BILL ANALYSIS �
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1345|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1345
Author: Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/22/14
AYES: Pavley, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,
Monning, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/5/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Natural Resources
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill extends the sunset date of the Wholesale
Regional Water System Security and Reliability Act (Act) from
2015 until 2022 and makes technical and clarifying changes to
the Public Resources and Water Codes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, prohibits under the Z'berg-Nejedly
Forest Practice Act of 1973, a person from conducting timber
operations on timberland unless a timber harvesting plan has
been prepared by a registered professional forester and has been
submitted to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and
approved by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection or the
State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
This bill corrects the referential error in existing law
CONTINUED
SB 1345
Page
2
relating to regulations describing the Southern Subdistrict of
the Coast Forest District; authorizes the Central Valley Flood
Protection Board to record a lien with the county recorder; and
extends the sunset date for the Act to 2022.
Background
The Act requires the City and County of San Francisco (City and
County) to adopt a program of capital improvement projects to
restore and improve the Bay Area regional water system that
includes a schedule for completion of the projects. The Act
requires that the program be completed by 2015. The program is
referred to as the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP). If
there is to be a delay in completion dates, the City and County
is required to notify the public and specified parties. The
Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Seismic Safety
Commission (Commission) are required to submit written comments
to the proposed change as to the significance of that change on
public health and safety.
By September 1 of each year, the City and County is required to
report to the Legislature, the Commission, and DPH on its
progress made the previous year on the WSIP.
By February 1 of each year, the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission (SF PUC), as the regional wholesale water supplier,
is required to report to the Legislature and DPH on its progress
during the previous year on securing supplemental sources of
water during dry years.
DPH is required to ensure that the Bay Area regional water
system is operated in compliance with the California Safe
Drinking Water Act and applicable federal law.
The SF PUC is required to reimburse the state for all costs
incurred by DPH and the Commission in carrying out duties under
the Act.
Prior Legislation
The Act (AB 1823, Papan, Chapter 841, Statutes of 2002) requires
the City and County to adopt capital improvement projects to
ensure the reliability and quality of the Bay Area regional
water system in the face of age-related or seismic stress. In
CONTINUED
SB 1345
Page
3
order to facilitate state oversight of the projects, the City
and County must submit a report on or before September 1 of each
year to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, the Commission,
and DPH detailing the progress made since the previous fiscal
year. In 2008, AB 2437 (Ruskin, Chapter 99) extended, among
other provisions, the Act's original 2010 sunset date to 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, ongoing costs
in the low to mid-tens of thousands of dollars of reimbursed
costs to DPH and the Commission.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/6/14)
Alameda County Water District
Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency
California Water Service Company
Cities of Brisbane, Burlingame, Daly City, Foster City, Hayward,
Menlo Park, Millbrae, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City,
San Bruno, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale
City and County of San Francisco Mayor, Edwin M. Lee
Coastside County Water District
County Recorders Association of California
Estero Municipal Improvement District
International Union of Operating Engineers
Purissima Hills Water District
Stanford University
Town of Hillsborough Mayor, Jess E. Benton
Westborough Water District
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The County Recorders Association of
California supports this bill as it clarifies in statute that
liens are properly recorded in the County Recorder office and
not that of the County Clerk.
The Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA)
contend that this bill will preserve statutory state oversight
of the City and County of San Francisco's capital improvement
program to restore and improve the 100-year old San Francisco
Regional Water System. BAWSCA argues that the program supports
the health, safety, and economic wellbeing of 1.7 million
residents, 30,000 businesses, and thousands of community
CONTINUED
SB 1345
Page
4
agencies in the Bay Area dependent on water provided by the
regional system. They also assert that jobs and businesses in
the counties served by the San Francisco Regional Water System
provide a major part of California's economic activity and
income for residents. BAWSCA notes that state oversight
provided by the Act has proven very valuable
to BAWSCA's member agencies and customers. Extension of this
oversight will ensure water users that the San Francisco
Regional Water System will be reliable in the future.
RM:e 5/7/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED