BILL NUMBER: AB 954	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 5, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 4, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 26, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Mathis
    (   Principal coauthor:   Assembly Member
  Alejo   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2015

   An act to add Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 13486) to
Division 7 of the Water Code, relating to water.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 954, as amended, Mathis. Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant
Pilot Program.
   Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Law of
1997, establishes the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to
provide grants or revolving fund loans for the design and
construction of projects for public water systems that will enable
those systems to meet safe drinking water standards.
   This bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board to
establish a pilot program to provide low-interest loans and grants
to local agencies for low-interest loans and grants to eligible
applicants for specified purposes relating to drinking water and
wastewater treatment. This bill would prohibit the board from issuing
these loans or grants on or after January 1, 2026. This bill would
create the Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund and provide that
the moneys in this fund are available, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to the board for expenditure for the pilot program. This
bill would transfer to the Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund
$20,000,000 from the General Fund. This bill would require moneys in
the Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund after January 1, 2026,
to revert to the General Fund.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares the
following:
   (a) Many areas of the state are disproportionately impacted by
drought because they are heavily dependent or completely reliant on
groundwater from basins that are in overdraft and in which the water
table declines year after year or from basins that are contaminated.
   (b) There are a number of state grant and loan programs that
provide financial assistance to communities to address drinking water
and wastewater needs. Unfortunately, there is no program in place to
provide similar assistance to individual homeowners who are reliant
on their own groundwater wells and who may not be able to afford
conventional private loans to undertake vital water supply, water
quality, and wastewater improvements.
   (c) The program created by this act is intended to bridge that gap
by providing low-interest loans, grants, or both, to individual
homeowners to undertake actions necessary to provide safer, cleaner,
and more reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment. These
actions may include, but are not limited to, digging deeper wells,
improving existing wells and related equipment, addressing drinking
water contaminants in the homeowner's water, or connecting to a local
water or wastewater system.
  SEC. 2.  Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 13486) is added to
Division 7 of the Water Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 6.6.  WATER AND WASTEWATER LOAN AND GRANT PILOT PROGRAM


   13486.  (a) The board shall establish a pilot program in
accordance with this chapter to provide low-interest loans and grants
to local agencies for low-interest loans and grants to eligible
applicants for any of the following purposes:
   (1) Extending or connecting service lines from a water or
wastewater system to the applicant's residence or plumbing.
   (2) Paying reasonable charges or fees for connecting to a water or
wastewater system.
   (3) Paying costs to close abandoned septic tanks and water wells,
as necessary, to protect health and safety as required by local or
state law.
   (4) Deepening an existing groundwater well.
   (5) Improving an existing groundwater well, including associated
equipment.
   (6) Installing a water treatment system if the groundwater exceeds
a primary or secondary drinking standard, as defined in Section
116275 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (b) The board may adopt any regulation it determines is necessary
to carry out the purposes of the chapter as an emergency regulation
in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
   (c) The board shall not issue loans or grants pursuant to this
chapter on or after January 1, 2026, after which time moneys in the
Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund shall revert to the General
Fund. This subdivision shall not terminate either of the following
rights, obligations, or authorities, or any provision necessary to
carry out these rights, obligations, or authorities:
   (1) The repayment of a loan due and payable to the board.
   (2) The resolution of a cost recovery action or the initiation of
an action or other collection process to recover defaulted loan
moneys due to the board or to recover grant moneys paid.
   13487.  (a) The Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund is hereby
created in the State Treasury. The moneys in the Water and
Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund are available, upon appropriation by
the Legislature, to the board for expenditure in accordance with this
chapter.
   (b) The following moneys shall be deposited in the Water and
Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund:
   (1) Moneys repaid to the board pursuant to  any 
 a  grant or loan made in accordance with this chapter,
including interest payments.
   (2) Notwithstanding Section 16475 of the Government Code, any
interest earned upon the moneys in the Water and Wastewater Loan and
Grant Fund.
   13488.  (a) An eligible applicant for a loan shall meet all of the
following criteria:
   (1) Have a household income below the statewide median household
income.
   (2) Have an ownership interest in the residence.
   (3) Be unable to obtain financial assistance at reasonable terms
and conditions from private lenders and lack the personal resources
to undertake these improvements.
   (4) Demonstrate an ability to repay the loan. This requirement may
be satisfied by having another party join the application as a
cosigner.
   (b) Any loan granted shall be secured by a mortgage on the
residence and repaid within 20 years in accordance with terms
established by the board. The interest rate on the loan shall not
exceed 1 percent. While any balance on the loan is outstanding, a
loan recipient shall furnish evidence of and continually maintain
homeowner's insurance on the security residence to protect the state'
s interest in the residence.
   (c) The board may enter into a contract with a private financial
institution to provide loans consistent with the purposes of this
chapter. If the board exercises this authority, the board may utilize
a portion of the moneys in the Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant
Fund to provide a loan guarantee or similar loss mitigation
mechanism.
   13489.  (a) An eligible applicant for a grant shall meet all of
the following criteria:
   (1) Have a household income that is 60 percent or less of the
statewide median household income.
   (2) Have an ownership interest in the residence.
   (3) Be unable to obtain financial assistance at reasonable terms
and conditions from private lenders and lack the personal resources
to undertake these improvements.
   (b) A grant recipient shall repay to the board the grant amount in
full if that recipient sells the residence less than five years from
the date that the grant agreement was signed.
   (c) A grant recipient shall repay to the board any unused grant
funds.
  SEC. 3.  Twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) is hereby transferred
from the General Fund to the Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant
Fund.