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.  












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          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.












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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  











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                                                                     Page D


          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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                                                                     Page F


          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