BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 144


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          144 (Pan)


          As Amended  April 6, 2015


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  40-0


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Water           |15-0 |Levine, Bigelow,      |                    |
          |                |     |Dababneh, Dahle,      |                    |
          |                |     |Dodd, Beth Gaines,    |                    |
          |                |     |Cristina Garcia,      |                    |
          |                |     |Gomez, Harper, Lopez, |                    |
          |                |     |Mathis, Medina,       |                    |
          |                |     |Rendon, Salas,        |                    |
          |                |     |Williams              |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow,       |                    |
          |                |     |Bloom, Bonta,         |                    |
          |                |     |Calderon, Chang,      |                    |
          |                |     |Nazarian, Eggman,     |                    |
          |                |     |Gallagher, Eduardo    |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Holden,       |                    |
          |                |     |Jones, Quirk, Rendon, |                    |








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          |                |     |Wagner, Weber, Wood   |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          SUMMARY:  Updates the project descriptions and authorizations  
          for specific state law flood control projects along the American  
          and Sacramento Rivers in order to make the scope of those  
          projects consistent with their current federal feasibility  
          studies and authorizations.  Also makes nonsubstantive technical  
          corrections.  


          EXISTING LAW:


          1)Requires flood management projects that receive state  
            financial assistance, as specified, to:


             a)   Qualify for federal financial assistance under the  
               requirements applicable to federal water resource  
               development projects and to be federally authorized.


             b)   Be cost-effective, as specified.


             c)   Be in compliance with federal floodplain management, as  
               specified.


             d)   Avoid, minimize, or mitigate impacts to environmental  
               and recreational values.


             e)   Include an opportunity to include multipurpose  
               objectives.








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          2)Requires the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (formerly  
            called the Reclamation Board) or Department of Water Resources  
            (DWR), in an advisory role, to provide sufficient review and  
            oversight to determine whether the project meets the statutory  
            requirements set out above.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, this bill increases the state obligation (called a  
          subvention) by approximately $40 to $60 million (General Fund).   
          Although DWR estimates that the state's cost share of the  
          updated project will likely increase $40-60 million, because the  
          project changes were in response to more stringent levee  
          requirements, doing the project as originally authorized is not  
          an option.  This bill conforms the state's authorization to the  
          most recent federal authorization.


          COMMENTS:  This bill would update the current state  
          authorization for flood control along the American and  
          Sacramento Rivers to match the federal authorization, as  
          modified by the final feasibility study for the Natomas Basin.   
          The bill would also make numerous technical, non-substantive  
          corrections to the authorizing statutes.


          Under the State Water Resources Law of 1945, the state may  
          participate in funding local flood control projects that are  
          authorized by the Legislature and that meet other specific  
          requirements.  One requirement is that the project must be  
          authorized by Congress.  The Natomas Basin was previously  
          federally authorized but the description of the project in the  
          federal authorization was updated in 2014.


          The author states that the constructed projects, as specified in  
          this bill, will increase the ability of the existing flood  








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          control system to protect heavily urbanized areas within the  
          City of Sacramento and the counties of Sacramento and Sutter  
          consistent with specifications prescribed as part of the  
          Sacramento River Flood Control Project.  The author states that  
          this bill would ensure that the historic Federal-State-local  
          cost-sharing partnership is continued and construction moves  
          forward as quickly as possible.  


          Other supporters state that this bill would modify the 2007  
          state authorization for the Natomas Project to match the federal  
          authorizations.  Supporters note this bill will not alter the  
          federal-state-local cost sharing made applicable to the project  
          under the 2007 authorization but simply harmonizes the state  
          authorization with the federal feasibility, which increased the  
          scope of work in order to provide the Natomas Basin with a  
          200-year level of flood protection.   




          There is no known opposition to this bill.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Tina Leahy / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096  FN:  
          0001657


















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