BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET AND FISCAL REVIEW
Senator Mark Leno, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 91 Hearing Date: March 25,
2015
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|Author: |Committee on Budget |
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|Version: |March 24, 2015 > |
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|Urgency: |Yes |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Catherine Freeman |
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Subject: Budget Act of 2015
Summary: Contains amendments to the 2014 Budget Act to include new
appropriations to address the state's urgent drought needs.
Provisions: This measure would:
1)Accelerate the appropriation of $131.7 million (Proposition 1)
for the State Water Resources Control Board's (SWRCB) building
for the existing water recycling grant program. Potential
projects include feasibility studies, demonstration projects,
and larger scale water recycling projects.
2)Accelerate the appropriation of $135.5 million (Proposition 1)
for the SWRCB to improve access to clean drinking water for
disadvantaged communities ($69 million) and help small
communities pay for wastewater treatment ($66 million).
3)Accelerate the appropriation of $14.6 million ($11.4 million
General Fund and $3.2 million Fish and Game Preservation Fund)
for the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to continue
critical state operations related to drought, such as fish
rescues, hatchery operations, fish and wildlife monitoring,
and responding to problems of human/wildlife conflict from
animals seeking food and water.
4)Accelerate the appropriation of $11.6 million (General Fund)
for the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to continue to
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assess current surface and groundwater conditions, expedite
water transfers, provide technical guidance to local water
agencies, and provide additional public outreach through the
Save Our Water campaign.
5)Accelerate the appropriation of $6.7 million (General Fund)
and $15.9 million (Cleanup and Abatement Account) for the
SWRCB to continue enforcement of drought-related water rights
and water curtailment actions and provide grants ($15 million)
for emergency drinking water projects, including hauled water,
bottled water, design and construction of connections to
adjacent public water systems, new wells and well
rehabilitation.
6)Appropriate $4 million (Cleanup and Abatement Account) for the
SWRCB to provide emergency safe drinking water to
disadvantaged communities affected by the drought.
7)Accelerate the appropriation of $4.4 million (General Fund) to
the Office of Emergency Services for the State Operations
Center to continue to provide local communities with technical
guidance and disaster recovery support related to the drought.
8)Accelerate the appropriation of $20 million (Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund) to the DWR for state and local water use
efficiency programs which reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions.
9)Accelerate the appropriation of $10 million (Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund) to the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) for agricultural water efficiency projects
that reduce GHG emissions.
10)Appropriate $17 million and reappropriate $7 million (General
Fund), to the Department of Social Services to expand food
assistance to persons affected by the drought to include
Imperial, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and
Coachella Valley in Riverside county.
11)Appropriate $3 million (General Fund) for the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to address critical
infrastructure deficiencies at remote fire stations that have
run out of water.
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12)Appropriate $2 million (General Fund) to the DFW for
maximizing water delivery and efficiency to key endangered
species habitat, endangered species, native fish and Delta
monitoring, and water delivery system projects.
13)Appropriate $7.4 million (General Fund) to the DWR for
additional public outreach through the Save Our Water
campaign, refining the modeling of turbidity flows in the
Delta, and Local Assistance ($5 million) to provide emergency
drinking water support for small communities, including
addressing private well shortages.
14)Authorize funds for the removal of emergency rock barriers
and actions to minimize impacts of the barriers on affected
aquatic species in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, if
necessary.
15)Accelerate the appropriation of $4 million (Harbors and
Watercraft Fund) to the Department of Parks and Recreation,
Division of Boating and Waterways for efforts to manage and
control invasive aquatic plants within the Sacramento-San
Joaquin River Delta, its tributaries and the Suisun Marsh
which threaten water supply intake structures.
16)Accelerate the appropriation of $200,000 (General Fund) to
the CDFA for economic analysis studies to determine the
ongoing impacts of California's drought on the state's
agriculture sector and identify potential solutions.
17)Appropriate $4 million (General Fund) for the SWRCB and the
DFW to enhance instream flows in at least five stream systems
that support critical habitat for anadromous fish.
18)Accelerate the appropriation of $660 million (Proposition 1E)
for the DWR to support flood protection activities.
Expenditures of these bond funds will be allocated to program
categories that are consistent with the resource allocation
recommendations of the Central Valley Flood Protection Plan
for prioritizing flood management projects. Specifies that
funds shall be available for encumbrance and expenditure until
June 30, 2020, and June 30, 2023, respectively.
