BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 965 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 965 (Eduardo Garcia) As Amended August 18, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(June 1, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0 |(September 1, | | | | | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 965 Page 2 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 AB 965 Page 3 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." AB 965 Page 4 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. AB 965 Page 5 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. AB 965 Page 6 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