BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 965
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
965 (Eduardo Garcia)
As Amended August 18, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(June 1, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0 |(September 1, |
| | | | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: E.S. & T.M.
SUMMARY: Requires the California-Mexico Border Relations
Council (Border Relations Council) to establish the New River
Water Quality, Public Health, and River Parkway Development
Program (New River Program) to coordinate funding for, and the
implementation of, the recommendations from the New River
Strategic Plan. Provides the Border Relations Council with a
consultative and coordinating role on the development,
implementation and funding of specified border-related projects
and funding.
The Senate amendments:
1)Add the Secretary of State and Consumer Services as a member
of the Border Relations Council.
2)Authorize the Regional Administrator of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, to appoint a
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representative from his or her staff to serve as an
ex-officio, nonvoting member of the Border Relations Council.
3)Require the Border Relations Council to invite representatives
of the State of Baja California and the Mexican government to
participate in meetings.
4)Provide that the money in the California Border Environmental
and Public Health Protection Fund (Fund) is available to the
Border Relations Council, instead of to the Secretary of
Environmental Protection.
5)Provide that the Border Relations Council, instead of to the
Secretary of Environmental Protection, is responsible for
dispersing information about and awarding grants from the
Fund.
6)Clarify that, when funding projects through the Water Quality,
Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, the
Department of Fish and Wildlife shall consult with the Border
Relations Council to establish criteria to fund projects that
improve conditions for cross-border urban creeks and
watersheds.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Creates the Border Relations Council, consisting of the
Secretaries of the Resources Agency; Environmental
Protection; Health and Human Services; Business,
Transportation and Housing; and, Food and Agriculture; and
the Director of Emergency Services. Provides that the
Secretary for Environmental Protection serves as the
Council chair. (Government Code (GC) Section 99522)
2) Requires the Border Relations Council to: Coordinate
activities of state agencies that are related to
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cross-border programs; establish policies to coordinate the
collection and sharing of data related to cross-border
issues; identify and recommend to the Legislature changes
in law needed to coordinate border activities; and, submit
an annual report to the Legislature on border activities.
(GC Section 99523)
3) Creates the Fund in the State Treasury to receive funds
appropriated in the annual Budget Act, and other sources,
such as from North American Development Bank, Border
Environment Cooperation Committee, United States
Environmental Protection Agency, and private businesses or
foundations. (Public Resources Code (PRC) Section
71101(a))
4) Requires the Border Relations Council to develop a
strategic plan to guide the implementation of the New River
Improvement Project, as specified. (PRC Section 71103.5
(c))
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, enactment of this bill could result in ongoing costs
of up to $125,000 annually to the General Fund for the Border
Relations Council to support the New River Program; unknown cost
pressures, potentially in the millions of dollars, to the
General Fund (Propositions 84 [of 2006] and 13 [of 2000]) for
the expansion of the Urban Streams Restoration Program; and,
ongoing costs of up to $70,000 to the General Fund (Proposition
1) for the Department of Fish and Wildlife to coordinate with
the Border Relations Council in establishing criteria to fund
projects that improve conditions for the New River.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill: According to the author, "California has
developed a Strategic Plan to begin a comprehensive cleanup and
restoration effort for the New River. Further statutory
clarification is needed to define how the strategic plan will be
implemented and funded by state agencies. Improved coordination
and strategic funding will help remediate the health and safety
issues posed by the New River."
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California - Mexico Border Relations: The issues affecting the
United States - Mexico border region are complex and
challenging. Communities on both sides of the border face rapid
population growth, urbanization, industrial expansion, and
increasing flows of international trade, which in turn create
challenges related to the environment, public health, security,
and land use. To improve statewide oversight and coordination of
the state's involvement with Mexico, the Legislature enacted AB
3021 (Núñez), Chapter 621, Statutes of 2006, which created the
Border Relations Council to serve as the central organizing body
overseeing and collaborating on California-Mexico border issues.
The New River: The New River flows north from near Cerro
Prieto, Mexico, through the city of Mexicali, into the United
States through the city of Calexico, California, and discharges
into the Salton Sea. The river does not flow from a natural
source, but instead consists of urban runoff, untreated and
partially treated municipal wastes, untreated and partially
treated industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff. While
strides have been made over the decades to improve the quality
of the water in the New River, it is still often referred to as
one of the most severely polluted rivers of its size in the
United States.
AB 1079 (V. Manuel Pérez), Chapter 382, Statutes of 2009,
required the Border Relations Council to create a strategic plan
to study, monitor, remediate, and enhance the New River's water
quality to protect human health and to develop a river parkway
suitable for public use and enjoyment. Pursuant to provisions
in AB 1079, the Border Relations Council released the Strategic
Plan: New River Improvement Project (New River Strategic Plan)
in December of 2011, which includes more than a dozen specific
recommended solutions to continue to clean up the New River.
While the Colorado Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board,
the main entity responsible for New River water quality on the
United States side of the border, has taken steps to comply with
the recommendations laid out in the New River Strategic Plan,
California entities face statutory authority, resource, and
other limitations to achieving all of the recommendations.
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California Border Environmental and Public Health Protection
Fund (Fund): AB 2317 (Ducheny), Chapter 742, Statutes of 2000,
created the Fund to implement projects to identify and resolve
environmental and public health problems that threaten
California residents or the sensitive natural resources of the
California border region. While the Budget Act of 2000
appropriated $2.8 million to address environmental pollution at
the Mexican border, money was never allocated to the Fund and
the Fund currently remains unfunded. This bill specifies that
Proposition 1 funds may be deposited in the Fund and that the
Border Relations Council may award grants from the Fund to
mitigate cross-border transmission of environmental pollutants.
Assembly hearings on cross-border river water quality: On March
19th and 20th, 2015, the California State Assembly Committee on
Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials held a series of
hearings in Southern California focusing on California's role in
managing binational river water quality issues and on ensuring
that border communities, especially disadvantaged communities,
are not left behind in water quality restoration efforts. The
first hearing was held in Imperial Beach and focused on the
progress on and challenges to the Tijuana River recovery
strategy. The second hearing was held in Calexico and focused
on New River restoration efforts.
Dozens of community members, local elected officials, members of
international bodies, and officials from the states of Baja
California and California attended the hearings. Prioritization
of cross-border water quality issues, dedicated funds for water
quality enhancement that can be used on both sides of the
border, and delineating an entity to coordinate and collaborate
on cross-border water quality issues were common themes of the
testimony presented at the New River hearing.
This bill incorporates the testimony that called for a
coordinating body, designated by this bill as the Border
Relations Council, to implement the New River Strategic Plan.
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In addition, the bill designates the Border Relations Council as
a consultative body on the disbursement of funds from the Fund,
and requires Department of Water Resources to consult with the
Border Relations Council on cross-border urban creek projects.
All of these provisions are designed to create a more
coordinated effort for implementing and funding the improvement
of the New River.
Analysis Prepared by:
Shannon McKinney / E.S. & T.M. / (916) 319-3965
FN:
0001938