Amended in Senate June 9, 2016

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

(Coauthors: Assembly Members O'Donnell and 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 districts, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

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 begin delete advisory end delete begin insert oversight end insert committee composed of 5 water purveyors selected every 2 years, as specified, to meet on begin insert at least end insert 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.

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: 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 begin insert a public water system that
is end insert one of the top five purveyors of water as measured by the total
purchase of potable and recycled water from the district for the
three prior fiscal years.

begin insert

(c) “Public water system” has the same meaning as in Section
116275 of the Health and Safety Code.

end insert begin insert

(d) “Relevant technical expertise” means employment or
consulting for a total period of at least five years, prior to the date
of first appointment, in one or more positions materially
responsible for performing services relating to the management,
operations, engineering, construction, financing, contracting,
regulation, or resource management of a public water system.

end insert begin insert

(e) “Small water purveyor” means a public water system with
less than 5,000 connections.

end insert

71266.  

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

(1) Four directors, one director elected for each division
established pursuant to subdivision begin delete (c) end delete begin insert (d) end insert by the voters of the
division. Each director shall be a resident of the division from
which he or she is elected. begin insert An election pursuant to this paragraph
shall be in accordance with the Uniform District Election Law
(Part 4 (commencing with Section 10500) of Division 10 of the
Election Code). end insert

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

begin insert

(b) The district shall be subject to Section 84308 of the
Government Code.

end insert begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  Until the directors elected at the November 6, 2018, election
take office, the board of directors 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.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  The board of directors 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 general manager 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 directors.

(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 begin delete purveyor. end delete begin insert purveyor within the district. If the selection of a
director under this subparagraph would result in a violation of
paragraph (2), the first eligible candidate receiving the next highest
number of votes shall be selected. end insert

begin insert

(2) The appointment of directors pursuant to paragraph (1)
shall not result in any of the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) The appointment of three directors that are all employed
by or representatives of entities that are all large water purveyors.

end insert begin insert

(B) The appointment of three directors that are all employed
by or representatives of entities that are all cities.

end insert begin insert

(C) The appointment of three directors that are all employed
by or representatives of entities that are all small water purveyors.

end insert begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  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 directors and shall take office in
accordance with Section 71512. The general manager 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)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert An appointed director shall not do either of the
following:

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  Hold an elected office.

begin delete

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

end delete begin insert

(B) Hold more than 0.5 percent ownership in a company
regulated by the Public Utilities Commission.

end insert begin insert

(2) An appointed director shall be subject to all applicable
conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions and shall recuse himself
or herself from participating in a decision that could have a direct
material benefit on the financial interests of the director.

end insert

(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.

begin insert

(i) (1) An appointed director shall be eligible for all of the
following:

end insert begin insert

(A) Reimbursement for travel and conference expenses pursuant
to the Central Basin Municipal Water District Administrative
Code.

end insert begin insert

(B) Compensation for up to 10 meetings per month at the per
meeting rate provided by the Central Basin Municipal Water
District Administrative Code.

end insert begin insert

(C) Health insurance benefits, if those benefits are not provided
by the director’s employer.

end insert begin insert

(2) An appointed director shall not be eligible to receive
communication or car allowances. For purposes of this paragraph,
“car allowances” does not include travel expenses incurred as
described in paragraph (1).

end insert begin insert

(3) An appointed director may waive the reimbursement and
compensation described in paragraph (1) and may be required to
reimburse his or her employer for any compensation received.

end insert

71268.  

(a) (1) The board of directors shall establish a technical
begin delete advisory end delete begin insert oversight end insert 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.

begin insert

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

end insert begin delete

(C)

end delete

begin insert (D) end insert   begin delete Three end delete begin insert Two end insert 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.

begin insert

(2) If a position for a large water purveyor, small water
purveyor, or city that is a water purveyor cannot be filled by
someone in that category, the position shall be selected by the
purveyors at large.

end insert begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  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 general manager shall collect the
votes and report the results to the water purveyors. Votes for a
position on the technical begin delete advisory end delete begin insert oversight end insert committee are public
records.

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

(c) The general manager 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
begin delete advisory end delete begin insert oversight end insert committee.

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

(2) A water purveyor shall not hold more than one technical
begin delete advisory end delete begin insert oversight end insert committee seat.

begin delete

(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.

end delete begin insert

(3) A member of the technical oversight committee shall not
own more than 1 percent of a company regulated by the Public
Utilities Commission.

end insert begin insert

(4) A member of the technical oversight committee shall be
subject to all applicable conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions
and shall recuse himself or herself from participating in a decision
that could have a direct material benefit on the financial interests
of the member.

end insert begin insert

(5) A member of the technical oversight committee may request
reimbursement from the district for actual, necessary, and
reasonable expenses incurred in furtherance of his or her duties
on the technical oversight committee. Those reimbursements shall
not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) during a 12-month time
period.

end insert

71269.  

(a) The technical begin delete advisory end delete begin insert oversight end insert committee shall
meet begin insert at least end insert 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 manager
and the board of directors.

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

SEC. 3.  

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:

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.