Amended in Assembly April 11, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1794

Introduced by Assembly Member Cristina Garcia

( begin delete Coauthor: end delete begin insert Coauthors: end insert Assembly begin delete Member end delete begin insert Members O' end insert begin insert Donnell and end insert Rendon)

February 4, 2016

An act to add Chapter 1.6 (commencing with Section 71265) to Part 3 of Division 20 of the Water Code, relating to municipal water begin delete districts. end delete begin insert districts, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1794, as amended, Cristina Garcia. Central Basin Municipal Water District.

Existing law, the Municipal Water District Law of 1911, provides for the formation of municipal water districts and grants to those districts’ specified powers. Existing law permits a district to acquire, control, distribute, store, spread, sink, treat, purify, recycle, recapture, and salvage any water for the beneficial use of the district, its inhabitants, or the owners of rights to water in the district. Existing law requires the board of directors of a district to consist of 5 members and each director to be a resident of the division from which the director is elected.

This bill would require the board of directors of the Central Basin Municipal Water District to be composed of 8 directors, until the directors elected at the November 6, 2018, election take office, when the board would be composed of 7 directors, as prescribed. This bill would require the Central Basin Municipal Water District to establish a technical advisory committee composed of 5 water purveyors selected every 2 years, as specified, to meet on a quarterly basis for certain purposes. By imposing new duties on the district, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

The 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.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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Vote:  begin delete majority end delete begin insert ²⁄₃ end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

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

SECTION 1.  

Chapter 1.6 (commencing with Section 71265)
is added to Part 3 of Division 20 of the Water Code, to read:

 

Chapter  1.6. Central Basin Municipal Water District

 

71265.  

For the purposes of this chapter:

(a) “District” means the Central Basin Municipal Water District.

(b) “Large water purveyor” means one of the top five purveyors
of water as measured by the total purchase of begin insert potable and recycled end insert
water from the district for the three prior fiscal years.

71266.  

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b) and
notwithstanding any other provision of this division, the board of
begin insert directors of end insert the district shall be composed of seven directors as
follows:

(1) Four directors, one director elected for each division
established pursuant to subdivision (c) by the voters of the division.
Each director shall be a resident of the division from which he or
she is elected.

(2) Three directors appointed by the water purveyors of the
district in accordance with Section 71267.

(b) Until the directors elected at the November 6, 2018, election
take office, the board of begin delete the district end delete begin insert directors end insert shall be composed
of eight directors as follows:

(1) Five directors in accordance with Section 71250.

(2) Three directors appointed by the water purveyors of the
district pursuant to Section 71267.

(c) The board of begin delete the district end delete begin insert directors end insert shall divide the district
into four divisions in a manner as to equalize, as nearly as
practicable, the population in the respective divisions pursuant to
Section 71540.

71267.  

(a) The begin delete executive director end delete begin insert general manager end insert of the
district shall notify each water purveyor of the district and provide
a 60-day period during which the district will accept nominations
for appointment of individuals to the board of begin delete the district. end delete begin insert directors. end insert

(b) Individuals nominated for appointment to the board of
directors shall demonstrate eligibility and relevant technical
expertise.

(c) (1) The three directors appointed by the water purveyors
shall be selected by the water purveyors of the district every four
years as follows:

(A) One director shall be selected by all large water purveyors
from the nominees of large water purveyors. Each large water
purveyor shall have one vote.

(B) One director shall be selected by all cities that are water
purveyors of the district from the nominees of cities. Each city
shall have one vote.

(C) One director shall be selected by all of the water purveyors
of the district from any nominee. The vote of each purveyor shall
be weighted to reflect the number of service connections of that
water purveyor.

(2) Each nominee for director who receives the highest number
of votes cast for each office described in paragraph (1) is appointed
as a director to the board of begin delete the district end delete begin insert directors end insert and shall take
office in accordance with Section 71512. The begin delete district end delete begin insert general
manager end insert shall collect the votes and report the results to the water
purveyors. Votes for an appointed director are public records.

(d) Each appointed director shall live or work within the district.

(e) In order to ensure continuity of knowledge, the directors
appointed at the first purveyor selection shall classify themselves
by lot so that two of them shall hold office until the selection of
their successors at the first succeeding purveyor selection and one
of them shall hold office until the selection of his or her successor
at the second succeeding purveyor selection.

(f) (1) The term of a director appointed pursuant to
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) is terminated
if the appointed director no longer is employed by or a
representative of a large water purveyor.

(2) The term of a director appointed pursuant to subparagraph
(B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) is terminated if the
appointed director no longer is employed by or a representative
of a city.

(3) The term of a director appointed pursuant to subparagraph
(C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) is terminated if the
appointed director no longer is employed by or a representative
of a water purveyor.

(g) An appointed director shall not do either of the following:

(1) Hold an elected office.

(2) Be a president, vice president, chief financial officer, or
shareholder of a private company that purchases water from the
district.

(h) A vacancy in an office of appointed director shall be filled
in accordance with the selection process described in subdivisions
(a) to (c), inclusive.

71268.  

(a) (1) The begin delete district end delete begin insert board of directors end insert shall establish
a technical advisory committee composed of the representatives
of five water purveyors selected before December 31, 2016, and
every two years thereafter, as follows:

(A) One position shall be selected by the large water purveyors
from nominated large water purveyors, each large water purveyor
having one vote.

(B) One position shall be selected by the cities that are water
purveyors of the district from nominated cities, each city having
one vote.

(C) Three positions shall be selected by all water purveyors of
the district from nominated water purveyors with the vote of each
purveyor weighted to reflect the number of service connections of
that water purveyor.

(2) Each nominated water purveyor that receives the highest
number of votes cast for each position described in paragraph (1)
is selected to the position. The begin delete district end delete begin insert general manager end insert shall
collect the votes and report the results to the water purveyors.
Votes for a position on the technical advisory committee are public
records.

(b) In composing the technical advisory committee, a person
and an alternate from each water purveyor selected to a position
pursuant to subdivision (a) shall serve on the technical advisory
committee. A purveyor may change the person or alternate that
serves on the technical advisory committee at any time. Those
selected shall demonstrate eligibility and relevant technical
expertise.

(c) The begin delete executive director end delete begin insert general manager end insert of the district shall
notify each water purveyor of the district and provide a 60-day
period during which the district will accept nominations to serve
on the technical advisory committee.

(d) (1) To be eligible to serve on the technical advisory
committee, a water purveyor shall not have an individual employed
by or representing that water purveyor on the board of the begin delete district. end delete

begin insert directors. end insert

(2) A water purveyor shall not hold more than one technical
advisory committee seat.

(3) No person selected to represent a water purveyor on the
committee shall be a president, vice president, chief financial
officer, or shareholder of a private company that purchases water
from the district.

71269.  

(a) The technical advisory committee shall meet on a
quarterly basis for the following purposes:

(1) To review the district’s budget and projects for the purpose
of providing nonbinding advice to the district’s general begin delete manager. end delete

begin insert manager and the board of directors. end insert

(2) To review and approve proposed changes to the
administrative code relating to ethics, director compensation, and
benefits.

(3) To review and approve proposed changes relating to
procurement.

(b) The board of begin delete the district end delete begin insert directors end insert shall not make a change
described in paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (a) unless the
technical advisory committee approves the change by majority
vote before the change comes to a vote of the board of the directors.

SEC. 2.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert begin insert

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

end insert begin insert

In order that the provisions of this act take effect before the
November 8, 2016, election for the board of directors of the Central
Basin Municipal Water District, it is necessary that this act take
effect immediately.

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