BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 30
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 10, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 30 (Perea) - As Amended: January 24, 2013
Policy Committee: Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials Vote: 5-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill revises the Small Community Grant (SCG) program
administered by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).
Specifically, this bill eliminates the December 31, 2013 sunset
of provisions that allow SWRCB to collect an annual charge
in-lieu of interest on loans from the Clean Water State
Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and deposit the revenue in the SCG Fund
for waste water grants in small or disadvantaged communities.
This bill also removes the current $50 million limitation on the
total revenue collected from the in-lieu charge and allocated to
the SCG Fund. The SWRCB may stop collecting the in-lieu charge
if the board determines the charge is inconsistent with federal
law.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potentially millions of dollars could shift from the CWSRF to
the SCG fund.
On-going, absorbable costs for the SWRCB to continue
administering the SCG program that would otherwise be spent
administering the CWSRF.
According to the SWRCB, as of 12/31/12, there was $16,413,960
in the SCG Fund. Of that amount, $4 million was loaned to the
GF and $7,308,401 is committed to wastewater projects.
2)The SWRCB collected approximately $5 million in FY 2010/11 and
$7 million in FY 2011/12 from in-lieu charges. It is
estimated that the SWRCB will collect a total of $30 million
for the SCG fund by 2014. With the elimination of the sunset
AB 30
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date, it is estimated the SCG fund will reach $50 million by
the end of 2018.
Annual interest from CWSRF loans is deposited back into the
fund to be available for future loans. Removing the $50
million cap may at some point result in insufficient funds in
the CWSRF.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. This bill provides grants for disadvantaged and
small communities in need of wasterwater collection, treatment
or disposal projects necessary to protect drinking water and
upgrade aging systems.
2)Background. The CWSRF has historically been a loan-only
program inaccessible to low-income communities that require
grants to finance critical wasterwater projects.
AB 2356 (Arambula) Chapter 609, Statutes of 2008, created the
Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Small Community
Grant (SCG) Fund, which authorized the SWRCB to assess an
annual charge on existing CWSRF financing agreements for
deposit into the SCG Fund. The annual charge is in lieu of
interest that would otherwise be charged in association with a
CWSRF financing agreement.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081