (Gatto), Chapter 581, Statutes of 2013 .
AB 227 changed the enforcement provisions of Proposition 65
by limiting recovery by private citizen enforcement action for
specified types of exposure to chemicals causing cancer or
birth defects or other reproductive harm in those
circumstances when failure to provide clear and reasonable
warning has been remedied and a penalty has been paid.
This bill clarifies that the noticing party must immediately
inform the alleged violator of the right to cure the
violation, and not wait until after sending the 60-day notice.
3)Safe Drinking Water Small Community Emergency Grant Fund, AB
21 (Alejo), Chapter 628, Statues of 2013 . AB 21 established
the Safe Drinking Water Small Community Emergency Grant Fund
which is financed from a fee charged to loan recipients in
lieu of a similar amount of interest. The fees collected are
provided to disadvantaged communities in the form of grants to
improve drinking water safety.
This bill allows fees collected to be used for prescribed
administrative costs of providing assistance to the extent
consistent with federal law.
4)Certification of water treatment devices, AB 119 (ESTM),
Chapter 403, Statues of 2013 .
AB 119 allows a water treatment device to be sold, provided it
meets the ANSI standard or it had previously been approved by
AB 2738
Page 3
the DPH. The requirements of Health and Safety Code Section
116845 include the ANSI standards as well as alternative
requirements for previously approved devices.
AB 2738 clarifies previously approved devices may remain on
the DPH website and therefore be authorized for sale in
California.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081