BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2124
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2124 (Eduardo Garcia) - As Amended April 26, 2016
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|Policy |Environmental Safety and Toxic |Vote:|7 - 0 |
|Committee: |Materials | | |
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| |Education | |7 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill appropriates $10 million from the General Fund (GF) to
the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to establish a
drinking water grant program for public elementary and secondary
schools. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the SWRCB to award grants for projects that will
provide students and school staff with access to safe drinking
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water, as specified.
2)Requires SWRCB to develop application procedures and
evaluation criteria. Exempts these actions from the
Administrative Procedures Act. Requires SWRCB to develop a
procedure for awarding grants, as specified.
3)Requires SWRCB to give priority to the following:
a) Applicants serving small disadvantaged communities, as
defined.
b) Applicants served by a failing public water system, as
determined by SWRCB.
4)Prohibits SWRCB from requiring matching funds from applicants
serving disadvantaged communities, but allows SWRCB to
encourage other applicants to commit additional resources to
the projects.
5)Requires funds allocated to applicants to supplement, and not
supplant other state funds awarded to public schools.
6)Requires SWRCB to report to the Legislature six months after
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allocating funds, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT:
One-time GF appropriation of $10 million to SWRCB for grants and
administration of the program.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, an estimated 200,000 school
children in California lack safe, clean drinking water. Often
these schools are located in high poverty, high needs
communities. Although state and federal laws require schools
to provide access to drinking water at school during meal
times, schools are just beginning to recover from the
recession and don't have the resources to deliver reliable
water to students. This bill provides $10 million to improve
access and the quality of drinking water at schools. This bill
requires priority for funding to schools in very small
disadvantaged communities and schools who consistently fail to
provide an adequate safe drinking water supply.
2)Background. SWRCB is required to establish primary drinking
water standards (maximum contaminant levels, or MCLs) that are
not less stringent than the national primary drinking water
standards adopted by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency. The standards are set at a level as close
to the public health goal as is technologically and
economically feasible, placing primary emphasis on the
protection of public health.
According to the SWRCB report, "Communities that Rely on
Contaminated Groundwater," released in January 2013, 682
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community public water systems, serving nearly 21 million
people, rely on contaminated groundwater as a primary source
of drinking water. An additional two million Californians
rely on groundwater from private domestic wells or small
groundwater-reliant systems not regulated by the state.
Findings from the 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.
Schools have also faced challenges in providing safe drinking
water. The Community Water Center and researchers at Stanford
University and California State University, Stanislaus, are
currently assessing the prevalence of unsafe water in
California public schools. Preliminary results estimate
between 813 to 1,522 schools in California experienced at
least one MCL violation between 2003and 2014, with an
additional 336-534 schools experiencing at least one MCL
violation in two or more years during the same time period.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081