BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2238|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2238
Author: Perea (D), et al.
Amended: 8/24/12 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SUBJECT : Drinking water
SOURCE : California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Clean Water Action
Community Water Center
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
PolicyLink
DIGEST : This bill expands actions available for
emergency funding from the Emergency Water Grant Fund
(ECWGF). For purposes of ECWGF, this bill defines "public
health emergency" to include: (1) a public water system
that serves a severely disadvantaged community that lacks
the technical or financial capacity to deliver potable
water or has applied for specified funding; and (2) the
disruption or contamination of drinking water due to
natural disasters. This bill also caps funding for
emergency actions for an alternative water supply at
$50,000 per public water system per public health
emergency, and requires Department of Public Health (DPH)
to post on its Web site Safe Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund (SDWSRF) funding information regarding small community
water systems serving disadvantaged and severely
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disadvantaged communities
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/24/12 delete the previous
version of the bill relating to drinking water and replace
it with the above new language relating to the same
subject.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the Emergency Clean
Water Grant Fund (Grant Fund), which is continuously
appropriated for the purpose of providing financial
assistance to public water systems and funding emergency
actions, as defined by the DPH, to ensure the availability
of safe drinking water supplies. Existing law requires the
DPH to determine the definition of what constitutes an
emergency requiring an alternative or improved water
supply. Existing law authorizes the DPH to expend funds
from the Grant Fund for these purposes, including, but not
limited to, the payment of specified actions.
This bill eliminates the requirement that the DPH develop a
definition of what constitutes an emergency and instead
provides a definition of a public health emergency as an
unexpected event that requires immediate action, as
specified. This bill authorizes the DPHto expend the
moneys from the Grant Fund if the DPH determines that a
public health emergency has occurred and would list the
provision of interim water treatment as one of the listed
specified actions for which the DPH may provide payment.
By revising and expanding the application of funds in the
Grant Fund, this bill makes an appropriation. This bill
limits the provision of an alternative water supply to
$50,000 per public water system per public health
emergency.
Existing law creates the SDWSRF and authorizes the DPH to
provide grants or revolving fund loans for public water
system projects that enable suppliers to meet safe drinking
water standards. Existing law requires the DPH to report
at least once every two years to specified committees of
the Legislature on the implementation of these provisions
and expenditures from the SDWSRF. Existing law requires
the report to include, among other things, the number and
types of projects funded and the reduction in risks to
public health from contaminants in drinking water provided
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through the funding of the projects.
This bill requires the DPH to also post on its Internet Web
site funding commitments made by the DPH for certain water
system projects and other specified projects.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/12)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (co-source)
Clean Water Action (co-source)
Community Water Center (co-source)
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water (co-source)
PolicyLink (co-source)
California Association of Local Agency Formation
Commissions
County of Tuolumne Local Agency Formation Commission
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-25, 5/31/12
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Atkins, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Campos,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong,
Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall,
Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman,
Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mitchell, Monning, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Ammiano, Carter, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Miller, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bill Berryhill, Charles Calderon,
Fletcher, Mansoor, Mendoza, Norby, Valadao
DLW:k 8/27/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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