19)Approve side agreement recently entered into by the
Administration and state Bargaining Unit 19, represented by
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the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees, Health and Social Services/Professional. The
addendum would compensate Senior Psychologists, Psychologists,
and Licensed Clinical Social Workers working at the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation institutions for
certain standby and call back duties. These agreements amend
existing Memoranda of Understandings (MOUs) but do not
constitute new MOUs. The department is absorbing costs in the
current year and no additional appropriation authority is
being requested at this time.
Fiscal Effect: This bill, along with the companion trailer
bill, AB 92, proposes expenditures of $1,059 million for
drought-related activities.
Support: None on file.
Opposed: None on file.
Comments: California is experiencing its fourth dry year in a
row -- the worst drought in modern U.S. history and driest
January since the state began keeping records in 1895. The
Sierra Nevada snowpack, which Californians rely on heavily
during the dry summer months for their water needs, is at a near
record low. Only in 1991 has the water content of the snow been
lower.
California's drought conditions have resulted in dangerously low
levels of water in our reservoirs and groundwater aquifers and
have impacted every aspect of our environment and economy. The
drought has imperiled drinking water supplies, our agricultural
sector, sensitive habitats and greatly increased our risk of
wildfire. Some have estimated the state has only about one year
of water left in its reservoirs.
Since last February, the state has pledged over $870 million to
support drought relief, including money for food to workers
directly impacted by the drought, funding to secure emergency
drinking water supplies for drought impacted communities and
bond funds for projects that will help local communities save
water and make their water systems more resilient to drought.
Last fall, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed
legislation requiring local, sustainable groundwater management
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as well as legislation to put a $7.5 billion water bond before
voters, which won bipartisan approval in the Legislature and was
approved overwhelmingly at the polls.
The purpose of this urgency drought relief package is to provide
immediate funding to help communities deal with the devastating
dry conditions affecting the state and to increase local water
supplies. This bill accelerates many drought-related proposals
in the Governor's Budget and other Water Action Plan proposals
aimed at improving the state's water supply and storage through
infrastructure investments, improving the management of
groundwater, and addressing water quality issues, particularly
in disadvantaged communities. This bill also includes
additional emergency funding for drinking water supplies for
disadvantaged communities, food assistance, conservation
education and outreach activities, and urgent fish and stream
needs related to the drought.
The legislation includes more than $1 billion for local drought
relief and infrastructure projects to make the state's water
infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather events.
Specifically, the legislation does the following:
1)Accelerates $267 million from Proposition 1 Water Bond funding
for safe drinking water and water recycling from the
Governor's January budget proposal.
2)Accelerates drought-related expenditures from the Governor's
January budget proposal augmented by $31 million in targeted
additional expenditures ($132 million total), including
efforts to implement the Water Action Plan and provide direct
assistance to workers and communities impacted by drought.
3)The additional $31 million in new targeted expenditure items
which were not included in the Governor's January budget
proposal include the following:
$17 million in additional funding to support
emergency food aid to 29 counties most impacted by the
drought;
$4 million for emergency drinking water in
disadvantaged communities;
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$5 million to the Department of Water Resources to
provide emergency drinking water support for small
communities, including addressing private wells;
$1.4 million to the Department of Water Resources to
increase advertising and public relations related to the
Save Our Water campaign;
$2.8 million to the Department of Water Resources
and Department of Fish and Wildlife for additional
modeling support and species tracking in the Delta and
greater Central Valley to support efficient management of
the state's water system; and
$1 million to address critical infrastructure
deficiencies at remote fire stations that have run out of
water.
1)Accelerates $660 million from the Governor's January budget
proposal of Proposition 1E bond monies for flood protection in
urban and rural areas to make the state's infrastructure more
resilient to climate change and flood events.
2)Accelerates $30 million from the Governor's January budget
proposal of cap-and-trade auction revenue to DWR ($20 million)
and CDFA ($10 million) for programs that provide a reduction
of GHG emissions and also deliver state and local water use
efficiency and agricultural water use efficiency. Both
proposals were part of last year's agreement on cap-and-trade
expenditures.
This bill in an important first step in addressing urgent needs
brought on by the extreme drought. It contains critical funding
for emergency water and food services and gets a start on big
projects - such as water recycling - that help provide local
water supply reliability that can help with future or ongoing
drought
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