BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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                                   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  








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            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. 







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          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







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          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  ****









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