BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 496
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 496
Rendon - As Amended April 13, 2015
SUBJECT: Pupil nutrition: fresh drinking water: funding
SUMMARY: Requires the California Department of Education (CDE)
to identify available sources of funding to fund school water
quality and infrastructure. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the CDE to consult with the State Water Resources
Control Board's (SWRCB) Division of Drinking Water Programs to
identify available sources of funding, including, but not
limited to, funding from Proposition 1, approved by the voters
at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election; funds for
safe drinking water programs administered by the CDE, the
Department of Public Health, the Department of Water
Resources, and the SWRCB; other state funding; and federal
funding available to fund school water quality and
infrastructure.
2)Authorizes the CDE to receive funds transferred from any
available state and federal source, to be allocated by the CDE
to school districts for the purpose of complying with the
requirement for schools to provide access to free, fresh
drinking water during meal time.
AB 496
Page B
3)Authorizes school districts to use funds received for water
quality projects including, but not limited to, water
treatment, water facilities restructuring, water filling
stations, and maintenance of water facilities.
4)Finds and declares that recent studies show that unsafe
drinking water plagues school water systems at a startling
rate, that some schools have sealed pipes and turned off
drinking fountains due to lead piping and other water system
contaminants, and that schools need a one-stop shop where
information and funding is available for clean drinking water
programs.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh
drinking water during meal times in the food service areas of
the schools under its jurisdiction, including, but not
necessarily limited to, areas where reimbursable meals under
the National School Lunch Program or the federal School
Breakfast Program are served or consumed. Authorizes a school
district to comply with this requirement by, among other
means, providing cups and containers of water or soliciting or
receiving donated bottled water.
2)Authorizes the governing board of a school district to adopt a
resolution stating that it is unable to comply with the
requirement to provide access to free, fresh drinking water
during meal times and demonstrating the reasons why it is
unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and
safety concerns. Requires the resolution to be publicly
noticed on at least two consecutive meeting agendas, first as
an information item and second as an action item, and approved
by at least a majority of the governing board.
AB 496
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FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Access to free, fresh water. Current law requires
school districts to provide free, fresh drinking water during
meal times in the food service areas. A school district may
provide cups and containers of water or bottled water to comply
with this requirement. The goal of this provision of law is to
reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverage while
increasing the consumption of water in an effort to reduce
obesity among children. According to a 2012 study on the water
access law conducted by researchers at the University of
California, San Francisco, in conjunction with the California
Food Policy Advocates and ChangeLab Solutions, one in four
schools had not complied with the law in 2011. Of those that
did comply, drinking fountains were cited as the most common
source of free drinking water in schools. One of the reasons
cited by schools for not complying was concerns about water
safety and quality. Among others, the report recommended
facilitating and supporting the development of good models for
purchase, installation, and maintenance of a range of water
delivery systems, from short-term solutions to permanent
solutions, and requiring annual water-quality testing at the tap
of every school's drinking water.
What does this bill do? This bill requires the CDE to consult
with the SWRCB to identify available funding sources that
schools can access to improve drinking water quality. Some of
the funding sources the CDE is required to explore include
Proposition 1, the water bond passed by voters in November 2014,
which provided $520 million for expenditures, grants, and loans
for projects that improve water quality or help provide clean,
safe, and reliable drinking water to all Californians. The bill
requires CDE to collect information, but does not require CDE to
AB 496
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inform school districts of the available funding sources. Staff
recommends requiring CDE to post the information on its Internet
Web site.
The author may also wish to consider strengthening the bill by
requiring the SWRCB to consider allocations to school projects.
Water quality in schools. According to an Associated Press
evaluation of data from the Environmental Protection Agency,
schools in California reported the most federal drinking water
violations from 1998-2008 in schools with their own water
supplies. The contaminant most frequently identified in water
was coliform bacteria, followed by lead and cooper, arsenic and
nitrates.<1> According to the SWRCB, while the "majority of
Californians are drinking water that meets water quality
standards, many small water systems, both that serve residential
communities as well as noncommunity facilities, such as
factories and rural schools, struggle to achieve compliance.<2>"
Small water systems have difficulties with upgrading treatment
facilities due to costs.
The author states, "Limited funding a growing list of needs to
repair school infrastructure causes clean drinking water to fall
to the wayside. School districts may be unaware of various
State and federal funding streams available to them. Districts
need a one-stop shop where information and funding is available
for clean drinking water programs. Even if water from a local
utility is clean, contamination happens as chemicals such as
copper, lead, and arsenic seep into water supplies from school
facilities. Water served in cafeterias or school water
fountains may contain these harmful chemicals."
---------------------------
<1> "Drinking Water Unsafe at Thousands of Schools," Associated
Press, September 25, 2009.
<2> "Safe Drinking Water Plan for California (draft)," State
Water Resources Control Board, October 2014.
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The Community Water Center, Clean Water Action, and Leadership
Counsel for Justice and Accountability support the bill and
state, "Schools throughout California have been impacted by
unsafe drinking water at the tap, and many schools face
recurring challenges to providing safe water. Through our
efforts working in communities on water issues in the Central
Valley, we have witnessed firsthand the statewide problem of
unsafe drinking water in schools caused by contaminants such as
lead, nitrates, and bacteria. Consumption of unsafe water in
schools is a substantial health risk to children as they are
more susceptible to the health effects of exposure to lead and
other contaminants than adults."
Prior related legislation. SB 1413 (Leno), Chapter 558,
Statutes of 2010, required, by July 1, 2011, a school district
to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal
times in the food service areas of the schools under its
jurisdiction, including, but not necessarily limited to, areas
where reimbursable meals under the National School Lunch Program
or the federal School Breakfast Program are served or consumed.
Authorizes a school district to comply with this requirement by,
among other means, providing cups and containers of water or
soliciting or receiving donated bottled water.
AB 629 (Krekorian), held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee suspense file in 2009, would have required a school
district, by January 1, 2010, to conduct a one-time analysis of
the level of lead in water in schools with plumbing that has not
been updated since 1993.
AB 2965 (Krekorian), held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee suspense file in 2008, would have required a school
district to conduct a one-time assessment of water toxicity
levels at point of entry and delivery in schools 40 years of age
or older, and states the intent of the Legislature that funding
be made available from the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality
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and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act
of 2006 for this purpose.
AB 2704 (Leno), vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2008, would
have prohibited the governing board of a school district from
entering or renewing a contract that prevents or discourages
schools from providing free tap water in areas where school
meals are served, and authorizes schools to provide free tap
water in school meal areas.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Food Policy Advocates
Clean Water Action
Community Water Center
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Los Angeles Unified School District
MISSION: READINESS
AB 496
Page G
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087