BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 200
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 12, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared Huffman, Chair
SB 200 (Wolk) - As Amended: June 4, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 38-0
SUBJECT : Delta levee maintenance: cost reimbursement
SUMMARY : Extends, until July 1, 2018, the authority of the
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to reimburse up
to 75% of the costs in excess of $1,000 per mile that are
incurred in any year for Delta levee maintenance. Requires that
reimbursements be consistent with the long-term management plan
for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta Plan) adopted and
implemented by the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC).
EXISTING LAW authorizes DWR, until July 1, 2013, to reimburse up
to 75% of the annual Delta levee maintenance costs over $1,000
per mile. After July 1, 2013, the rate reverts to a 50% maximum
reimbursement percentage and the maximum total reimbursement
from the General Fund is capped at $2 million annually.
FISCAL EFFECT : The Senate Appropriations Committee staff
analysis states that an increase in the maximum state cost share
for maintenance projects will put pressure on existing bond
funds, which can be used for a variety of flood control
projects, including Delta subventions. The total cost pressures
are unknown, because the number and size of future funding
requests from local districts are unknown.
COMMENTS :
In 2005, the Legislature required DWR to conduct a study of the
potential impacts of subsidence, earthquakes, floods, and
climate change on the Delta and evaluate options for addressing
those impacts. That study, known as the Delta Risk Management
Study (DRMS), was to be completed by January 1, 2008. In 2006,
the Legislature passed and the Governor signed AB 798 (Wolk).
That bill included a provision extending the 75 % Delta
subvention reimbursement rate to July 2010. Part of the
justification was that changing the rate was premature, given
that DWR had not completed the DRMS.
SB 200
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In 2009, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed Senate
Bill 1 (Simitian) Chapter 5, Statutes of the 2009-10 Seventh
Extraordinary Session. SB 1 X7 codified the coequal goals for
the Delta of providing a more reliable water supply for
California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta
ecosystem. It also required the coequal goals be achieved in a
way that protects and enhances the cultural, recreational,
natural resource and agricultural values of the Delta as a
place. In addition, SB 1 X7 created the DSC and mandated it
adopt and implement by January 1, 2012, a Delta Plan that meets
the coequal goals. Among its many requirements for inclusion in
the Delta Plan, SB 1 X7 set stated that the DSC, in consultation
with the Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB),
recommend "priorities for state investments in levee operation,
maintenance, and improvements in the Delta, including both
levees that are a part of the State Plan of Flood Control and
nonproject levees."
In 2010, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 808
(Wolk), Chapter 23, which, among other provisions, extended the
75% Delta subvention rate to July 2013. Part of the
justification was that changing the rate was premature, given
that the Council had not had sufficient time to complete the
Delta Plan.
On May 14, 2012, the DSC staff released the sixth and final
staff draft of the Delta Plan (Final Draft). The Final Draft
contains both enforceable "policies" and unenforceable
"recommendations." Chapter 7 of the Final Draft, entitled
Reduce Risk to People, Property, and State Interest in the
Delta, includes an enforceable policy that the DSC, in
consultation with DWR, the CVFPB, and the California Water
Commission, "shall develop priorities for State investments in
Delta levees by January 1, 2015" and that upon "completion these
priorities shall be considered for incorporation in the Delta
Plan." This bill requires that future reimbursements will be
made consistent with the Delta Plan, once it is adopted.
Supporting arguments : The author points out that the statutory
provision increasing the maximum cost share from 50% to 75% is
due to expire on July 1, 2013 and that "because of the dire
financial conditions of most local Delta levee agencies, and the
important tie to California's drinking water supply and other
infrastructure, the 75% State cost-share is necessary to
continue protecting Delta levees." Supporters also state that
SB 200
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this bill "will help ensure that local reclamation districts,
particularly the smaller ones, can continue to maintain their
levees within the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region - an area
of statewide significance not only for water but agriculture,
energy, transportation and economic interests. Providing the
necessary flood protection will help ensure the sustainability
of this critical region to the state."
There is no opposition to this bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Association of California Water Agencies
California Chamber of Commerce
California Special Districts Association
California State Association of Counties
Central Valley Flood Control Association
Delta Counties Coalition
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Planning and Conservation League
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Solano County Water Agency
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096