BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1540
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1540
AUTHOR: Health Committee
AMENDED: July 2, 2009
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: July 13, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Rachel Machi
Wagoner
SUBJECT : HEALTH OMNIBUS
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1)Includes various provisions related to health, public health
and mental health.
2)Under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), requires
the federal Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to set
standards for drinking water quality and oversee the states,
localities, and water suppliers who implement those
standards. California has authority over drinking water,
delegated by US EPA.
3)Establishes the Drinking Water Program within the Department
of Public Health (DPH) to regulate public drinking water
systems
4)Authorizes point-of-entry devices for water treatment to
meet drinking water standards as specified by state and
federal law.
This bill :
1)Makes technical and substantives changes to provisions of
law related to the California Department of Managed Health
Care (DMHC), the Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development (OSHPD), the California Department of Public
Health (DPH) and the California Health Benefits Review
Program (CHBRP).
2)This bill makes various changes to the regulation of
AB 1540
Page 2
drinking water by:
a) Limiting the types of water suppliers who may certify
alternative water sources in compliance with federal law;
b) Modifying penalties for violations of turbidity
standards for drinking water in compliance with federal
law;
c) Authorizing point-of-use devices for water treatment
to meet drinking water standards.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of Bill . According to the Assembly Health
Committee, this omnibus bill addresses several technical
changes in health programs. The DPH is a specific supporter
of the SDWA provisions to ensure compliance with federal law
and prevent the loss of federal funding and grants. In
addition, this bill extends the sunset of CHBRP, established
by AB 1996 (Thomson) Chapter 795, Statutes of 2002. CHBRP
is required to publish analysis with relevant data on the
public health, medical, and economic impact of proposed
health plan and health insurance benefit mandate
legislation.
2)Are point-of-use and point-of-entry treatment devices
effective and safe for the treatment of drinking water?
According to DPH, there are small water systems that are in
the process of applying for grant funding to assist in the
expense of upgrades to centralized treatment of drinking
water. However, while they are in the process of applying
and receiving grant funding from DPH, they are unable to
afford these necessary upgrades. DPH suggests that, as a
stop gap, these small systems be allowed to install
point-of-use devices for water treatment in addition to
point-of-entry devices.
While this may be a valid and useful temporary solution,
point-of-use and point-of-entry treatment devices do not
present adequate regulatory assurance of removal of
contaminants in water that may be harmful over the long
term. Amendments are needed to ensure that this is an
interim solution for small systems by: a) limiting these
devices to systems of less than 200 connections; b) that
AB 1540
Page 3
have applied for grant funding to install centralized
treatment; c) by limiting the period of time they can be in
use and d) requiring that the residents of small water
systems be notified by the water system of contaminants in
their water.
SOURCE : Assembly Health Committee
SUPPORT : California Society for Clinical Social Work
OPPOSITION : None on file