BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair


          AB 2238 (Perea) - Public water systems: drinking water
          
          Amended: June 25, 2012          Policy Vote: EQ 7-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: August 6, 2012                           
          Consultant: Brendan McCarthy    
          
          This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the 
          Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: AB 2238 would require the Department of Public 
          Health to review and consider specified local planning documents 
          when considering applications for grant and loan funding for 
          public water systems.

          Fiscal Impact: Staff estimates that the additional workload to 
          collect and review the specified documents will impose costs of 
          about $75,000 per year (Safe Drinking Water State Revolving 
          Fund).

          Background: Under current law, the Department of Public Health 
          provides grants and loans to fund safe drinking water projects 
          from the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (Revolving 
          Fund). The Revolving Fund is supported with federal funds, 
          repayment of prior loans, state funds and other fund sources. 
          Current law requires the Department to give priority for funding 
          to projects that serve disadvantaged communities, authorizes 
          grants for up to 100 percent of total project costs, and 
          requires that between 15 percent and 30 percent of program funds 
          be used for grants. The Department provides about $200 to $300 
          million per year in grants and loans under the program.

          Proposed Law: AB 2238 would require the Department of Public 
          Health to perform all of the following activities when 
          considering an application for funding from the Revolving Fund: 

              Review and consider any applicable studies by the local 
              agency formation commission or similar studies relating to 
              regional solutions to drinking water supply.
              Consult with the local agency formation commission to 
              determine whether additional relevant information exists.








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              Report to the applicant regarding the review of the 
              materials specified above.

          Related Legislation: 
              AB 2208 (Perea) would authorize the Department of Public 
              Health to combine proposed studies or projects from multiple 
              applicants when evaluating them for funding. That bill is on 
              the Senate Floor.
              AB 2529 (Wieckowski) would make a variety of changes to the 
              Revolving Fund program. That bill will be heard in this 
              committee.