BILL NUMBER: AB 2011 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gatto
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
An act to add Section 79784.5 to the Water Code, relating to the
Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2011, as amended, Gatto. CalConserve State Revolving
Fund. Water Conservation Retrofit Program .
Existing law creates the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water
Supply Act of 2012, which, if approved by the voters at the November
6, 2012, statewide election, would authorize the issuance of bonds in
the amount of $11,140,000,000 pursuant to the State General
Obligation Bond Law to finance a safe drinking water and water supply
reliability program. The act would make $250,000,000 available, upon
appropriation by the Legislature from the Safe, Clean, and Reliable
Drinking Water Supply Fund of 2012, for direct expenditures, grants,
and loans for water conservation and water use efficiency plans,
projects, and programs.
The bill would require up to $50,000,000 of those water
conservation and water use efficiency funds, upon appropriation by
the Legislature from the fund, to be allocated to the Department of
Water Resources to establish a the
CalConserve State Revolving Fund Water
Conservation Retrofit Program to provide grants and
loans to private entities to local water agencies for
the implementation of local and regional water conservation loan
programs, as prescribed, to assist customers within the service area
of the water agency , consistent with the act, for
to carry out water use efficiency retrofit
projects.
This bill would become operative only if the Safe, Clean and
Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012 is approved by the voters
at a statewide general election.
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. It is the intent of the Legislature, in requiring the
establishment of the CalConserve program, to create a sustainable
funding source for water use efficiency retrofits. It is the further
intent of the Legislature that CalConserve help cities and counties
achieve compliance with water use reduction mandates in Section
10608.16 of the Water Code, and help homeowners and commercial,
industrial, and institutional entities achieve compliance with
state-mandated standards for water use efficiency for indoor and
outdoor appliances.
SEC. 2. Section 79784.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:
79784.5. Of the funds made available in Section ____ for water
conservation and water use efficiency plans, projects, and programs,
upon appropriation by the Legislature from the fund, up to fifty
million dollars ($50,000,000) shall be allocated to the department to
establish the CalConserve State Revolving Fund to provide
grants and loans to private entities, including homeowners and
commercial, industrial, and institutional entities, as defined in
Section 10608.12, for Water Conservation Retrofit
Program. The water conservation retrofit program shall provide grants
to local water agencies for the implementation of local
and regional water conservation loan programs that assist customers
within the service area of the water agency to carry out water
use efficiency retrofit projects, consistent with Section ____, and
in accordance with the following:
(a) The department shall give priority to awarding
CalConserve funds to retrofit projects that determine
the extent to which available f unding shall be
distributed geographically to maximize local and statewide
conservation and water use efficiency benefits.
(b) The department shall award CalConserve funds in a competitive
process that considers, as primary factors, the local and statewide
conservation and water use efficiency benefits of the projects
proposed for grants or loans and the extent to which a proposed
retrofit helps a water supplier and the region realize the
conservation benefits of implementation of the state landscape model
ordinance and other statewide water use efficiency measures.
(c) For awards under five hundred dollars ($500), the department
shall award the money directly to the recipient private entity. The
department may arrange with local water agencies for loan repayment
through monthly charges on the recipient's water service bill. For
loans of five hundred dollars ($500) or more, CalConserve shall offer
very low interest amortized loans and loan guarantees, which the
department may model after the loan process for the Safe Drinking
Water State Revolving Fund Law of 1997 (Chapter 4.5 (commencing with
Section 116760) of Part 12 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety
Code). All loans shall be repaid within six years of award.
(b) As a condition of the grant to the local water agency, the
department shall require the following:
(1) A local agency receiving CalConserve funds shall provide not
less than a 30 percent match of its funds to support the water
conservation retrofit program.
(2) A local water conservation retrofit program shall maximize the
local and statewide conservation and water use efficiency benefits.
(3) An eligible retrofit project shall include, but is not limited
to, a project that implements a project in compliance with the state
landscape model ordinance.
(4) Loans for project design and construction shall be repaid over
a term not longer than the useful life of the project constructed or
15 years, whichever is shorter.
(c) The department shall annually establish the interest rate for
loans made pursuant to this chapter at 50 percent of the average
interest rate, computed by the true interest cost method paid by the
state on general obligation bonds issued in the prior calendar year.
(d) The local water agency may charge a reasonable administration
fee to be paid along with the interest on the loan over the lifetime
of the loan.
SEC. 3. This act shall become operative only if
the Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012 is
approved by the voters at a statewide general election.