AB 1173,
as amended, Williams. Water equipment: backflowbegin delete protection programs. end deletebegin insert prevention devices testing: certification.end insert
Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research, studies, and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, adoption of enforcement regulations, and conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of water in domestic water supplies.
end insertbegin insertExisting law requires any person who owns a public water system to ensure that the system does certain things, including, but not limited to, that it will not be subject to backflow under normal operating conditions. Existing law, to ensure that testing and maintenance of backflow prevention devices are performed by persons qualified to do testing and maintenance, authorizes local health officers to maintain programs for certification of backflow prevention device testers. A violation of these provisions, or an order by a local health officer pursuant to these provisions, is a misdemeanor.
end insertbegin insertThis bill would require, if a local health officer does not maintain a program for certification of backflow prevention device testers, the testing and maintenance of a backflow prevention device be performed by a person who has received a California-specific certification for testing backflow prevention devices from one of specified entities or a similar certification provider deemed acceptable by the state board or the local health officer. Because a violation of these requirements would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
end insertbegin insertThe California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
end insertbegin insertThis bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
end insertExisting law authorizes local health officials to maintain programs, in cooperation with water suppliers, to protect against backflow through service connections into the public water supply system, and, with the consent of the water supplier, to collect fees from the water supplier to offset the costs of implementing these programs. Existing law requires that these programs be conducted in accordance with backflow protection regulations adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board.
end deleteThis bill would make a nonsubstantive change by updating a reference from the State Department of Public Health to the State Water Resources Control Board.
end deleteVote: majority.
Appropriation: no.
Fiscal committee: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert.
State-mandated local program: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
begin insertSection 116810 of the end insertbegin insertHealth and Safety Codeend insertbegin insert is
2amended to read:end insert
begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insertTobegin delete assureend deletebegin insert ensureend insert that testing and maintenance of
4backflow prevention devices are performed by persons qualified
5to do testing and maintenance, local health officers may maintain
6programs for certification of backflow prevention device testers.
7The local health officer may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew
8the certificate of a tester, if, after a hearing before the local health
9officer or his or her designee, the local health officer or his or her
10designee finds that the tester has
practiced fraud or deception or
P3 1has displayed gross negligence or misconduct in the performance
2of his or her duties as a certified backflow prevention device tester.
3The local health officer may collect fees from certified testers to
4offset the cost of the certification program provided pursuant to
5this section. The certification standards shall be consistent with
6the backflow protection regulations adopted by thebegin delete department.end delete
7begin insert State Water Resources Control Board.end insert
8(b) If a local health officer does not maintain a local
9certification program pursuant to subdivision (a), testing and
10maintenance of a backflow prevention device shall be performed
11by a person who has received a
California-specific certification
12for testing backflow prevention devices by the California-Nevada
13Section of the American Water Works Association (AWAA),
14American Society of Sanitary Engineering (ASSE) International,
15American Backflow Prevention Association (ABPA), or other
16similar certification provider deemed acceptable by the State Water
17Resources Control Board or the local health officer.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
19Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
20the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
21district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
22infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
23for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
24the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
25the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
26Constitution.
Section 116805 of the Health and Safety Code
28 is amended to read:
(a) Local health officers may maintain programs, in
30cooperation with water suppliers, to protect against backflow
31through service connections into the public water supply, and, with
32the consent of the water supplier, may collect fees from the water
33supplier to offset the costs of implementing these programs.
34(b) The fees authorized under this section and under Section
35116800 shall be limited to the costs of administering these
36programs. At the discretion of the water supplier, the fees collected
37from the water supplier by the local health officer may be passed
38through to water users.
P4 1(c)
Programs authorized under this section and Section 116800
2shall be conducted in accordance with backflow protection
3regulations adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board.
4(d) Nothing in this article shall prevent a water supplier from
5directly charging those water users required to install backflow
6prevention devices for the costs of the programs authorized in this
7section and Section 116800.
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