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
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|Policy |Human Services |Vote:|6 - 0 |
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| |Environmental Safety and Toxic | |7 - 0 |
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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
AB 2099
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