BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2738 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 2738 (Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee) As Amended May 23, 2014 Majority vote ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 6-1 APPROPRIATIONS 13-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Alejo, Dahle, Bloom, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, | | |Gomez, Lowenthal, Ting | |Bradford, | | | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, | | | | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, | | | | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, | | | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| |Nays:|Donnelly | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Contains technical and non-controversial revisions to hazardous materials and safe drinking water provisions 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 applications, and the loan disbursement fee to reimburse the DPH for all other costs. AB 2738 Page 2 b) Authorizes the DPH to annually adjust the fee schedule. 3)Removes duplicate references to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for the DPH Point-of-Use Water Treatment Device Certification. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill would result in an increased annual cost to DPH in the $200,000 range (SDWSRF) to calculate, review, and track application and loan disbursement fees. COMMENTS : Need for the bill: This bill provides for a series of technical, corrective, and non-substantive modifications to the hazardous materials and drinking water laws. The issues addressed in this bill were the result of legislation passed in 2013 that include AB 227 (Gatto), Chapter 581, related to Proposition 65, AB 21 (Alejo), Chapter 628, related to emergency drinking water grants, and AB 119 (Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee), Chapter 403, related to point-of-use water treatment devices. Proposition 65, AB 227. 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. The technical amendments in this bill were suggested based on an initial implementation of AB 227 by the California Department of Justice. The technical amendment 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. The second technical amendment to Proposition 65 makes it clear that the noticing party must send the notice of special compliance informing an alleged violator of the right to cure if any of the alleged violations in the 60-day notice are the specific types of exposures subject to AB 227. Leaving the current statutory language in place creates a potential unintended loophole by AB 2738 Page 3 letting the noticing party allege at least one violation that is not subject to AB 227 to avoid the entire process. Safe Drinking Water Small Community Emergency Grant Fund, AB 21. 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 provides that fees collected may be used for prescribed administrative costs of providing assistance under these provisions, to the extent consistent with federal law. Certification of water treatment devices, AB 119. AB 119 provided that a device may be sold, provided it meets the ANSI standard or it had previously been approved by the DPH. The requirements of Health and Safety Code Section 116845, includes the ANSI standards as well as alternative requirements for previously approved devices. The current inclusion of the ANSI requirement in addition to the posting on the DPH Web page duplicates the requirements that must be met in order to be placed on the DPH Web site. The provisions of this bill make it clear that previously approved devices would be allowed to remain on the DPH Web site and therefore, be authorized for sale in California. Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965 FN: 0003641