BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2776
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 21, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

           AB 2776 (Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife) - As Amended:   
                                   April 6, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              Water, Parks and  
          Wildlife     Vote:                            13-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill makes numerous amendments intended to clarify the  
          Water Code.  Specifically, this bill:

          1)Extends the terms of two board members on each of the nine  
            regional water quality control boards in the state to  
            September 30, 2014, in order to make the terms for each board  
            member consistent and uniform.

          2)Requires an agency delivering recycled water to a condominium  
            project, prior to the indoor use of the water, to file a  
            report with the State Department of Public Health, in addition  
            to the regional water quality control board.

          3)Deletes an existing exemption from constitutional subvention  
            requirements which has been found to be unconstitutional by a  
            court of appeal.

          4)Deletes a requirement for notice in permit or license  
            revocation procedures where the permit or license holder  
            themselves is requesting the revocation.

          5)Clarifies existing provisions relating to unlawful discharges  
            for which a federal Clean Water Act permit has not been  
            issued.

          6)Clarifies that the State Water Resources Control Board  
            (SWRCB), on its own motion, may review regional water quality  
            control board basin planning actions.      









                                                                  AB 2776
                                                                  Page  2

          7)Updates cross-references, deletes obsolete provisions, and  
            makes various technical and clarifying changes.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible costs, if any.

           COMMENTS  

             1)   Rationale.  The Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife  
               intends this bill to be a technical cleanup of the Water  
               Code.  According to the author and SWRCB (the bill's  
               sponsor), the bill makes numerous, technical, clarifying  
               and non-substantive changes to update and improve the Water  
               Code and makes non-controversial changes to conform with  
               other existing laws and to clarify procedures.

              2)   Background  .  Existing law creates the SWRCB and nine  
               regional water quality control boards.  The state and  
               regional boards have authority over water allocation and  
               water quality protection.  The regional boards develop and  
               enforce water quality objectives and regional basin plans,  
               issue waste discharge requirements and monitor water  
               quality.


           Analysis Prepared by :    Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081