BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2099 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 11, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 2099 (Mark Stone) - As Amended April 14, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Human Services |Vote:|6 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | |Environmental Safety and Toxic | |7 - 0 | | |Materials | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 2099 Page 2 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 AB 2099 Page 3 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, AB 2099 Page 4 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 AB 2099 Page 5