BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 104
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( Without Reference to File )
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 104 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee)
As Amended February 26, 2014
Majority vote. Budget Bill Appropriation Takes Effect
Immediately
SENATE VOTE :Vote not relevant
Original Committee Reference: BUDGET
SUMMARY : Contains necessary statutory and technical changes to
implement SB 103 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), which
amends the 2013-14 Budget Act related to urgent drought relief.
This bill, along with SB 103, proposes $687.4 million in
expenditures for drought relief activities.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)Accelerate the appropriation of $472.5 million (Proposition
84) to the Department of Water Resources (DWR) for the
remaining Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) grants.
Specify that $200 million of these funds be used for drought
preparedness/response projects. Allow $21.8 million of
appropriated funds to be used for projects submitted prior to
the enactment of this legislation.
2)Direct the Department of Public Health (DPH), by June 30,
2014, to adopt revised, emergency groundwater replenishment
regulations using recycled water.
3)Authorize the use of $10 million (Housing Rehabilitation Loan
Fund) by the Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) for housing or utility subsidies for people who become
un- or underemployed due to drought conditions.
4)Provide HCD flexibility to maximize migrant housing units for
greater use, including extending the period of occupancy
beyond the standard 180-day period and redefining persons and
families eligible to occupy centers.
5)Enhance the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)
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drought response authority by streamlining authority to
enforce water rights laws and increasing penalty amounts for
illegally diverting water during drought conditions.
6)Specify that this legislation is contingent on the enactment
of SB 103.
7)Contain an appropriation allowing this bill to take effect
immediately upon enactment.
COMMENTS : This bill contains the statutory changes necessary to
implement SB 103, the urgent drought relief legislation. It
contains three main components:
1)Infrastructure Investments to Improve Water Supply. This
legislation speeds up appropriation of funds for shovel ready
water supply projects. The Governor's Water Action Plan in
the 2014-15 budget calls for new appropriations of funds for
projects that increase water supply reliability and address
the current drought. Specifically, the bill accelerates IRWM,
Local Assistance funds, to support a third and final round of
the IRWM Implementation Grant Program and directs at least
$200 million of these funds be used for drought
preparedness/response projects.
The California Water Plan identified IRWM as one of the key
initiatives needed to address long-term water supply
reliability for the state. The IRWM program provides
incentives to regionally integrate and leverage local
financial investment for water conservation efforts, habitat
protection for local species, water recycling, stormwater
capture, and desalination projects.
2)Housing Assistance. The bill authorizes HCD to administer
rental vouchers to persons rendered homeless, or at risk of
becoming homeless, due to unemployment or other economic
hardship resulting from the drought. Further, the bill
stipulates that HCD adopt guidelines establishing criteria for
the program, including income limits, and subsidy amounts.
3)Enhanced State Water Resources Control Board Drought Response
Authority. Under existing law, the SWRCB has authority to
develop emergency drought regulations in a critically dry year
following two dry years. Because of how narrowly the existing
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statute was crafted, this authority is not available to the
SWRCB during this year, even though reservoir and drought
conditions are the worst on record. The new authorities
provided by the legislation would be more flexible and allow
the SWRCB to invoke them in a critically dry year that follows
two below normal, dry, or critically dry years, or if the
Governor declares a drought emergency. The same drought
definition is used in the streamlined water right enforcement
and enhanced water right drought penalties contained elsewhere
in the legislation.
The bill expands current emergency drought rulemaking
authority for the SWRCB. Currently, the Board can adopt
emergency regulations to prevent the waste, unreasonable use,
unreasonable method of use, or unreasonable method of
diversion or to promote conservation or water recycling. The
legislation includes explicit authority for the SWRCB to issue
emergency regulations requiring curtailment of water
diversions when water is unavailable to satisfy a diverter's
priority of water right and requiring reporting to the SWRCB.
Any curtailment regulations would follow established
California water right laws concerning priority. Those laws
generally mean that senior water rights must be satisfied
before junior water rights can divert anything. The
legislation also allows the SWRCB to enforce its emergency
drought regulations through cease and desist orders, and also
authorizes local enforcement of the regulations as an
infraction, subject to a fine of up to $500 per day of
violation.
The legislation establishes higher penalties for certain water
rights violations in times of drought. Penalties for
illegally diverting water during a drought would rise from the
current amount of up to $500 per day. During a drought, the
amounts would be up to $1,000 per day and up to $2,500 per
acre-foot of water illegally diverted or used. Separately, if
the SWRCB has issued a cease and desist order to a person and
the person violates the cease and desist order, the person may
be subject to penalties of up to $1,000 per day. During a
drought, the authorized penalty amount for violation of a
cease and desist order would rise up to $10,000 per day.
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The bill includes prudent changes to the Water Code designed
to enhance SWRCB's ability to respond to drought. A key
aspect of drought response is ensuring the existing water
rights laws are followed. To facilitate compliance, the
legislation includes streamlined authority to enforce water
rights laws and heightened penalty amounts for illegally
diverting water during drought conditions.
In addition, the drought response requires the ability to
effectively establish and enforce emergency drought
regulations. The legislation builds on existing authority of
the SWRCB to adopt emergency drought regulations to promote
conservation and prevent waste and unreasonable use of water
during times of drought.
Analysis Prepared by : Gabrielle Meindl / BUDGET / (916)
319-2099
FN: 0003049