BILL NUMBER: AB 2092 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huffman
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
An act to add Sections 85215 85053.5,
85215, and 85216 to the Water Code, relating to water.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2092, as amended, Huffman. Delta Stewardship Council:
planning and administration: long-term financing plan.
Delta Plan: financing.
Existing law, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009,
establishes the Delta Stewardship Council as an independent agency
of the state. The council is required, on or before January 1, 2012,
to develop, adopt, and commence implementation of a comprehensive
management plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta Plan),
meeting specified requirements.
This bill would require the council to develop a long
term financing long-term finance plan to pay for
the costs of implementing the Delta Plan and for the
ongoing administration of the council by January 1, 2013.
The bill would require the long term financing plan to
include fee proposals to pay for private benefits associated with
implementation of the Delta Plan. The bill would prohibit
the council from adopting a fee new fees
for these purposes unless authorized by statute. The bill would
require the council, before adopting and collecting fees or
long term long-term revenue sources, to seek to
obtain early funding contributions from entities that may benefit
from implementation of the Delta Plan and to track those
contributions to provide credit against future fee or
funding requirements.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a critically important
natural resource for California and the nation and serves
Californians as both the most valuable estuary on the west coast of
North America and the hub of the California water system.
(b) The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed and water
infrastructure are in crisis.
(c) In 2009, the Legislature and Governor adopted a comprehensive
water package that included new policies and programs to address the
crisis.
(d) Senate Bill 1 of the Seventh Extraordinary Session adopted the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009, which created the
Delta Stewardship Council and directed the council to develop a
comprehensive Delta Plan to address the coequal goals of providing a
more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring,
and enhancing the Delta ecosystem.
(e) Long-term funding is needed to support the implementation of
the Delta Plan.
(f) A finance plan for implementing the Delta Plan should
recognize that public and private interests should contribute in
proportion to the benefits received or negative impacts caused.
SEC. 2. Section 85053.5 is added to the
Water Code , to read:
85053.5. "Beneficiary pays principle" means the allocation of
costs to public or private interests in approximate proportion to
benefits received or negative impacts caused.
SECTION 1. SEC. 3. Section 85215 is
added to the Water Code, to read:
85215. (a) By January 1, 2013, the council shall develop a
long term financing long-term finance
plan to pay for the costs of implementing the Delta Plan and
for the ongoing administration of the council. The financing
that includes all projects, programs, and related
administrative costs identified in the Delta Plan. The finance plan
shall be developed through an analytically based, transparent, and
open process.
(b) The finance plan shall include, but not be limited to, all of
the following information:
(1) An annual expenditure plan for implementation of the Delta
Plan.
(2) An estimate of all existing state and federal funds, including
General Fund moneys, special fund moneys, fees, and other sources of
revenue reasonably expected to be available to support expenditures.
(3) An evaluation of existing programs and projects to determine
if funding could be redirected to the Delta Plan, including, but not
limited to, funding previously directed at the CALLED Bay Delta
Program.
(4) A definition of public and private benefits.
(5) An analysis and description of the basis for allocating
program and project costs among private and public interests.
(6) An enforceable mechanism that ensures that fees, contractual
payments, cost-share agreements, and contributions are expended as
intended, and not diverted to other purposes.
(c) The finance plan shall recognize the broad public benefit to
the state and nation of restoring and enhancing the Delta ecosystem.
(d) The finance plan shall
identify and evaluate the benefits to all groups resulting from the
implementation of the Delta Plan, including, but not limited
to, potential benefits to all of the following: Plan.
The finance plan shall identify and evaluate the negative impacts
caused by all groups to the Delta that the Delta Plan seeks to
address. Benefits to, and impacts caused by, but not limited to, all
of the following shall be identified and evaluated:
(1) The public.
(2) Urban and agricultural water users diverting water in the
Delta.
(3) Urban and agricultural water users diverting water in the
Bay-Delta tributaries and watershed.
(4) Delta landowners, including, but not limited to, reclamation
districts and public and private landowners, and building and
transportation interests.
(5) Delta recreational users.
(6) Dischargers into the Delta or its tributaries, including
wastewater dischargers.
(7) Commercial fishing.
(8) Other interests with infrastructure or operations in the
Delta.
(b) The financing plan shall allocate program costs based on the
benefits identified in subdivision (a). The plan shall include fee
proposals to create revenues to pay for the private benefits
associated with implementation of the Delta Plan.
(e) The finance plan shall allocate costs based on the beneficiary
pays principle and pursuant to the analysis required in subdivision
(d). Financing proposals to pay for public benefits or impacts shall
include, but not be limited to, new and existing state and federal
funding including proceeds from the sale of bonds. Financing
proposals to pay for private benefits or impacts shall include, but
not be limited to, new and existing fees, contractual payments, and
cost-share agreements.
(f) The council shall review the finance plan at least once every
five years and update the plan as the council deems appropriate.
(c) Upon completion, the council shall present the plan
to the Legislature for approval. The council shall not
adopt a fee new fees pursuant to this
section unless a statute is enacted that authorizes the council to
adopt a fee pursuant to this section.
SEC. 2. SEC. 4. Section 85216 is
added to the Water Code, to read:
85216. (a) Prior to the establishment or collection of a
fee or a long term long-term
revenue source pursuant to Section 85215, the council shall seek to
obtain early funding contributions from groups that may benefit from
the implementation of the Delta Plan, for purposes of funding the
council's planning and administrative activities.
(b) The council shall track early funding contributions and shall
provide credit for those contributions against future fee or
funding requirements.