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
          
          

          
                                      -- END --
          









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