BILL ANALYSIS
SB 808
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 808 (Wolk)
As Amended January 25, 2010
2/3 vote. Urgency
SENATE VOTE :35-0
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Huffman, Fuller, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, Hill, |
| |Anderson, Arambula, Tom | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Berryhill, Blumenfield, | |Calderon, Coto, Davis, |
| |Caballero, Fletcher, | |Hall, Harkey, Miller, |
| |Bonnie Lowenthal, Feuer, | |Nielsen, Norby, Skinner, |
| |Yamada | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
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SUMMARY : Extends the inoperative date on the current Delta
levee maintenance subvention program from July 1, 2010 to July
1, 2013. Specifically, this bill :
1)Extends the current reimbursement rates, which allow the State
to pay local agencies up to 75% of levee maintenance costs
which exceed $1,000 per mile, to July 1, 2013.
2)Requires reimbursements to reflect the priorities of, and be
consistent with, the Delta Plan.
3)Amends the existing inoperative date of July 1, 2010 as an
urgency statute to take effect immediately.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires DWR to study the risks posed to the integrity of the
Delta by various hazards and to prioritize options for their
mitigation. This effort is known as the Delta Risk Management
Strategy (DRMS).
2)Establishes a planning framework for the Delta: the Delta
Plan. The Delta Plan is due January 2012 and will likely
incorporate the DRMS levee risk management results.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
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Committee, cost pressures of an unknown amount, potentially in
the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, to fund local
levee maintenance projects. That is because this bill maintains
the current cost-share ratio for local levee maintenance of 75%
state funds to 25% local funds. Absent this bill, the program
converts to a lower 50-50 cost-share ratio for local levee
maintenance. (Most likely bond funds, though subvention
payments could come from the General Fund.)
DWR reports that, last year, local agencies did not claim all
available state funds (bond funds) for levee maintenance
projects because they could not meet the 25% match. DWR
concludes that, should the program convert to a 50-50 cost-share
ratio, locals would be even less able undertake levee
maintenance projects and the state may have to spend more money
then it would have spent on subvention payments in order to
address emerging or acute levee failures.
COMMENTS : The Delta levees are the key physical element
maintaining the Delta in its current state and are essential for
the protection from flooding of human life, property (e.g.
buildings, equipment, and crops, among others), water quality
and wildlife habitat. While the Delta levees are mostly
private, the State and Federal governments also rely upon them
to maintain the use of the Delta as a water conveyance system
for the State Water Project (SWP) and the federal Central Valley
Project (CVP).
The Delta levee maintenance subvention program was created by SB
541 ((Way) Chapter 717, Statutes of 1973). The program has been
modified periodically since its inception and currently provides
reimbursement funds to local agencies for costs incurred in any
year for the maintenance or improvement of project or
non-project levees. Currently, the reimbursement rate is zero
if the entire cost incurred per mile of levee is $1,000 or less.
For the costs incurred in excess of $1,000 per mile of levee,
the State can pay up to 75% based upon an assessment of the
agency's ability to pay. In the absence of this legislation, on
July 1, 2010, the reimbursement rate paid by the State will, for
any costs incurred in excess of $1,000 per mile, decrease to
50%.
According to the author, "the Delta levee system serves both
local and substantial State interests. Regardless of future
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decisions on [water] conveyance within the Delta, in the near
term, Delta levees will continue to be the sole tool for water
conveyance for the SWP and CVP. The Delta Levee Subvention
Program's 75-25 cost-sharing formula has allowed local
reclamation districts to afford to maintain and improve their
levees, thereby protecting the system. If the formula returns
to a 50-50 split, then the many small districts with a limited
economic base would not be able to afford to maintain the Delta
levees adequately."
Last year's historic Delta legislation, SB 1 (Simitian), Chapter
5, Statutes of 2009-10 Seventh Extraordinary Session, creates
the Delta Stewardship Council (Council) and requires the Council
to develop a Delta Plan which includes priorities for levee
investments within the Delta. The Delta Plan is due January 1,
2012. Although the author's office originally sought a 6-year
extension of the program, "in order to sustain Delta maintenance
programs" during the transition to the Delta Plan, the author's
office subsequently amended the bill to extend the date to 2013
and include Delta Plan consistency language. As the author
states, SB 808 continues the Delta Levee Subventions program and
supports levee maintenance while "the State reassesses the
direction it will pursue in protecting the Delta."
General Fund contributions to this program are capped at $2
million per year.
There is no known opposition to this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0004432