Amended in Assembly April 5, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 31, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 18, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2124

Introduced by Assembly begin delete Member end delete begin insert Members end insert Eduardo Garcia begin insert and Lackey end insert

February 17, 2016

An act to add Section begin delete 189.4 end delete begin insert 189.3 end insert to the Water Code, relating to begin delete school facilities, end delete begin insert water, end insert and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2124, as amended, Eduardo Garcia. begin delete School facilities: water bottle filling stations: State Water Resources Control Board grant program. end delete begin insert State Water Resources Control Board: grant program for school drinking water. end insert

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Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board as a state agency with authority over matters relating to water quality. Existing law requires the state board to formulate and adopt state policy for water quality control.

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This bill would require the state board to establish a grant program to award grants to public elementary and secondary schools to improve access to, and the quality of, drinking water. The bill would specify various types of projects for which these grants could be awarded. The bill would require the state board to give priority to applicants that serve a disadvantaged community, as defined, and applicants with known violations of primary drinking water standards. The bill would require the state board to develop procedures for the submission of applications for grants by local educational agencies and criteria for the evaluation of these applications, as specified. For applicants that do not serve disadvantaged communities, the bill would authorize the state board to require applicants to commit additional resources to a project or to give extra consideration to those applicants.

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The bill would appropriate $10,000,000, without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund to the state board for allocation to local educational agencies as grants made pursuant to the bill. The bill would provide that funds allocated to local educational agencies pursuant to this bill would supplement, and not supplant, the other state funds apportioned to these local educational agencies for their support. To the extent that the funds appropriated by this bill are allocated to school districts, the amount of these funds would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

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Existing law requires a school district to provide access to free, fresh drinking water during meal times in school food service areas by July 1, 2011, unless the governing board of a school district adopts a resolution stating that it is unable to comply with this requirement and demonstrating the reasons why it is unable to comply due to fiscal constraints or health and safety concerns. Existing law establishes the State Water Resources Control Board as a state agency with authority over matters relating to water quality.

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This bill would require the state board to establish, by regulation, a grant program for local educational agencies to install new water bottle filling stations on school campuses or to replace existing water fountains on school campuses with new water bottle filling stations. The bill would appropriate $10,000,000 from the General Fund to the state board for allocation to local educational agencies for these purposes and would require the funds to supplement, not supplant, other state funds apportioned to those local educational agencies for their support. The bill would also provide that the funds appropriated by this bill would be applied to the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 189.3 is added to the end insert begin insert Water Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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begin insert 189.3. end insert   

(a) The board shall establish a grant program to award
grants to public elementary and secondary schools to improve
access to, and the quality of, drinking water. The board may award
grants under this section for projects including, but not necessarily
limited to, any of the following:

(1) Installation of water bottle filling stations.

(2) Installation or replacement of drinking water fountains with
devices that are capable of removing any contaminants that are
present in the school’s water supply.

(3) Installation of point-of-entry or point-of-use treatment
devices.

(4) Plumbing repairs that improve drinking water quality.

(b) The board shall implement this section by taking actions
including, but not necessarily limited to, the development of
procedures for the submission of applications for grants by local
educational agencies and criteria for the evaluation of these
applications. The actions taken by the board pursuant to this
subdivision shall not be subject to the rulemaking requirements
of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(c) (1) In developing the procedure for awarding grants, the
board shall do each of the following:

(A) Establish a set-aside fund for rural areas of not less than
30 percent.

(B) Establish a maximum grant amount.

(C) Give priority to each of the following:

(i) Applicants that serve a disadvantaged community, as that
term is defined in Section 79505.5.

(ii) Applicants with known violations of primary drinking water
standards.

(2) (A) In developing the procedure for awarding grants, the
board may do either of the following:

(i) Give extra consideration to applicants that commit additional
resources to a project.

(ii) Require applicants to commit additional resources to a
project.

(B) The authority provided to the board pursuant to
subparagraph (A) does not apply to applicants that serve
disadvantaged communities.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) is hereby
appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, from the General
Fund to the State Water Resources Control Board for allocation
to local educational agencies as grants to improve access to, and
the quality of, drinking water at public elementary and secondary
schools pursuant to Section 189.3 of the Water Code. The funds
allocated to local educational agencies pursuant to this section
shall supplement, and not supplant, the other state funds
apportioned to these local educational agencies for their support.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 189.4 is added to the Water Code, to
read:

189.4.  

(a) The board shall establish, by regulation, a grant
program for local educational agencies to install new water bottle
filling stations on school campuses.

(b) Grant recipients may use grant funds only to install new
water bottle filling stations on school campuses or to replace
existing water fountains on school campuses with new water bottle
filling stations.

(c) For purposes of this section, “local educational agencies”
include school districts, charter schools, and county offices of
education.

SEC. 2.  

(a) The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) is
hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Water
Resources Control Board for allocation to local educational
agencies pursuant to Section 189.4 of the Water Code.

(b) The funds allocated to local educational agencies pursuant
to this section shall supplement, and not supplant, other state funds
apportioned to these local educational agencies for their support.

(c) For purposes of making the computations required by Section
8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the funds
appropriated pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be
“General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as
defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202 of the Education Code,
and included within the “total allocations to school districts and
community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes
appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision
(e) of Section 41202 of the Education Code.

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