BILL NUMBER: AB 1946 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 152
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 21, 2000
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 21, 2000
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 6, 2000
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 25, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wayne
FEBRUARY 15, 2000
An act to repeal and add Section 115910 of the Health and Safety
Code, relating to public beaches.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1946, Wayne. Public beaches: survey.
Existing law provides that whenever any beach fails to meet
certain bacteriological standards established by the State Department
of Health Services, the local health officer shall, at a minimum,
post the beach with conspicuous warning signs to inform the public of
the nature of the problem and the possibility of risk to public
health.
Existing law further requires each local health officer to submit
to the State Water Resources Control Board an annual survey
documenting all beach postings and closures due to threats to the
public health that occurred during the preceding calendar year, and
requires the board to publish annually a statewide report documenting
the beach posting and closure data provided to the board by the
health officer for the preceding calendar year.
This bill would revise these survey requirements to instead
require each local health officer to submit to the board, on or
before the 15th day of each month, a survey including certain
information and documenting all beach postings and closures resulting
from failure of a beach to meet the bacteriological standards
specified above. The bill would require the board, on or before
February 1, 2001, to establish a prescribed format for the surveys,
and to make available to the public specified information on the
beach closures. It would further require the board to publish its
statewide report on or before July 30 of each year and make available
to the public copies of this report by a variety of means typically
available to the board. By increasing the level of service required
of local health officers with respect to the beach surveys, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 115910 of the Health and Safety Code is
repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 115910 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
115910. (a) On or before the 15th day of each month, each health
officer shall submit to the board a survey documenting all beach
postings and closures resulting from implementation of Section 115915
that occurred during the preceding month. The survey shall, at a
minimum, include the following information:
(1) Identification of the beaches in each county subject to
testing conducted pursuant to Section 115885 and the amount and types
of monitoring conducted at each beach.
(2) Identification of the geographic location, areal extent, and
type of action taken for each incident of posting or closure
conducted pursuant to Section 115915. Geographic location and areal
extent shall be noted in sufficient detail to determine on a common
map, or by latitude and longitude, the approximate boundaries of the
affected beaches.
(3) Identification of the standards exceeded and the causes and
sources of the pollution, if known. Exceeded standards shall be
identified with sufficient particularity to determine which types of
tests and biological indicators were used to determine that an
exceeded standard exists. Causes of pollution shall be identified
with sufficient particularity to determine what substances, in
addition to any water carrying the substances, were responsible for
the exceeded standard. Sources shall be identified with sufficient
particularity to determine the most specific geographical origin of
the pollution sources available to the health officer at the time of
the posting or closure.
(b) Surveys conducted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be in a
specific format established by the board on or before February 1,
2001. The board shall make the format easily accessible to the
health officer through means that will enable the health officer to
most effectively carry out the requirements of this section and
enable the board to develop consistent, statewide data concerning the
effect and status of beach postings and closures in a particular
calendar year.
(c) On or before the 30th day of each month, the board shall make
available to the public the information provided by the health
officers. Based upon the data provided pursuant to subdivision (a),
the report shall, at a minimum, include the location and duration of
each beach closure and the suspected sources of the contamination
that caused the closure, if known.
(d) On or before July 30 of each year, the board shall publish a
statewide report documenting the beach posting and closure data
provided to the board by the health officers for the preceding
calendar year. Based upon the data provided pursuant to subdivision
(a), the report shall, at a minimum, include the location and
duration of each beach closure and the suspected sources of the
contamination that caused the closure, if known.
(e) Within 30 days of publication of the annual report, the board
shall distribute copies of the report to the Governor, the
Legislature, and major media organizations, and copies of the report
shall be made available to the public by a variety of means typically
available to the board.
SEC. 3. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.