BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 49
Author: Feuer (D)
Amended: 7/9/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 7-3, 7/6/09
AYES: Pavley, Kehoe, Leno, Padilla, Simitian, Wiggins,
Wolk
NOES: Benoit, Hollingsworth, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cogdill
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 43-30, 6/3/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Water conservation
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill states the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation to establish a 20 percent water
efficiency requirement for the year 2020 for agricultural
and urban water users.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the Department of Water
Resources to undertake or administer various programs
related to water conservation.
Background
Under existing law, the California Water Plan is accepted
as the master plan that guides the orderly and coordinated
CONTINUED
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control, protection, conservation, development, management
and efficient utilization of the water resources of the
state. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) is required
to update the Water Plan on or before December 31, 2003,
and every five years thereafter. The plan shall include a
discussion of various strategies that may be pursued in
order to meet the future water needs of the state.
The Urban Water Management Planning Act requires urban
water suppliers to prepare and submit Urban Water
Management Plans to DWR every five years on or before
December 31, in years ending in five and zero. Among other
things, the plans are required to:
1.Describe the reliability of the water supply by water
year type (average, single dry year, etc.)
2.Quantify, to the extent records are available, past,
current, and projected water use, identifying the uses
among water use sectors (residential, commercial, etc.).
3.Describe each water demand management measure currently
being implemented, or scheduled for implementation.
The Agricultural Water Management Planning Act required
agricultural water suppliers that supply more than 50,000
acre-feet of water annually to develop agricultural water
management plans by 1992. Among other things, and to the
extent information was available, the reports were to
address the following:
1.Current water conservation and reclamation practices
being used.
2.Plans for changing current water conservation plans.
3.Conservation educational services being used.
4.Whether the supplier, through improved irrigation water
management, has a significant opportunity to do one or
both of the following:
5.Save water by means of reduced evapotranspiration,
evaporation, or reduction of flows to unusable water
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bodies that fail to serve further beneficial uses.
6.Reduce the quantity of highly saline or toxic drainage
water.
Existing law makes the terms of, and eligibility for, a
water management grant or loan made to an urban water
supplier and awarded or administered by the department,
state board, or California Bay-Delta Authority or its
successor agency conditioned on the implementation of the
water demand management measures identified in the Urban
Water Management Planning Act.
Under Federal law (Section 210 Public Law 97-293 of 1982)
all Central Valley Project contractors are required to
develop water conservation plans. In 1993, the Central
Valley Project Improvement Act Section 3405(e) required the
Bureau of Reclamation to develop criteria to determine the
adequacy of the water conservation plans required by
Section 210. The Bureau adopted the criteria in 1993 and
the most recent update was done in 2005.
On February 28, 2008 Governor Schwarzenegger sent a letter
to Senators Perata, Steinberg, and Machado in response to
their concerns that his administration was unilaterally
beginning work on a "peripheral canal." In that letter,
the Governor identified administrative actions he was
considering as part of a comprehensive solution in the
Delta. Included in that letter was the following "key
element:"
A plan to achieve a 20 percent reduction in per capita
water use statewide by 2020. Conservation is one of
the key ways to provide water for Californians and
protect and improve the Delta ecosystem. A number of
efforts are already underway to expand conservation
programs, but I plan to direct state agencies to
develop this more aggressive plan and implement it to
the extent permitted by current law. I would welcome
legislation to incorporate this goal into statute.
This bill states the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to establish a 20 percent water efficiency
requirement for the year 2020 for agricultural and urban
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water users.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified - reflects prior version)
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (source)
Natural Resources Defense Council (source)
Aerospace Cancer Museum of Education
Amigo de los Rios
CA ReLeaf
California League of Conservation Voters
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance
California State Grange
California Striped Bass Association West Delta Chapter
California Urban Forests Council
Central Basin Municipal Water District
City of Los Angeles
Clean Up Rocketdyne
Clean Water Action
Contra Costa Water District
Defenders of Wildlife
Diablo Valley Fly Fishermen
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Entrepreneurs
Food and Water Watch
Friends of the River
Green Plumbers USA
Heal the Bay
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Irvine Ranch Water District
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority
National Parks Conservation Association
Northern California/Nevada Council Federation of Fly
Fishers
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations
Pacific Institute
Sierra Club California
Sierra Nevada Alliance
Sonoma County Water Agency
The Bay Institute
Three Valleys Municipal Water District
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TreePeople
Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District
Water 4 Fish
West Basin Municipal Water District
OPPOSITION : (Verified - reflects prior version)
Agricultural Council of California
Association of California Water Agencies
California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers
California Association of Wheat Growers
California Association of Winegrape Growers
California Bean Shippers
California Cattlemen's Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Citrus Mutual
California Cotton Growers and Ginners Associations
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Grain and Feed
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Nevada Soft Drink Association
California Pear Growers
California Retailers Association
California Rice Commission
California State Floral Association
California Warehouse Association
Chemical Industry Council of California
City of Lakewood
Family Winemakers of California
Friant Water Authority
Grocery Manufacturers Association
Imperial Irrigation District
Industrial Environmental Association
Irrigation Association
Kern County Water Agency
Modesto Irrigation District
Nisei Farmers League
Northern California Water Association
Pacific Egg and Poultry Association
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Santa Barbara Technology and Industry Association
Solano County Water Agency
Tule River Association
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Valley Ag Water Coalition
Western Growers
Western States Petroleum Association
Wine Institute
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Beall, Blumenfield, Brownley, Buchanan,
Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng,
Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Hall, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A. Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner,
Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Bill Berryhill, Tom
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall,
Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Harkey, Huber, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland,
Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Caballero, Charles Calderon,
Fletcher, Galgiani, Miller, Yamada
CTW:nl 7/10/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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