BILL ANALYSIS
AB 626
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Date of Hearing: April 28, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared William Huffman, Chair
AB 626 (Eng) - As Amended: April 13, 2009
SUBJECT : Bond revenues: grants.
SUMMARY : Directs the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to
achieve the 10% statewide allocation of Prop 84 implementation
grants, planning grants, local groundwater assistance grants,
and CALFED scientific research grants to address the critical
water supply needs of disadvantaged communities required by
current state law by awarding the grants for those purposes to
disadvantaged communities within a hydrologic region in a total
dollar amount that is equivalent to 10% of the total dollar
amount of grants awarded in that region.
EXISTING LAW appropriates $181,971,000 of Prop 84 bond funds to
DWR for integrated regional water management activities. Of
that appropriation, $100 million is allocated for implementation
grants and $39 million for planning grants, local groundwater
assistance grants, and CALFED scientific research grants. Of
that $139 million, existing law requires that DWR allocate not
less than 10% to address the critical water supply needs of
disadvantaged communities and to facilitate participation of
those communities in integrated regional water management
planning.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : AB 626 addresses the section of SB 1XX (Perata),
chaptered in the 2008 Second Extraordinary session, which
applies to integrated regional water management plan (IRWMP)
fund allocations for disadvantaged communities. AB 626 directs
that the funds targeted to disadvantaged community projects be
distributed in a manner proportionate to the amount of the funds
that each region receives from the total IRWMP appropriation,
specifically 10% of each hydrologic region's total Prop 84 IRWMP
funds.
SB 1XX was the outcome of a comprehensive bicameral effort to
spend previously appropriated bond funds approved by voters and
make consistent in law the provisions of Prop 50 and Prop 84.
The needs of disadvantaged communities played a large role in
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the crafting of SB 1XX, for example:
$50 million to State Department of Public Health (DPH)
for grants for small community drinking water system
infrastructure improvements with first priority given to
disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged communities.
$50.4 million to DPH for projects to prevent or reduce
contamination of groundwater used for drinking water, with
prioritized funding for projects that serve disadvantaged
communities.
Not less than 10% of $139 million in IRWMP planning and
implementation grant funds to projects that address the
critical water supply and water quality needs for
disadvantaged communities.
$2 million to Tulare County for development of an
integrated water quality and wastewater treatment program
plan to address the drinking water and wastewater needs of
disadvantaged communities in the Tulare Lake Basin.
Outreach to disadvantaged communities to assist in the
creation of IRWMPs.
Requirements that all IRWMP's identify and consider the
water related needs of disadvantaged communities.
Requirements that the development and implementation of
an IRWMP include a public process that provides outreach
and an opportunity for disadvantaged community members and
representatives including environmental justice
organizations, neighborhood councils and social justice
organizations to participate.
AB 626 may delay the issuance of some grants by DWR as they
apply the new allocation requirements. SB 1XX just took effect
on March 1, 2009, and DWR has begun to process IRWMP grants. On
the other hand, AB 626 may prove to be moot, as it would take
effect on January 1, 2010, at which point the bulk of IRWMP
planning and implementation grants may have already been issued
without the allocation requirements proposed by this bill. The
sponsors note that AB 626 is not intended to delay the
distribution of allocated IRWMP funds to the regions, and argue
that the bill will provide a tangible and measurable investment
in disadvantaged communities as part of receiving these
allocations.
AB 626 will not increase funding for disadvantaged communities,
but rather direct how the funds dedicated to disadvantaged
communities in SB1XX will be distributed by region. The
sponsors argue that the prioritization of disadvantaged
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communities in each region will give disadvantaged communities a
'seat at the table'. However, SB 1XX already requires the
involvement and consideration of the needs of disadvantaged
communities in the planning and implementation of all IRWMPs as
noted above.
In addition, there is some inconsistency between the language of
AB 626 and SB 1XX. SB 1XX requires that DWR allocate not less
than 10 percent of the IRWMP implementation and planning grants
to facilitate and support participation of disadvantaged and
address the critical water supply or water quality needs of
disadvantaged communities. AB 626 requires that the department
achieve that 10 percent allocation by awarding grants for those
purposes in a total dollar amount equivalent to 10 percent of
the total dollar amount of grants awarded in each region. In
practical effect this inconsistency results in a cap at 10% per
region of IRWMP grants for disadvantaged communities, no matter
then needs of the communities in each region, and in conflict of
SB 1XX which allocates not less than 10% to these communities.
To address this inconsistency, the committee may wish to
consider the following amendment:
Page 6, lines 18 - 23: "The department shall achieve that 10
percent statewide the allocation for the disadvantaged community
purposes described in clause (i) by awarding grants for those
purposes to disadvantaged communities within a hydrologic region
in a total dollar amount equivalent to not less than 10 percent
of the total dollar amount of grants awarded within the region."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water (Co-Sponsor)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (Co-Sponsor)
Sierra Nevada Alliance
Opposition: None submitted
Analysis Prepared by : Lindsey Scott-Florez / W., P. & W. /
(916) 319-2096