BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 965


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          965 (Eduardo Garcia)


          As Amended  August 18, 2015


          Majority vote


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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