BILL ANALYSIS �
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2013-2014 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AB 2446 HEARING DATE: June 24, 2014
AUTHOR: Waldron URGENCY: No
VERSION: May 28, 2014 CONSULTANT: Dennis O'Connor
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: No
SUBJECT: Standby charges: San Luis Rey Municipal Water District.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
The Municipal Water District Act authorizes a municipal water
district, by ordinance, to establish a water standby assessment
or availability charge in the District or in any improvement
district each fiscal year, to which water is made available by
the District, whether the water is actually used or not. The
standby assessment or availability charge is limited to ten
dollars ($10) per acre per year for each acre of land on which
the charge is levied or ten dollars ($10) per year for a parcel
less than one acre.
The Municipal Water District Act also authorizes the specific
agencies to impose, in any improvement district situated within
the district, a standby fee of up to ($30) per acre per year for
land on which the charge is levied or thirty dollars ($30) per
year for a parcel less than one acre. The proceeds from any
standby assessment or availability charge in excess of ten
dollars ($10) per acre per year or ten dollars ($10) per year
for a parcel less than one acre shall only be used for the
purposes of the improvement district. Those specific agencies
are: Eastern MWD, Western MWD of Riverside County,
ElsinoreValley MWD, Rincon Del Diablo MWD, Ramona MWD, Rainbow
MWD, Lake Hemet MWD, and the Otay MWD.
There is no sunset on those provisions
In 1989, the legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 1157
(Bergeson). That bill authorized the San Luis Rey Municipal
Water District to levy an annual standby assessment or
availability charge within any improvement district thereof not
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to exceed $30 per acre or parcel less than an acre, but the
proceeds from any such charge in excess of $10 is required to be
used only for the purposes of the improvement district. That
provision would sunset January 1, 2000.
The sunset has been extended twice: Once, in 1999 by SB 807
(Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources), which extended
the sunset to January 1, 2005; and again in 2004 by AB 2733
(Strickland), which extended the sunset to January 1, 2015.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would remove the sunset clause on San Luis Rey's
ability to impose a standby fee of up to $30 per acre, thereby
making that provision permanent.
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the San Luis Rey Municipal Water District, "we are
sponsoring this special legislation that seeks to continue what
Water Code sec. 71631.7 currently provides and has provided to
us for many years. The amendment of removing a sunset provision
was done at the suggestion of folks on the Assembly side, and
makes sense because we have had this statute for so long and, as
pointed out by a consultant on the Assembly side, the other
water entities in this series of statutes (Water Code sec.
71631) do not have sunset provisions in their special statutes."
"This legislation is critical to our fiscal stability, and it
has the wide support of our landowners, including the Pala Band
of Mission Indians, as well as other groups such as the Farm
Bureau and California Special Districts Association."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: None
COMMENTS: None
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS: None
SUPPORT
San Luis Rey Municipal Water District (Sponsor)
California Special Districts Association
Farm Bureau San Diego
Pala Band of Mission Indians
Individuals (8)
OPPOSITION: None Received
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