BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2636
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2636 (Gatto)
As Amended August 19, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-2 |(May 28, 2014) |SENATE: |32-0 |(August 21, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: W., P. & W.
SUMMARY : Creates the CalConserve Water Use Efficiency Revolving
Fund (CalConserve) in the State Treasury, which is administered
by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) in order to provide
low-interest loans and grants to local agencies for urban and
agricultural water use efficiency projects.
The Senate amendments define on-bill financing and make
technical corrections.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires each urban retail water supplier to comply with the
state's goal of achieving a 20% reduction in urban per capita
water use in California by December 31, 2020 (the 20x2020
goal); and
2)Requires agricultural water suppliers to implement efficient
water management practices, including water measurement.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill created CalConserve, a
revolving fund administered by DWR in order to provide
low-interest loans and grants to local agencies for urban and
agricultural water use efficiency projects.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Cost pressures, likely in the millions of dollars, to the
General Fund (GF) to fund CalConserve.
2)Cost pressures in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to the
GF/CalConserve Fund for DWR to administer the program.
AB 2636
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COMMENTS : The amendments taken in the Senate were technical and
clarifying including defining on-bill financing as a
utility-based method for providing low-interest or no-interest
financing for water use efficiency improvements through the
monthly utility bill.
There is no existing program like CalConserve in DWR, but
comparisons to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program
(CWSRF) at the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water
Board) are useful. The CWSRF receives money from the federal
government pursuant to the Clean Water Act and disburses $200 to
$300 million annually for the construction of publicly-owned
wastewater, stormwater, and water reclamation facilities. The
CWSRF charges a rate that is equivalent to 1/2 of the most
recent General Obligation Bond Rate.
The author states that while the State Water Board administers
grant programs which offer low-cost loans for public entities to
finance high water-use efficiency retrofits, there are no
similar low-cost loan programs available to private entities,
including homeowners, to finance retrofits. The author also
points out that a revolving fund would provide a self-renewing
source of funding for water-use efficiency, which would continue
to be available to the public between water bonds while also
leveraging private investment in water-use efficiency. Other
supporters state CalConserve will promote statewide conservation
and help the state to reach its 20x2020 goal, as well as
encourage the use of recycled water.
This bill is similar to AB 2011 (Gatto) of 2011, and AB 1349
(Gatto) of 2013,both of which would also have created
CalConserve. However, AB 2011 differed in that it allocated an
anticipatory $50 million from the Safe, Clean, and Reliable
Drinking Water Supply Act of 2012, an $11.14 billion bond
measure for water-related projects and programs (2012 Water
Bond). Ultimately the 2012 Water Bond was repealed and replaced
by AB 1471 (Rendon), Chapter 188, Statutes of 2014. AB 1471
places the $7.545 billion Water Quality, Supply, and
Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 on the November 2014
ballot. That Act includes $810 million for integrated regional
water management and, of that, $100 million is specifically
targeted for grants and loans for water conservation and
water-use efficiency plans, projects, and programs.
AB 2636
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Analysis Prepared by : Tina Cannon Leahy / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0005027