BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2470
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Date of Hearing: May 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2470 (Gonzalez) - As Amended April 26, 2016
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|Policy |Local Government |Vote:|8 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY: This bill requires a municipal water district, upon
request of an Indian tribe, to provide water service to the
tribe's lands that are not within a district. This bill only
applies if the tribe's land meet specified requirements: a) the
lands were owned by the tribe on January 1, 2016; b) the lands
are contiguous with at least two districts; c) the lands lie
within the special study area of at least one district; and, d)
at least 70% of the tribe's total Indian lands are currently
within the boundaries of one or more districts. A district
would have to provide water service at the same terms available
to their current customers. This bill also establishes
conditions that an Indian tribe must meet prior to receiving
water service. Under this bill, the service area of the
district and any public agency providing water would include the
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tribe's land, as specified. As written, this bill applies only
to the Sycuan Nation in San Diego County.
FISCAL EFFECT:
No state fiscal impact. Local agencies have the authority to
levy fees for related costs and thus, any local costs are not
reimbursable. Further, the bill requires the Indian tribe, by
agreement to accept all terms of, and payments to (including
service payments), the district as if the lands were fully
annexed into the district.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "The Sycuan Reservation is
uniquely placed in relation to surrounding water district
boundaries. The reservation is surrounded on three sides by
two different water districts, the Otay Municipal Water
District and the Padre Dam Municipal Water District. Both
districts are retail water agencies and members of both the
San Diego County Water Authority and the Metropolitan Water
District.
"Ironically, to better serve tribal homes on after-acquired
parcels with a safe and reliable source of drinking water, the
tribe paid millions of dollars to extend the water line within
the boundaries of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District.
This line terminates a mere two feet from the boundary of the
original reservation, yet cannot be extended on to the
original reservation without lengthy, costly, unnecessary and
uncertain artificial state-created processes, including
affirmative votes by the County Water Authority and
Metropolitan Water District, LAFCO review and approval and
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CEQA analysis. To ensure the public's safety, Sycuan needs
legislation requiring either adjoining water district to serve
the developed portions of the original Reservation, assuming
the tribe pays all necessary and appropriate charges as any
other similarly situated development or governmental entity."
2)Background. The San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) is a
water wholesaler and purchases more than half of the water
used in the region from the Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California (MWD) and sells it to its 24 member
agencies, including Padre Dam Municipal Water District and
Otay Municipal Water District. According to San Diego LAFCO's
municipal service review, "Membership in SDCWA is a
prerequisite for gaining entitlement to imported Colorado
River water and membership requires local agencies to defer to
SDCWA in certain areas of governance; for example, SDCWA
boundaries determine where agencies can extend service."
Annexations to member agencies like Padre Dam and Otay
Municipal Water District also require annexations to the
entities that provide them with the imported potable water
they provide to their customers. The Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg
Act delegates the Legislature's power to control the
boundaries of cities and special districts to LAFCOs. The Act
prohibits the districts from providing water service to the
lands outside their boundaries, unless the area is annexed
within their boundaries or they obtain written approval to
serve territory outside their boundaries.
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Under existing law, for Padre Dam Municipal Water District to
provide water service to the tribe's lands outside its
boundaries would require LAFCO approval, and must also be
consistent with MWD's Administrative Code, the County Water
Authority Act, and SDCWA's Annexation Policies and Procedures
which requires the Water Authority to evaluate the adequacy of
water supplies and facilities to meet the needs of the
proposed annexed territory. Sycuan submitted a petition in
2008 to the Otay Water District to annex the original
reservation parcels to the district, but later withdrew the
application.
This bill avoids the usual LAFCO annexation process and
instead requires either adjoining water district to serve the
developed portions of the original Reservation.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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