BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2874
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2874 (Beth Gaines) - As Amended March 15, 2016
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|Policy |Water, Parks and Wildlife |Vote:|14 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) to
notify the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) before
imposing or increasing a fee if the groundwater basin includes a
PUC regulated water corporation.
FISCAL EFFECT:
AB 2874
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No additional state costs.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, without coordination
between GSAs and the PUC, customers of regulated water
utilities may be harmed by changes in fees. This bill will
ensure the PUC is notified of any GSA fee decisions that may
affect water rates.
2)Background. There are over 108 investor-owned water utilities
under the PUC's jurisdiction providing water service to about
6 million Californians. The PUC investigates water and sewer
system service quality issues, and analyzes and processes
utility rate change requests. Regulated private water
utilities are not allowed to change rates or the terms of
service to their customers without PUC approval.
3)Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). SGMA requires
all groundwater basins designated as high or medium priority
basins subject to critical overdraft to be managed under a
groundwater sustainability plan by January 31, 2020, and all
other high or medium priority groundwater basins to be managed
under such a plan by January 31, 2022.
Local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to may become GSA
for that region. Water corporations regulated by the PUC or
mutual water companies may participate in a GSA through a
memorandum of agreement or other legal agreement
While SGMA allows water corporations and mutual water
companies to be members of a GSA, not all communities are
AB 2874
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including them. This bill addresses the instances in which a
water corporation is not a member of the GSA. If the GSA
imposes a fee, the corporation may not be authorized by the
PUC to impose a surcharge on its customers in order to collect
the fee. The notice requirement would alert the PUC regarding
the proposed fee.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081