BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1345
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 25, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
SB 1345 (Committee on Natural Resources and Water) - As
Amended: June 17, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : Natural resources.
SUMMARY : Extends the sunset date of the Wholesale Regional
Water System Security and Reliability Act from 2015 until 2022,
and makes several other technical and clarifying changes to the
Public Resources and Water Codes. Specifically, this bill :
1)Amends the working forest management plan (WFMP) by
referencing the correct regulation in the Forest Practice
Rules that describes the Southern Subdistrict of the Coast
Forest District (Southern Subdistrict)
2)Makes technical, non-substantive changes to the statute
governing the Central Valley Floor Protection Board (CVFPB)
liens.
3)Extends the Wholesale Regional Water System Security and
Reliability Act (WRWSSR Act) sunset date to January 1, 2022.
4)Extends the comment period to 120 days for the California
Seismic Safety Commission (CSSC) and the Department of Public
Health (DPH) to comment to the Joint Legislative Audit
Committee (JLAC) regarding changes or delays to the capital
improvement projects program required pursuant to the WRWSSR
Act.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Excludes the Southern Subdistrict from the WFMP program
(however, there is an incorrect reference to the regulations
in the Forest Practice Rules describing the Southern
Subdistrict).
2)Authorizes the CVFPB to record a lien with a county in
response to an uncorrected violation.
SB 1345
Page 2
3)Requires, pursuant to the WRWSSR Act, the City and County of
San Francisco 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, and sunsets the WRWSSR Act on January 1, 2015.
4)Requires, pursuant to the WRWSSR Act, the CSSC and DPH to
provide comments to JLAC within 90 days of receiving notice of
a change or delay in the capital improvement project program,
as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, there are ongoing costs in the low to mid-tens of
thousands of dollars of reimbursed costs to DPH and the CSSC.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill is the Senate Natural
Resources and Water Committee omnibus bill and contains a
number of technical and clarifying changes, a sunset date
extension, and a noncontroversial change to a reporting
requirement. This bill includes the following changes:
a) Southern Subdistrict . AB 904 (Chesbro), Chapter 648,
Statutes of 2013, created the WMFP. The Southern
Subdistrict, which includes the counties of Santa Cruz,
Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin, is
excluded from the WFMP. The WFMP statute references the
wrong regulation to describe the Southern Subdistrict.
This bill fixes this drafting error.
b) CVFPB Liens . SB 753 (Steinberg), Chapter 639, Statutes
of 2013, granted the CVFPB authority to record a lien in
response to certain violation. The language contained an
error by granting CVFPB the authority to record the lien
with the county clerk instead of the county recorder. This
bill fixes this drafting error.
c) The WRWSSR Act's Sunset . The WRWSSR Act provides that
the City and County of San Francisco shall adopt capital
improvement projects to restore and improve the Bay Area
regional water system. These projects are executed under
the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's (SFPUC)
Water System Improvement Program (WSIP). Although the
SB 1345
Page 3
WRWSSR Act sunsets in 2015, projects related to the seismic
retrofit of San Francisco's Regional Water System have
fallen behind schedule as documented in the September 2013,
WSIP Annual Report to the state. Delays have occurred due
to unforeseen factors, including weather conditions, the
discovery of naturally occurring asbestos, and construction
material shortages. The SFPUC estimates that 33 out of 47
projects will conclude at the end of 2014 with all projects
reaching completion in 2019. The water transmission system
improved under WSIP serves 27 retail distribution systems
(including San Francisco) that provide water to
approximately 2.5 million users and 30,000 businesses,
including Stanford University and Facebook. This bill would
extend the sunset date to 2022. Should this bill not pass,
the entire WRWSSR Act will be become ineffective on January
1, 2015. WSIP projects would lose state oversight and the
City and County of San Francisco would no longer be
statutorily required to complete crucial projects,
including the replacement of the Calaveras Dam and
construction of seismically-engineered conduits installed
where the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System crosses three
of the nation's most active earthquake faults. This bill
addresses this issue by extending the 2015 sunset date to
2022.
d) The WRWSSR Act Comment Period . Under WRWSSR Act, the
CSSC and DPH must provide comments on public health and
safety to JLAC within 90 days of receiving notice of a WSIP
delay from SFPUC. Due to staffing constraints, CSSC has
requested an extension of the commenting period to 120
days. This bill makes this change.
2)Arguments in support. Supporters argue that extending the
sunset date would ensure that state oversight would continue
until all improvements to San Francisco's regional water
system are completed.
3)Arguments in opposition . None on file.
4)Double-referral . This bill was heard by the Natural Resources
Committee on June 16, 2014, where it passed with a 9-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
SB 1345
Page 4
Alameda County Water District
Association of California Water Agencies
Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency
California Water Service Company
Cities of Brisbane, Burlingame, Foster City, Hayward, Menlo
Park, Millbrae, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood
City, San Bruno, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale
City and County of San Francisco
Coastside County Water District
County Recorders Association of California
International Union of Operating Engineers
Jess E. Benton, Mayor, Town of Hillsborough
Edwin M. Lee, Mayor, City of San Francisco
Estero Municipal Improvement District
Mid-Peninsula Water District
North Coast County Water District
Purissima Hills Water District
Stanford University
Town of Hillsborough
Westborough Water District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958