BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2738
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2738 (Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee)
As Amended May 23, 2014
Majority vote
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 6-1 APPROPRIATIONS 13-0
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|Ayes:|Alejo, Dahle, Bloom, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Gomez, Lowenthal, Ting | |Bradford, |
| | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| | | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Donnelly | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Contains technical and non-controversial revisions to
hazardous materials and safe drinking water provisions statutes.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Modifies the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of
1986 (Proposition 65) as follows:
a) Clarifies the provisions of Proposition 65 that require
the noticing party to inform the alleged violator of his or
her right to cure the violation.
b) Specifies that the party alleging a Proposition 65
violation must send the notice of special compliance
informing an alleged violator of the right to correct the
violation, if any of the alleged violations in the 60-day
notice are subject to the right to cure.
2)Modifies the use of funds generated from the fees paid by
applications for loans from the Safe Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund (SDWSRF) as follows:
a) Authorizes the use of the administrative fee charged to
recipients of SDWSRF loans to reimburse the Department of
Public Health (DPH) for the costs of reviewing
applications, and the loan disbursement fee to reimburse
the DPH for all other costs.
AB 2738
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b) Authorizes the DPH to annually adjust the fee schedule.
3)Removes duplicate references to the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) for the DPH Point-of-Use Water
Treatment Device Certification.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill would result in an increased annual cost to
DPH in the $200,000 range (SDWSRF) to calculate, review, and
track application and loan disbursement fees.
COMMENTS :
Need for the bill: This bill provides for a series of
technical, corrective, and non-substantive modifications to the
hazardous materials and drinking water laws. The issues
addressed in this bill were the result of legislation passed in
2013 that include AB 227 (Gatto), Chapter 581, related to
Proposition 65, AB 21 (Alejo), Chapter 628, related to emergency
drinking water grants, and AB 119 (Environmental Safety and
Toxic Materials Committee), Chapter 403, related to point-of-use
water treatment devices.
Proposition 65, AB 227. AB 227 changed the enforcement
provisions of Proposition 65 by limiting recovery by private
citizen enforcement action for specified types of exposure to
chemicals causing cancer or birth defects or other reproductive
harm in those circumstances when failure to provide clear and
reasonable warning has been remedied and a penalty has been
paid.
The technical amendments in this bill were suggested based on an
initial implementation of
AB 227 by the California Department of Justice. The technical
amendment clarifies that the noticing party must immediately
inform the alleged violator of the right to cure the violation,
and not wait until after sending the 60-day notice. The second
technical amendment to Proposition 65 makes it clear that the
noticing party must send the notice of special compliance
informing an alleged violator of the right to cure if any of the
alleged violations in the 60-day notice are the specific types
of exposures subject to AB 227. Leaving the current statutory
language in place creates a potential unintended loophole by
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letting the noticing party allege at least one violation that is
not subject to AB 227 to avoid the entire process.
Safe Drinking Water Small Community Emergency Grant Fund, AB 21.
AB 21 established the Safe Drinking Water Small Community
Emergency Grant Fund which is financed from a fee charged to
loan recipients in lieu of a similar amount of interest. The
fees collected are provided to disadvantaged communities in the
form of grants to improve drinking water safety. This bill
provides that fees collected may be used for prescribed
administrative costs of providing assistance under these
provisions, to the extent consistent with federal law.
Certification of water treatment devices, AB 119. AB 119
provided that a device may be sold, provided it meets the ANSI
standard or it had previously been approved by the DPH. The
requirements of Health and Safety Code Section 116845, includes
the ANSI standards as well as alternative requirements for
previously approved devices.
The current inclusion of the ANSI requirement in addition to the
posting on the DPH Web page duplicates the requirements that
must be met in order to be placed on the DPH Web site. The
provisions of this bill make it clear that previously approved
devices would be allowed to remain on the DPH Web site and
therefore, be authorized for sale in California.
Analysis Prepared by : Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)
319-3965
FN: 0003641