Amended in Assembly April 23, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1874

Introduced by Assembly Member Gonzalez

February 19, 2014

An act to add Sections 10534.5 and 10536.5 to, and to add Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 10551) to Part 2.2 of Division 6 of, the Water Code, relating to water.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1874, as amended, Gonzalez. Integrated regional water management plans: funding.

Existing law, the Integrated Regional Water Management Planning Act of 2002, authorizes a regional water management group to prepare and adopt an integrated regional water management plan with specified components relating to water supply and water quality. Existing law authorizes the Department of Water Resources to award grants to eligible projects consistent with an adopted integrated regional water management plan.

This bill would require the department to develop a streamlined application process for certain regional water management groups. The bill would require, in order to receive integrated regional water management begin insert grant end insert funds through this streamlined application process, the specified regional water management group to file with the department a streamlined application form that includes information relating to projects to be funded by integrated regional water management grant funds. The bill would require the department, upon appropriation of integrated regional water management funds, to award integrated regional water management grant funds for approved applications, proportionately consistent with any applicable statutory formula begin insert and that covers more than one planning region, with a required written agreement between the planning regions in the regional water management group end insert . The bill would require the recipient regional water management group, within 90 days, to provide the department with a list of integrated regional water management projects to be funded by the integrated regional water management grant funds, including a description, budget, begin delete and schedule end delete begin insert schedule, and the entities that will receive funding end insert for each project, and would require the department, within 60 days of receiving the project information, to distribute the funding to the regional water management group. The bill would require a regional water management group to quarterly report expenditures and activities for each project to the department and would require the department, at least once every 2 years, to audit each funding area and regional water management group that receives integrated regional water management begin insert grant end insert funds from the department.

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.  

Section 10534.5 is added to the Water Code, to
read:

10534.5.  

“Funding area” means a hydrologic region, as
identified by the California Water Plan, as updated.

SEC. 2.  

Section 10536.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:

10536.5.  

“Planning region” means an integrated regional water
management region, as begin delete identified by the California Water Plan, as
updated end delete begin insert accepted by the department end insert .

SEC. 3.  

Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 10551) is added
to Part 2.2 of Division 6 of the Water Code, to read:

 

Chapter  7. Streamlined Applications

 

10551.  

A streamlined application process, as specified under
this chapter, for the funding of integrated regional water
management plans shall be available to the following regional
water management groups:

(a) A regional water management group that represents a funding
area that is made up of a single planning region.

(b) If a funding area covers more than one planning region, a
regional water management group that represents all planning
regions within the funding area, if those regions have reached a
written agreement concerning the proportional allocation of
integrated regional water management begin insert grant end insert funds to the individual
planning regions within the funding area.

10552.  

To receive integrated regional water management begin insert grant end insert
funds through the streamlined application process, a regional water
management group described in Section 10551 shall complete,
and file with the department, a streamlined application form. The
streamlined application form shall be developed by the department
and shall require a regional water management group to do all of
the following:

begin insert

(a) Identify the member of the regional water management group
submitting an application on behalf of the region.

end insert begin delete

(a)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  Specify the amount of funding that the regional water
management group is requesting. In instances where the funding
area covers more than one planning region, the combined total of
all the applications from within the funding area shall be consistent
with the written agreement described in subdivision (b) of Section
10551.

begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  Describe the types of projects to be funded by the integrated
regional water management grant funds and demonstrate how the
projects will provide multiple benefits.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  Demonstrate how the projects comply with applicable
statutory requirements governing the award of integrated regional
water management grant funds.

begin insert

(e) Demonstrate how the projects will comply with the criteria
established in the adopted integrated regional water management
plan for the planning region.

end insert begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert  If more than one planning region is within the funding area,
provide documentation showing that all planning regions within
the funding area have reached a written agreement concerning the
allocation of integrated regional water management begin insert grant end insert funds
within the funding area.

begin delete

(e) Identify the recipient public agency that will receive the
integrated regional water management grant funds.

end delete

10553.  

If the department approves a streamlined application
pursuant to Section 10552 of a regional water management group
described in Section 10551, the department, upon appropriation
of integrated regional water management funds to the department,
shall award integrated regional water management grant funds,
proportionately consistent with any applicable begin delete statutory formula end delete
begin insert written agreement described in subdivision (b) of Section 10551
and any applicable statutory formula end insert , to the regional water
management group.

10554.  

(a) Within 90 days of an integrated regional water
management grant award pursuant to this chapter, the regional
water management group shall provide the department with a list
of projects to be funded by the integrated regional water
management begin insert grant end insert funds. The list shall specify how the projects
are consistent with the adopted integrated regional water
management plan and shall include all of the following
information:

(1) Descriptive information concerning each project identified.

begin insert

(2) The names of the entities that will receive the funding for
each project.

end insert begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  The budget of each project.

begin delete

(3) Anticipated

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The anticipated end insert schedule for each project.

(b) Within 60 days of receiving the project information pursuant
to subdivision (a), the department shall distribute the funding to
the regional water management group.

10555.  

The regional water management group shall report
expenditures and activities for each project to the department
quarterly, in a format to be determined by the department.

10556.  

The department, at least once every two years, or more
frequently at its own discretion, shall audit expenditures, invoices,
and reimbursements for each funding area and regional water
management group that receives integrated regional water
management grant funds from the department.