BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1242|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1242
Author: Ruskin (D)
Amended: 9/4/09 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 : 8-5, 8/27/09
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza, Price, Wolk,
Yee
NOES: Cox, Denham, Runner, Walters, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-25, 5/28/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : State water policy
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes in law a state policy that
all residents of the state have a right to clean,
affordable, and accessible drinking water. The bill
directs relevant state agencies to take reasonable steps to
implement the policy.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/4/09 change "domestic uses" to
the more precise "human consumption, cooking, and sanitary
CONTINUED
AB 1242
Page
2
purposes."
ANALYSIS : In 1913, the Legislature passed and the
Governor signed the Water Commission Act (Chapter 586,
Statutes 1913). In addition to establishing a formal state
process for appropriating surface water, the Water
Commission Act established as state policy that domestic
water use was a higher priority that other water uses.
When California's water laws were codified in 1943, that
policy was captured in Water Code Section 106, which
states:
"It is hereby declared to be the established policy of
this State that the use of water for domestic purposes
is the highest use of water and that the next highest
use is for irrigation."
In 1989, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed the
AB 21 (Sher). Among other things, that bill established in
Health and Safety Code Section 116270 Legislative findings
and declarations stating:
"(a) Every citizen of California has the right to pure
and safe drinking water."
In November 2002, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (Committee) adopted "General Comment No.
15: The Right to Water (arts. 11 and 12 of the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights)." In that comment, the Committee interpreted and
provided guidelines regarding the right to water pursuant
to two articles of the 1966 International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In its introduction, General Comment 15 affirms that:
"The human right to water entitles everyone to
sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and
affordable water for personal and domestic uses."
It notes that the right to water has been recognized in a
wide range of international documents and reaffirms the
fundamental importance of the right stating that:
AB 1242
Page
3
"The human right to water is indispensable for leading
a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the
realization of other human rights."
As noted in a UN "Backgrounder" on the human right to
water, "While the General Comment is not legally binding on
the 146 States that have ratified the International
Covenant, it aims to assist and promote the implementation
of the Covenant and does carry the weight and influence of
'soft law'".
This bill:
1. Declares that the established policy of the state is
that every human being has the right to clean,
affordable, and accessible water, for human consumption,
cooking, and sanitary purposes that is adequate for the
health and well-being of the individual and family.
2. Requires all relevant state agencies to employ all
reasonable means to implement this state policy. Those
state agencies will further required revising, adopting,
or establishing policies, regulations, and granting
criteria to further this state policy, including
establishing affordability criteria as appropriate to
the extent that those actions do not affect eligibility
for federal funds.
3. Provides that these provisions do not expand any
obligation of the state to provide water or to require
the expenditure of additional resources to develop water
infrastructure beyond the obligations that may exist in
existing law.
4. Applies to water supplies for individuals and not for
new development.
5. Establishes that implementation of these provisions are
not to infringe on the rights or responsibilities of any
public water system.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
AB 1242
Page
4
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
Depart. of Public Health $165 $165 General
review of regulations
State costs to ensure Unknown Unknown
access to drinking water
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/8/09)
Alliance for Democracy
Breast Cancer Action
California League of Conservation Voters
California Nurses Association
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California Teachers Association
Californians for Pesticide Reform
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton
Center for Environmental Health
City of Visalia
Clean Water Action
Comite Civico Del Valle, Inc.
Community Water Center
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Federation of Retired Union Members of Santa Clara County
Food & Water Watch
Fort Ord Environmental Justice Network, Inc.
Friends of the River
Goshen Mutual Water Company
Green LA Coalition Urban Ecosystems Work Group
Heal the Bay
Henry T. Perea, Councilmember, District 7
La Asociacion de Gente Unida por el Agua
League of Women Voters of California
Movement Generation
National Nurses Organizing Committee
Natural Resources Defense Council
Pesticide Action Network North America
Physicians for Social Responsibility/Sacramento
Plainview Mutual Water Company
Planning and Conservation League
AB 1242
Page
5
San Jerardo Cooperative, Inc.
Sierra Club California
Southern California Watershed Alliance
The Women's Foundation of California
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry Action Network
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
Urban Semillas
West Goshen Mutual Water Company
Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Hundreds of individuals
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"Access to clean, safe and affordable water is a
fundamental human right essential to our health, the
environment and the economy." "This bill simply ensures
that future regulations, grant programs, and agency
practices are designed to move California forward to a day
when everyone in California can have safe, affordable
drinking water so they may drink their water without
endangering their health."
Supporters generally describe problems with accessibility
to clean or affordable water. These included drinking
water quality problems such as excessive levels of
nitrates, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and naturally
occurring chemicals in high concentrations. As many
supporters point out, a consequence of poor water quality
is that many families, particularly in economically
disadvantaged communities, are force to switch to much more
expensive bottled water to meet their domestic water needs.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani,
Gilmore, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huffman, Jones,
Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning,
Nava, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
AB 1242
Page
6
Torrico, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines,
Garrick, Hagman, Harkey, Huber, Jeffries, Knight, Logue,
Miller, Nestande, Niello, Silva, Smyth, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee
DLW:do 9/8/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****