BILL NUMBER: AB 1871	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Waldron

                        FEBRUARY 10, 2016

   An act to amend Section 12947 of the Water Code, relating to
desalination.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1871, as introduced, Waldron. Desalination.
   Existing law, the Cobey-Porter Saline Water Conversion Law, states
the policy of this state that desalination projects developed by or
for public water entities be given the same opportunities for state
assistance and funding as other water supply and reliability
projects, and that desalination be consistent with all applicable
environmental protection policies in the state. The law provides that
is it the intention of the Legislature that the Department of Water
Resources shall undertake to find economic and efficient methods of
desalting saline water so that desalted water may be made available
to help meet the growing water requirements of the state.
   This bill would provide that it is the intention of the
Legislature that when a state agency considers an application
relating to desalination that the agency, when considering
alternatives, should consider the cost of those alternatives in order
to ensure that project financing does not become significantly more
expensive or difficult.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 12947 of the Water Code is amended to read:
   12947.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the growing
water needs of the state require the development of  cost
effective   cost-effective  and efficient water
supply technologies. Desalination technology is now feasible to help
provide significant new water supplies from seawater, brackish water,
and reclaimed water. Desalination technology can also provide an
effective means of treating some types of contamination in water
supplies. Desalination is consistent with both state water supply and
efficiency policy goals, and joint state-federal environmental and
water policy and principles promoted by the Cal-Fed Bay Delta
Program.
   (b) It is the policy of this state that desalination projects
developed by or for public water entities be given the same
opportunities for state assistance and funding as other water supply
and reliability projects, and that desalination be consistent with
all applicable environmental protection policies in the state.
   (c) It is the intention of the Legislature that the department
shall undertake to find economic and efficient methods of desalting
saline water so that desalted water may be made available to help
meet the growing water requirements of the state. 
   (d) It is the intention of the Legislature that when a state
agency considers an application relating to desalination that the
agency, when considering alternatives, should consider the cost of
those alternatives in order to ensure that project financing does not
become significantly more expensive or difficult.