BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 626|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 626
Author: Eng (D), et al
Amended: 8/7/09 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
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-4, 8/17/09
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza, Price, Wolk,
Yee
NOES: Denham, Runner, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-28, 6/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Bond revenues: integrated regional water
management:
grants
SOURCE : California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Water
Resources to achieve the 10 percent statewide allocation of
Integrated Regional Water Management funding within each
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region.
ANALYSIS : Existing law appropriates $181 971,000 of
Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) bond funds to
Department of Water Resource (DWR), including $139 million
for implementation and planning grants. Not less than 10
percent of that $139 million is required to address the
critical water supply needs of disadvantaged communities
and to facilitate participation of those communities in
integrated regional water management planning.
This bill:
1. Amends a 2008 appropriation to IRWM programs to require
DWR to grant IRWM funding to disadvantaged communities
within a hydrologic region in a total dollar amount that
is not less than 10 percent of the total dollar amount
of such grants awarded within the region.
2. Requires DWR to implement this provision with due
diligence, but only to the extent that the
implementation does not affect the expeditious
allocation of funds for IRWM grants.
3. Requires DWR to report to the Legislature on this
provision by July 1, 2010.
Background
On November 7, 2006, the voters approved the Safe Drinking
Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and
Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, (Proposition 84).
Among other things, Proposition 84 authorized the issuance
of $5.4 billion in general obligation bonds, of which $1.0
billion is available for IRWM programs and projects.
Proposition 84 further allocated the $900 million by
region, the other $100 million was designated as
Inter-regional/Unallocated, and were to be expended by the
DWR to address multiregional water needs or water issues of
statewide significance.
Last session, the Legislature passed and the Governor
signed SB 1XX (Perata). That bill, among other things,
appropriated funds to DWR for integrated regional water
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management activities, including:
$100 million for implementation grants.
$39 million for planning grants, local groundwater
assistance grants, and CALFED scientific research grants.
SB 1XX further specified that of the $139 million
appropriation, DWR was to allocate not less than 10 percent
to facilitate and support the participation of
disadvantaged communities in IRWM planning and for projects
that address critical water supply or water quality needs
for disadvantaged communities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
Fund
Updating grant guidelines Minor and absorbable
Bonds*
Cost pressures on bond Unknown, but minor pressures
Bonds*
funds
*Proposition 84
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/18/09)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (co-source)
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water (co-source)
Clean Water Action
Community Water Center
Organization of Chinese Americans, Sacramento
Sierra Nevada Alliance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"Disadvantaged communities around the state struggle to
meet basic water related public health functions including
supplying safe drinking water to their communities and
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maintaining basic wastewater infrastructure. These
communities lack, entirely, the capacity to engage in water
use efficiency programs, low impact development standards,
recycled water opportunities, etc. The IRWMP program
provides an opportunity for these communities to be part of
regional solutions that bring water-related agencies
together to develop integrated water management plans that
benefit from the efficiencies possible when multiple
agencies work together."
"AB 626 will ensure that disadvantaged communities in every
region have equitable access to these funds and to the
IRWMP process. SB 1XX (Perata), of 2008, required that no
less than 10 percent of the $139 million appropriated for
the IRWMP program be used to fund projects that provide
direct benefits to disadvantaged communities."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Gilmore, Hall, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson,
Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Hagman, Harkey,
Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Galgiani
CTW:do 8/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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