BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1 Author: Brown (D), et al. Amended: 6/16/15 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/10/15 AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach, Pavley ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Drought: local governments: fines SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill prohibits a city or county from imposing a fine for a brown lawn or failure to water a lawn during a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor due to drought. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Grants the Governor, through the California Emergency Services Act, the power to declare a state of emergency in cases of extreme peril to life, property, or state resources. The Act grants the Governor broad powers to deal with emergencies, including suspending regulatory statutes, commandeering AB 1 Page 2 private property or personnel, and making expenditures from available funds. 2)Delegates the police power to cities and counties to "make and enforce within [their] limits all local, police, sanitary, and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict with general laws" (California Constitution, Article XI, Section 7). Courts have interpreted the police power as including the power to regulate the physical of appearance of the environment within a community, including ordinances that enforce aesthetic standards. This bill: 1)Prohibits a city or county, during a period for which the Governor has issued a proclamation of a state of emergency under state law based on drought conditions, from imposing a fine under any ordinance for a failure to water a lawn or for having a brown lawn. 2)Directs that a violation of its provisions is not subject to specified criminal penalties. 3)Contains legislative findings and declarations that the bill's provisions: a) Further the policy expressed in the California Constitution requiring the state's water resources to be put to beneficial use. b) Apply to charter cities because the prohibition of fines imposed for failing to water a lawn or having a brown lawn during a period for which the Governor has issued a proclamation of a state of emergency based on drought conditions is a matter of statewide concern and not a municipal affair, as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. AB 1 Page 3 Background On January 17, 2014, pursuant to his powers under state law, including the California Emergency Services Act, Governor Brown issued a proclamation of a state of emergency due to drought conditions. On April 1, 2015, Governor Brown issued an executive order in accordance with the authority granted to him by the Constitution and the Emergency Services Act. Among its many provisions intended to improve government response to the drought and promote water conservation, the Governor's executive order: 1)Directs the State Water Resources Control Board to impose restrictions to achieve a statewide 25% reduction in potable urban water usage through February 28, 2016, which will require water suppliers to California's cities and towns to reduce usage as compared to the amount used in 2013. 2)Directs the Department of Water Resources to lead a statewide initiative, in partnership with local agencies, to collectively replace 50 million square feet of lawns and ornamental turf with drought tolerant landscapes. Some California residents who have stopped watering their lawns or allowed their lawns to go brown reportedly are being subjected to fines imposed pursuant to local ordinances that specify certain aesthetic standards for front yards. In response, advocates for water conservation want the Legislature to prohibit local governments from imposing such fines during a period of drought emergency declared by the Governor. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:NoLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified6/16/15) Apartment Association, California Southern Cities Apartment Association of Orange County AB 1 Page 4 California Association of Realtors California Building Industry Association City of Encinitas Coachella Valley Water District Desert Water Agency East Bay Municipal Utility District East Bay Rental Housing Association El Dorado Irrigation District Municipal Water District of Orange County Nor Cal Rental Property Association North Valley Property Owners Association San Diego County Apartment Association Santa Clara County Water District Sierra Club California One individual OPPOSITION: (Verified6/16/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Salas Prepared by:Brian Weinberger / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119 6/17/15 13:55:23 **** END **** AB 1 Page 5