BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2099


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          Date of Hearing:  May 11, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          2099 (Mark Stone) - As Amended April 14, 2016


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          |Policy       |Human Services                 |Vote:|6 - 0        |
          |Committee:   |                               |     |             |
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          |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
          |             |Environmental Safety and Toxic |     |7 - 0        |
          |             |Materials                      |     |             |
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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill requires the Department of Social Services (DSS), on  
          or before February 1, 2017, to convene a workgroup to develop  
          recommendations for delivering a water benefit to supplement the  
          purchase of drinking water for low-income households with  
          inadequate access to safe drinking water.  The bill requires  
          DSS, on or before July 1, 2017, to submit a report with  
          recommendations to the Legislature and the California Health and  








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          Human Services Agency. 


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)Minor and absorbable costs to DSS to convene the working group  
            and produce the required report.


          2)Significant future cost pressure to DSS to implement the  
            recommendations in the report.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. The author argues that while the Legislature has  
            taken several necessary steps to make long-term improvements  
            to water delivery and water infrastructure, "over a million  
            Californians continue to live in households where their tap  
            water is so contaminated that no one can drink it, and  
            thousands of Californians live in homes where there simply is  
            no water to use - their wells dried up during the drought."   
            The Orange County Food Access Coalition argues, "The drought  
            continues to exacerbate water quality issues for disadvantaged  
            communities who disproportionately bear the health and  
            financial impacts of unsafe drinking water?  Families should  
            not be spending scarce resources to pay for clean water.   
            Californians should not be forced to choose between drinking  
            contaminated water and expending scarce household resources to  
            pay for clean water.  In the Central Valley, some households  
            devote approximately 20 percent of their annual median income  
            of $14,000 to pay for water and sanitation services and to  
            purchase bottled water."
          


            This bill seeks to develop another tool by which to provide  








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            communities in need with immediate access to drinking water  
            assistance. 
              


          2)Drinking water contamination. According to the State Water  
            Board (SWB) report, "Communities that Rely on Contaminated  
            Groundwater," released in January 2013, 682 community public  
            water systems, which serve nearly 21 million people, rely on  
            contaminated groundwater as a primary source of drinking  
            water.  The report points out that an additional two million  
            Californians rely on groundwater from either private domestic  
            wells or smaller groundwater-reliant systems that are not  
            regulated by the state, the water quality of which is  
            uncertain.  The findings from State Water Board report, and a  
            2012 UC Davis study, "Addressing Nitrate in California's  
            Drinking Water," suggest that drinking water contamination in  
            California disproportionally affects small, rural and  
            low-income communities that depend mostly on groundwater as  
            their drinking water source.  

            The recent drought has further compromised the state's  
            drinking water supplies.  Since many rural households rely on  
            shallow domestic wells or small, poorly funded community water  
            supply systems, these communities have been the hardest hit.   
            According to the Public Policy Institute of California, as of  
            early July 2015, more than 2,000 dry domestic wells were  
            reported, mostly in the Central Valley and Sierras, with more  
            than half in Tulare County.  Emergency water supply needs have  
            also been identified for more than 100 small water community  
            water systems around the state

          3)State Action. In light of increasing drinking water system  
            failures exasperated by the drought, both the Legislature and  
            the Governor have taken many steps to provide funding for  
            drought relief, including the provision of safe drinking  
            water.  For example, Proposition 1 (Assembly Bill (AB) 1471,  
            Rendon, Chapter 188, Statutes of 2014), authorized $7.545  
            billion in general obligation bonds for water projects,  








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            including, among other provisions, drinking water protection.   
            Proposition 1 allocates $260 million for drinking water grants  
            and loans for public water system infrastructure improvements  
            and related actions to meet safe drinking water standards,  
            ensure affordable drinking water, or both.  As of February 1,  
            2016, about $9 million of this allocation was awarded.

            Additionally, on March 27, 2015, Governor Brown approved a $1  
            billion emergency drought relief package when he signed AB 91  
            (Committee on Budget, Chapter 1, Statutes of 2015) and AB 92  
            (Committee on Budget, Chapter 2, Statutes of 2015).  As a  
            result of the Governor's action, the SWB approved $19 million  
            in funding from the Cleanup and Abatement Account to meet  
            interim emergency drinking water needs for those communities  
            with a contaminated water supply, or that suffer drought  
            related water outages or threatened emergencies.  In an effort  
            to distribute funds as quickly and efficiently as possible,  
            the SWB is coordinating with the Regional Water Quality  
            Control Boards, its Division of Drinking Water district  
            offices, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the  
            Department of Water Resources, and other stakeholders (e.g.,  
            environmental justice groups, community assistance groups) to  
            identify those communities that are most at risk and require  
            financial assistance.  Approximately $11 million of this  
            funding allocation has been committed or spent.



          


          Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081














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