BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 1755|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 1755
          Author:   Dodd (D) 
          Amended:  8/1/16 in Senate
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE:  8-0, 6/28/16
           AYES:  Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,  
            Monning, Vidak
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Wolk

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  75-4, 5/31/16 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   The Open and Transparent Water Data Act


          SOURCE:    Bay Area Council


          DIGEST:  This bill requires the Department of Water Recourses  
          (DWR), in consultation with the State Water Resources Control  
          Board (SWRCB), the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and  
          the California Water Quality Monitoring Council (CWQMC) to  
          create and maintain a statewide integrated water data platform  
          by August 1, 2020, based on a specified schedule.


          ANALYSIS:


          Existing law:


          1)Distributes the authority to acquire information technology  








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            (IT) goods and services in state government over three  
            agencies:


             a)   The Department of Finance is responsible for review and  
               approval of funding related to IT project proposals. 


             b)   The California Department of Technology (CDT) has broad  
               responsibility and authority to guide the application of IT  
               in California State Government. CDT's areas of  
               responsibility include policy making, interagency  
               coordination, IT budget and procurement review, technical  
               assistance, and advocacy.


             c)   The Department of General Services (DGS) is generally  
               responsible for the acquisition of all IT goods and  
               services. DGS also has statutory authority to delegate IT  
               purchasing authority to those departments demonstrating the  
               capability to make purchases that adhere to State statutes,  
               regulations, policies, and procedures.

             According to the Department of Water Resources, they have  
               delegated authority for IT goods and services costing up to  
               $2 million.


          This bill enacts the Open and Transparent Water Data Act.  
          Specifically, it: 


          1)Requires DWR, the SWRCB, and the CDFW to "coordinate and  
            integrate existing water and ecological data from local,  
            state, and federal agencies."


          2)Requires DWR, in consultation with the CWQMC, SWRCB, and the  
            CDFW, to develop and submit to the Legislature protocols for  
            data sharing, documentation, quality control, and public  
            access by January 1, 2018.


          3)Conditions the receipt of grant funds is on adherence to the  







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            protocols established.


          4)Requires DWR, in consultation with the CWQMC, SWRCB, and the  
            CDFW, to create and maintain a statewide integrated water data  
            platform by August 1, 2020, based on a specified schedule.


          5)Delegates the CDT's role over implementation of IT projects to  
            DWR.


          6)Specifies that the integrated water data platform must, among  
            other things, do the following: 


             a)   Integrate existing water and ecological data information  
               from multiple autonomous databases managed by federal,  
               state, and local agencies and academia using consistent and  
               standardized formats.


             b)   Integrate, at a minimum, the following datasets:


               i)     The DWR's information on the SWP reservoir  
                 operations, groundwater use, and groundwater levels  
                 through California Statewide Groundwater Elevation  
                 Monitoring, urban water use, and land use.


               ii)      The SWRCB's data on water rights, water  
                 diversions, and water quality through California  
                 Environmental Data Exchange Network.


               iii)   The CDFW's information on fish abundance and  
                 distribution.


               iv)      The United States Geological Survey's streamflow  
                 conditions information through the National Water  
                 Information System.








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               v)     The United States Bureau of Reclamation's federal  
                 Central Valley Project operations information.


               vi)      The United States Fish and Wildlife Service's,  
                 United States Forest Service's, and National Oceanic and  
                 Atmospheric Administration Fisheries' fish abundance  
                 information.


             c)   Provide data on completed water transfers and exchanges,  
               including publicly available or voluntarily provided data  
               on the volume, price, and delivery method, identity of the  
               buyers and sellers, and the water right associated with the  
               transfer or exchange.


             d)   Provide clear and careful documentation of data quality  
               and data formats through metadata.


             e)   Be able to receive both spatial and time series data  
               from various sources.


             f)   Enable custom dashboards, visualizations, graphing, and  
               analysis.


          Comments


          Part of a general trend.  There seems to be growing interest in  
          consolidating state data into one data portal or system.  For  
          example, http://www.opendata.ca.gov/  is a similar effort whose  
          goals include:


           Expanding the number of state datasets that are shared with  
            the public and with other departments, and that can be  
            combined with other state open datasets, as well as  
            non-government data.








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           Joining existing and planned state government open data  
            portals, so that the departments and the public have access to  
            one-stop shopping for open data.


          Other data that might be of interest.  In addition to the data  
          sources listed in this bill, DWR has additional data that may be  
          of interest.  These include data about flood operations and  
          flood risk, urban water management plans, and agricultural water  
          management plans.  There may also be data that support the  
          California Water Plan that would be of use.  The state board and  
          CDFW may also have additional data that may be of interest as  
          well as data collected and maintained by the Department of Food  
          and Agriculture.


          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No


          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

           One-time costs between $750,000 and $1.5 million to DWR to  
            develop the data platform, plus annual staffing costs of $1.6  
            million to maintain and continue to develop the platform as it  
            grows (General Fund).

           Unknown, potentially significant, costs to CDFW to consult  
            with DWR on required protocols, the required report, and the  
            data platform. 

           Unknown, potentially significant, costs to SWRCB to consult  
            with DWR on required protocols, the required report, and the  
            data platform.

           Unknown, potentially significant, costs to CWQMC to consult  
            with DWR on required protocols, the required report, and the  
            data platform.


          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/18/16)









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          Bay Area Council (source)
          American Rivers
          Association of California Water Agencies
          California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
          California Municipal Utilities Association
          California Trout
          Center for Food Safety
          Ceres
          Coca-Cola Company
          Contra Costa Water District
          Cliff Bar
          Dignity Health
          Environmental Defense Fund
          Gap Inc.
          Kellogg Company
          Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
          Metropolitan Water District
          North Bay Leadership Council
          Northern California Water Association
          Pacific Water Quality Association
          Patagonia
          San Diego County Water Authority
          San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
          Santa Clara Valley Water District
          Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
          Silicon Valley Leadership Group
          Sonoma County Water Agency
          Sungevity
          Symantec Corporation
          The Bay Institute
          The Nature Conservancy
          Trout Unlimited
          Tuolumne River Trust
          Upper San Gabriel Valley Water District
          Union of Concerned Scientists
          VMware


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/18/16)


          None received









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          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:     According to the author, "Recent  
          climate swings highlight the need to assess our water management  
          system, fix any of its shortcomings, and improve water  
          management techniques. One of those fixes concerns the  
          availability and use of water data.


          "Data exists in many locations on hydrology, water quality,  
          water rights, water use, and much more, and the amount of data  
          is growing.  Many water operators and regulators have been  
          unable to harness this information and make timely, science  
          based decisions that can lead to a more sustainable water  
          future.


          "AB 1755 addresses these water data shortcomings by creating  
          open and transparent access to water data by way of a statewide  
          integrated water data platform that will bring together critical  
          water and ecological data in a user friendly, publicly  
          accessible website. This will simplify and expedite water  
          allocation and management decision-making. Open data protocols  
          for data sharing, transparency, documentation, and quality  
          control will promote greater compatibility among data sets and  
          encourage the application of new methods to synthesize  
          information to support better decision making."  




          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  75-4, 5/31/16
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,  
            Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon,  
            Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,  
            Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher,  
            Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez,  
            Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,  
            Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,  
            Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,  
            Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth,  
            Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk,  
            Williams, Wood, Rendon
          NOES:  Brough, Dahle, Grove, Harper
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Patterson







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          Prepared by:Dennis O'Connor / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
          8/18/16 16:11:02


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