BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2874 (Beth Gaines)
As Amended June 2, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(May 05, 2016) |SENATE: |37-0 |(June 30, 2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: W., P., & W.
SUMMARY: Requires a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA),
before imposing or increasing a fee authorized by certain
provisions of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA)
relating to a groundwater basin that includes a water
corporation regulated by the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC), to notify the CPUC.
The Senate amendments made technical changes to clarify that the
fees to which the notice requirement apply are those authorized
by SGMA.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires, pursuant to Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
(SGMA), all groundwater basins designated as high or medium
priority basins subject to critical overdraft to be managed
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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.
2)Authorizes any local agency or combination of agencies
overlying a groundwater basin to become a GSA for that region.
A combination of local agencies may form a GSA by using a
joint powers agreement, or a memorandum of agreement or other
legal agreement. Authorizes a water corporation regulated by
the CPUC or a mutual water company to participate in a GSA
through a memorandum of agreement or other legal agreement.
Provides that this authority does not confer any additional
powers to a nongovernmental entity.
3)Authorizes a GSA to impose fees, including but not limited to,
permit fees and fees on groundwater extraction, to fund the
costs of a groundwater sustainability program.
4)Authorizes the CPUC to regulate privately owned electric,
natural gas, telephone, water, and sewer utilities, and to
process utility rate change requests.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible if any state
costs.
COMMENTS: This bill seeks to protect customers of water
utilities regulated by the CPUC from the effects of a potential
lack of coordination between GSAs and the CPUC. While SGMA
allows an investor-owned utility to be a member of a GSA, not
all communities are including investor-owned utilities in the
GSAs that they are forming. In those instances in which an
investor owned utility is not a member of the GSA, and the GSA
imposes a fee, the notice requirement in this bill would alert
the CPUC regarding the proposed fee. The Senate amendments were
technical and address a potential concern that this bill as
passed by the Assembly could have been interpreted to require
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GSAs to notify the CPUC regarding fees that are not related to
SGMA. As amended, the notice requirement is triggered only if
the GSA imposes or increases a fee authorized by specified
provisions of SGMA.
Analysis Prepared by:
Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096
FN:
0003583