BILL NUMBER: AB 955	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

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

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

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2015

   An act to add Section 8687.77 to the Government Code, relating to
disaster assistance.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 955, as amended, Mathis. Disaster assistance: droughts:
temporary assistance.
   Existing law, the California Disaster Assistance Act, authorizes
the Office of Emergency Services to establish a model process that
would be made available to assist a community in recovering from an
emergency proclaimed by the Governor and would provide that the
process may consider, among other things, the role of the office to
facilitate the use of temporary services, including, but not limited
to, the provision of potable water.
   This bill would additionally authorize the office  to
establish a model process to   to, either independently,
or working through local agencies, nonprofit organizations, or other
state entities,  address the effects of a drought by providing
temporary water supplies for drinking and sanitation to property
owners. The bill would require the process to consider,
  authorize the office, either independently, or working
through local agencies, nonprofit organizations, or other state
entities to,  among other things,  the role of the
office in providing   provide  temporary water
supplies for drinking and sanitation to property owners, and to
 include provisions that would  allow  for
 temporary assistance to  be provided to  property
owners whose income  exceed  exceeds  a
 threshold established by the office, as specified. 
 specified threshold. 
   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.  Section 8687.77 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
   8687.77.  (a) For the purposes of this section, the following
shall apply:
   (1) "Property owner" means the owner of a home, rental housing,
multifamily housing, or small business.
   (2) "Small business" means a business with 25 or  few
  fewer  employees.
   (3) "Water supplies" means the purchase and installation of water
storage tanks and associated plumbing and the provision of water
deliveries for drinking and sanitation.
   (b) In addition to any model process established by the Office of
Emergency Services to assist a community pursuant to Section 8687.7,
the office  may also establish a model process to 
 may, either independently or working through local agencies,
nonprofit organizations, or other state entities,  address the
effects of a drought by providing temporary water supplies for
drinking and sanitation to property owners consistent with this
section.
   (c) The  model process shall consist   office
may, either independently or working through local agencies,
nonprofit organizations, or other state entities, do any  of the
following:
   (1)  The role of the office in providing  
Provide  temporary water supplies for drinking and sanitation to
property  owners, including any collaboration efforts with a
local agency or non-profit organization.   owners.

   (2)  The establishment of   Establish 
income thresholds above which  the office determines
 a property owner  has   is determined
to have  adequate resources to remedy the water quality or water
supply problem without temporary assistance from the state.
   (3) For instances where the property owner's income exceeds the
threshold established in paragraph (2):
   (A)  A provision that allows for   Allow
 temporary assistance to be provided if the property owner
agrees to reimburse the full cost of that temporary assistance.
   (B) For instances where the property owner demonstrates that the
owner cannot afford to reimburse the full cost of that temporary
assistance,  a provision that allows the office to 
provide a loan to the property owner to cover those temporary
assistance costs with an interest rate that does not exceed 1
percent. The loans shall be made from any moneys appropriated by the
Legislature  to the office.   for these
purposes. 
   (C)  The   Establish a  method of
reimbursement or repayment of any loan, including the period for
reimbursement or repayment, consistent with the property owner's
ability to repay.
   (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed as compelling a
property owner to accept any assistance offered  by a model
process established  pursuant to this section.
   (e) The recipient of any assistance received pursuant  to
a model process established pursuant  to this section shall
agree to hold the state harmless from any damages due to that
assistance.
   (f) The office may adopt 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, any regulation it
determines is necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.