AB 1588, as amended, Mathis. Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Program.
Existing law, the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Law of 1997, establishes the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to provide grants or revolving fund loans for the design and construction of projects for public water systems that will enable those systems to meet safe drinking water standards.
This bill would require the State Water Resources Control Board to establish a program to provide funding to counties to award low-interest loans and grants to eligible applicants for specified purposes relating to drinking water and wastewater treatment. This bill would authorize a county to apply to the board for a grant to award loans or grants, or both, to residents of the county, as prescribed. This bill would create the Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund and provide that the moneys in this fund are available, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, to the board to administer and implement the program. This bill would transfer to the Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fundbegin delete $20,000,000end deletebegin insert $10,000,000end insert from the General Fund.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature hereby finds and declares as
2follows:
3(a) Many areas of the state are disproportionately impacted by
4drought because they are heavily dependent or completely reliant
5on groundwater from basins that are in overdraft and in which the
6water table declines year after year or from basins that are
7contaminated.
8(b) There are a number of state grant and loan programs that
9provide financial assistance to distressed communities to address
10drinking water and wastewater needs. Unfortunately, there is no
11program in place to provide similar assistance to individuals who
12are
reliant on their own groundwater wells and who may not be
13able to afford conventional private loans to undertake vital water
14supply, water quality, and wastewater improvements.
15(c) The program created by this act is intended to bridge that
16gap by providing assistance to individual homeowners and renters
17to undertake actions necessary to provide safer, cleaner, and more
18reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment. These actions
19may include, but are not limited to, digging deeper wells,
20improving existing wells and related equipment, addressing
21drinking water contaminants in the individual’s water, or
22connecting to a local water or wastewater system.
Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 13486) is added
24to Division 7 of the Water Code, to read:
(a) The board shall establish a program in accordance
5with this chapter to provide funding to counties to award
6low-interest loans and grants to eligible applicants for any of the
7following purposes:
8(1) Extending or connecting service lines from a water or
9wastewater system to the applicant’s residence or plumbing.
10(2) Paying reasonable charges or fees for connecting to a water
11or wastewater system.
12(3) Paying costs to close abandoned septic tanks and water wells,
13as necessary, to protect health and safety as required by local or
14state law.
15(4) Deepening an existing groundwater well.
16(5) Improving an existing groundwater well, including associated
17equipment.
18(6) Installing a water treatment system if the groundwater
19exceeds a primary or secondary drinking water standard, as defined
20in Section 116275 of the Health and Safety Code.
21(b) The board may adopt any guidelines it determines are
22necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. A guideline
23adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to the
24rulemaking requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
2511340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(a) The Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund
27is hereby created in the State Treasury. The moneys in the Water
28and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund are available, upon
29appropriation by the Legislature, to the board to administer and
30implement the program in accordance with this chapter.
31(b) Notwithstanding Section 16475 of the Government Code,
32any interest earned upon the moneys in the Water and Wastewater
33Loan and Grant Fund shall be deposited in the Water and
34Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund.
(a) A county may apply to the board for a grant to
36award loans or grants, or both, to residents of the county in
37accordance with this chapter.
38(b) The board shall develop guidelines that determine how to
39apportion funds among the counties.
P4 1(c) A county that receives funding pursuant to this chapter shall
2annually provide the following information to the board:
3(1) The number of loans and grants awarded.
4(2) The types of projects funded.
5(3) Project costs.
6(4) Whether there is demand for additional funding.
(a) An eligible applicant for a loan shall meet all of
8the following criteria:
9(1) Have a household income below the statewide median
10household income.
11(2) Have an ownership interest in the residence.
12(3) Be unable to obtain financial assistance at reasonable terms
13and conditions from private lenders and lack the personal resources
14to undertake these improvements.
15(4) Demonstrate an ability to repay the loan. This requirement
16may be satisfied by having another party join the application as
a
17cosigner.
18(b) Any loan granted shall be secured by a mortgage on the
19residence and repaid within 20 years in accordance with terms
20established by the board. The interest rate on the loan shall not
21exceed 1 percent. While any balance on the loan is outstanding, a
22loan recipient shall furnish evidence of and continually maintain
23homeowner’s insurance on the security residence to protect the
24state’s interest in the residence.
25(c) The county may enter into a contract with a private financial
26institution to provide loans consistent with the purposes of this
27chapter.
(a) An eligible applicant for a grant shall meet both of
29the following criteria:
30(1) Have a household income that is 80 percent or less of the
31statewide median household income.
32(2) Be unable to obtain financial assistance at reasonable terms
33and conditions from private lenders and lack the personal resources
34to undertake these improvements.
35(b) A grant recipient shall repay to the county the grant amount
36in full if that recipient sells the residence less than five years from
37the date that the grant agreement was signed.
38(c) A grant recipient shall repay to the county any unused grant
39funds.
Funding provided pursuant to this chapter is not
2considered “water-related grant funding” for purposes of paragraph
3(7) of subdivision (b) of Section 116682 of the Health and Safety
4Code.
begin deleteTwenty million dollars ($20,000,000) end deletebegin insertTen million
6dollars ($10,000,000) end insertis hereby transferred from the General Fund
7to the Water and Wastewater Loan and Grant Fund.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
9immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
10the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
11immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
12In order to provide eligible households with access to safer,
13cleaner, and more reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment
14during California’s prolonged drought, it is necessary that this act
15take effect immediately.
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