SB 772 Senate Bill - INTRODUCED

BILL NUMBER: SB 772	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Emmerson

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to amend Section 56430 of the Government Code, to add
Section 116453 to the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section
2709 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to drinking water.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 772, as introduced, Emmerson. Drinking water.
   (1) Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires
the State Department of Public Health to administer provisions
relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public
health, including, but not limited to, conducting research, studies,
and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a dependable,
safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe Drinking
Water Act, adoption of enforcement regulations, and conducting
studies and investigations to assess the quality of water in domestic
water supplies.
   This bill would require the department or the local health agency,
where applicable, annually to provide the address and telephone
number for each public water system and state small water system to
the Public Utilities Commission and, as prescribed, to a local agency
formation commission.
   (2) Under the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government
Reorganization Act of 2000, each local agency formation commission is
required to develop and determine the sphere of influence of each
local governmental agency within the county and enact policies
designed to promote the logical and orderly development of areas
within the sphere of influence, and requires the commission, in
preparing and updating spheres of influence, to conduct a service
review of the municipal services provided in the county or other area
designated by the commission. Existing law authorizes the
commission, in conducting the service review, to request information
from identified public or private entities that provide wholesale or
retail supply of drinking water, and authorizes the commission to
include a review of whether the agencies under review are in
compliance with the California Safe Drinking Water Act, as specified.

   This bill would require the commission to request information, as
part of a service review, from identified public or private entities
that provide wholesale or retail supply of drinking water, and would
require the information submitted to include the identification of
any retail water suppliers within or contiguous to the responding
entity for the purpose of aiding the commission in creating a
comprehensive review of retail water suppliers in the county. This
bill would also require the commission to provide a copy of its
sphere of influence review for retail private and public water
suppliers to the Public Utilities Commission and the department.
   (3) Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission has
regulatory authority over public utilities, including water
corporations. Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission
to require any water corporation to file with the Public Utilities
Commission a statement in writing defining and describing the lands
and territory to be supplied by the corporation with water.
   This bill would require the commission to require the
above-described statement, and would require the statement also to be
filed with the local agency formation committee for the county in
which the water corporation is located.
   (4) By imposing additional duties on local officials this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Californians are dependent on public and private entities to
deliver clean and safe drinking water. Public and private water
companies provide an essential public service.
   (b) While the state's goal is to ensure clean and safe drinking
water, some public water systems suffer poor water quality that fails
to meet safe drinking water standards.
   (c) Private corporations and persons that, own, operate, control,
or manage a system for production, generation, transmission, or
furnishing of water, other than mutual water companies, are public
utilities subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities
Commission. These regulated utilities are required to provide the
Public Utilities Commission with a statement describing the territory
served by the utility.
   (d) Mutual water companies are required to submit to the local
agency formation commission for its county a map depicting the
approximate boundaries of the territory served by the mutual water
company.
   (e) Public agency water suppliers are required to submit to the
local agency formation commission a description of their boundaries
and service areas.
   (f) The State Department of Public Health, as part of its
regulatory oversight of public water systems and state small water
systems, collects information from each system, including its address
and telephone number.
   (g) The Legislature has identified a need to have greater
coordination between the local agency formation commissions, the
Public Utilities Commission, and the State Department of Public
Health in identifying public water systems and state small water
systems for purposes of planning, assuring regulatory oversight by
the appropriate entity, and compliance with regulatory requirements.
Accordingly, this legislation is designed to require that a local
agency formation commission, the State Department of Public Health,
and the Public Utilities Commission share with each other the
identity and other appropriate information of public water systems
and state small water systems within their jurisdiction.
  SEC. 2.  Section 56430 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   56430.  (a) In order to prepare and to update spheres of influence
in accordance with Section 56425, the commission shall conduct a
service review of the municipal services provided in the county or
other appropriate area designated by the commission. The commission
shall include in the area designated for service review the county,
the region, the subregion, or any other geographic area as is
appropriate for an analysis of the service or services to be
reviewed, and shall prepare a written statement of its determinations
with respect to each of the following:
   (1) Growth and population projections for the affected area.
   (2) The location and characteristics of any disadvantaged
unincorporated communities within or contiguous to the sphere of
influence.
   (3) Present and planned capacity of public facilities, adequacy of
public services, and infrastructure needs or deficiencies including
needs or deficiencies related to sewers, municipal and industrial
water, and structural fire protection in any disadvantaged,
unincorporated communities within or contiguous to the sphere of
influence.
   (4) Financial ability of agencies to provide services.
   (5) Status of, and opportunities for, shared facilities.
   (6) Accountability for community service needs, including
governmental structure and operational efficiencies.
   (7) Any other matter related to effective or efficient service
delivery, as required by commission policy.
   (b) In conducting a service review, the commission shall
comprehensively review all of the agencies that provide the
identified service or services within the designated geographic area.
The commission may assess various alternatives for improving
efficiency and affordability of infrastructure and service delivery
within and contiguous to the sphere of influence, including, but not
limited to, the consolidation of governmental agencies.
   (c) In conducting a service review, the commission may include a
review of whether the agencies under review, including any public
water system as defined in Section 116275, are in compliance with the
California Safe Drinking Water Act (Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 116270) of Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety
Code). A public water system may satisfy any request for information
as to compliance with that act by submission of the consumer
confidence or water quality report prepared by the public water
system as provided by Section 116470 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (d) The commission  may   shall  request
information, as part of a service review under this section, from
identified public or private entities that provide wholesale or
retail supply of drinking water, including mutual water companies
formed pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 14300) of Division
3 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code, and private utilities, as
defined in Section 1502 of the Public Utilities Code.  The
information submitted shall include the identification of any retail
water supplier within or contiguous to the responding entity for the
purpose of aiding the commission in creating a comprehensive review
of retail water suppliers in the county. 
   (e) The commission shall conduct a service review before, or in
conjunction with, but no later than the time it is considering an
action to establish a sphere of influence in accordance with Section
56425 or 56426.5 or to update a sphere of influence pursuant to
Section 56425. 
   (f) The commission shall provide a copy of its sphere of influence
review for retail private and public water suppliers to the Public
Utilities Commission and the State Department of Public Health. 

  SEC. 3.  Section 116453 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   116453.  The department or the local health agency, where
applicable, annually shall provide the following:
   (a) The address and telephone number for each public water system
and state small water system to the Public Utilities Commission.
   (b) The address and telephone number for each public water system
and state small water system in a county to the local agency
formation commission for that county.
  SEC. 4.  Section 2709 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
   2709.   (a)    The commission  may
  shall  require any water corporation to file with
the commission a statement in writing defining and describing the
lands and territory to be supplied by the corporation with water.

   (b) A water corporation shall also file the statement described in
subdivision (a) with a local agency formation commission formed
pursuant to Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000) of Title 5 for
the county in which the water corporation is located. 
  SEC. 5.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.