Amended in Senate September 1, 2015

Amended in Senate August 19, 2015

Amended in Senate July 16, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 5, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1242

Introduced by Assembly Member Gray

February 27, 2015

An act to begin insert amend Section 39719 of the Health and Safety Code, and to end insert add Section 13145.5 begin delete to end delete begin insert to, and to add Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 430) to Division 1 of, end insert the Water Code, relating to begin delete water quality. end delete begin insert water, and making an appropriation therefor. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1242, as amended, Gray. begin delete Water quality: groundwater impacts. end delete begin insert Water quality and storage. end insert

begin insert

(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources in the Natural Resources Agency, and, among other things, empowers the department to conduct investigations of all or any portion of any stream, stream system, lake, or other body of water.

end insert begin insert

Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the State Air Resources Board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism relative to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

end insert begin insert

This bill would require the department to increase statewide water storage capacity by 25% by January 1, 2025, and 50% by January 1, 2050, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2017, to identify the current statewide water storage capacity and prepare a strategy and implementation plan to achieve those expansions in statewide water storage capacity, and would require the department to update the strategy and implementation plan on January 1, 2018, and every 2 years thereafter, until January 1, 2050. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst’s Office to report to the Legislature on January 1, 2020, and every 5 years thereafter, until January 1, 2050, on the department’s progress on achieving those required increases in statewide water storage capacity, as specified. The bill would, beginning in the 2016-17 fiscal year, continuously appropriate 25% of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the department to comply with these requirements.

end insert begin delete

Existing

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board and the 9 California regional water quality control boards as the principal state agencies with authority over matters relating to water quality. Existing law requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policy for water quality control. Existing law requires each regional board to formulate and adopt water quality control plans for all areas within the region and prohibits a water quality control plan, or a revision of the plan, adopted by a regional board, from becoming effective unless it is approved by the state board.

Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified.

This bill would require the state board, in formulating state policy for water quality control and adopting or approving a water quality control plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, to take into consideration, consistent with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act, any applicable groundwater sustainability plan or alternative and available information and data regarding the impacts of groundwater use and management on beneficial uses of surface waters.

Vote: majority. Appropriation:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 39719 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

39719.  

(a) The Legislature shall appropriate the annual
proceeds of the fund for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas
emissions in this state in accordance with the requirements of
Section 39712.

(b) To carry out a portion of the requirements of subdivision
(a), annual proceeds are continuously appropriated for the
following:

(1) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, and notwithstanding
Section 13340 of the Government Code, 35 percent of annual
proceeds are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal
years, for transit, affordable housing, and sustainable communities
programs as following:

(A) Ten percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Transportation Agency for the
Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program created by Part 2
(commencing with Section 75220) of Division 44 of the Public
Resources Code.

(B) Five percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Low Carbon Transit Operations
Program created by Part 3 (commencing with Section 75230) of
Division 44 of the Public Resources Code. Funds shall be allocated
by the Controller, according to requirements of the program, and
pursuant to the distribution formula in subdivision (b) or (c) of
Section 99312 of, and Sections 99313 and 99314 of, the Public
Utilities Code.

(C) Twenty percent of the annual proceeds of the fund is hereby
continuously appropriated to the Strategic Growth Council for the
Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program created
by Part 1 (commencing with Section 75200) of Division 44 of the
Public Resources Code. Of the amount appropriated in this
subparagraph, no less than 10 percent of the annual proceeds, shall
be expended for affordable housing, consistent with the provisions
of that program.

(2) Beginning in the 2015-16 fiscal year, notwithstanding
Section 13340 of the Government Code, 25 percent of the annual
proceeds of the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the
High-Speed Rail Authority for the following components of the
initial operating segment and Phase I Blended System as described
in the 2012 business plan adopted pursuant to Section 185033 of
the Public Utilities Code:

(A) Acquisition and construction costs of the project.

(B) Environmental review and design costs of the project.

(C) Other capital costs of the project.

(D) Repayment of any loans made to the authority to fund the
project.

begin insert

(3) Beginning in the 2016-17 fiscal year, notwithstanding
Section 13340 of the Government Code, 25 percent of the annual
proceeds of the fund is hereby continuously appropriated to the
Department of Water Resources to comply with the requirements
of Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 430) of Division 1 of the
Water Code.

end insert

(c) In determining the amount of annual proceeds of the fund
for purposes of the calculation in subdivision (b), the funds subject
to Section 39719.1 shall not be included.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 430) is added
to Division 1 of the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

 

Chapter   begin insert 4.5. end insert Water Storage and Reliability

 

begin insert 430. end insert   

(a) On or before January 1, 2017, the Department of
Water Resources, after one or more public workshops, shall
identify the current statewide water storage capacity, including
local, state, and federal projects, and prepare a strategy and
implementation plan to achieve an expansion in statewide water
storage capacity of 25 percent by January 1, 2025, and 50 percent
by January 1, 2050.

(b) The Department of Water Resources shall provide a copy
of the strategy and implementation plan to the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature and publish this information on the
Department of Water Resources’ publicly available Internet Web
site.

(c) On January 1, 2018, and every two years thereafter, until
January 1, 2050, the Department of Water Resources shall update
the strategy and implementation plan to reflect any changes made
to the strategy and plan.

(d) The Department of Water Resources shall provide a copy
of the updated strategy and implementation plans required
pursuant to subdivision (c) to the appropriate policy committees
of the Legislature and publish this information on the Department
of Water Resources’ publicly available Internet Web site.

begin insert 431. end insert   

(a) The Department of Water Resources shall increase
the state’s total water storage capacity by 25 percent by January
1, 2025, and by 50 percent by January 1, 2050.

(b) The increase in water storage capacity required pursuant
to subdivision (a) may be accomplished through a mix of both
surface water and groundwater storage projects, including, but
not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Surface water storage projects identified in the CALFED
Bay-Delta Program Record of Decision, dated August 28, 2000,
except for projects prohibited by Chapter 1.4 (commencing with
Section 5093.50) of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code.

(2) Local and regional surface water storage projects.

(3) Groundwater storage projects and groundwater
contamination prevention or remediation projects that provide
water storage benefits.

(4) Conjunctive use and reservoir reoperation projects.

begin insert 432. end insert   

(a) On January 1, 2020, and every five years thereafter,
until January 1, 2050, the Legislative Analyst’s Office shall report
to the Legislature on the Department of Water Resources’ progress
on fulfilling the requirements imposed under Section 431.

(b) The Legislative Analyst’s Office shall include in the report
required pursuant to subdivision (a) whether the Department of
Water Resources is expected to achieve the water storage
requirements imposed under Section 431 on time.

end insert

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 13145.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:

13145.5.  

In formulating state policy for water quality control
and adopting or approving a water quality control plan for the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the state board shall take into
consideration, consistent with the requirements of Division 13
(commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code,
any applicable groundwater sustainability plan or alternative
adopted or approved under Part 2.74 (commencing with Section
10720) of Division 6 and available information and data regarding
the impacts of groundwater use and management on beneficial
uses of surface waters.