AB 402 — State Water Resources Control Board: local primacy delegation: funding stabilization program.

Summary

Existing law, the California Safe Drinking Water Act, requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health, including, but not limited to, conducting research, studies, and demonstration programs relating to the provision of a dependable, safe supply of drinking water, enforcing the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, adopting implementing regulations, and conducting studies and investigations to assess the quality of water in private domestic water supplies. The act authorizes the state board to delegate, through a local primacy delegation agreement, primary responsibility for the act's administration and enforcement within a county to a local health officer, as specified. The act requires that a local primacy delegation remain in effect until specified conditions occur. This bill would authorize the state board to delegate partial responsibility for the act's administration and enforcement by means of a local primacy delegation agreement. The bill would authorize the state board, for counties that have not been delegated primary responsibility as of January 1, 2020, to offer an opportunity for the county to apply for partial or primary responsibility if the state board determines that it needs assistance in performing administrative and enforcement activities, as specified. The bill would authorize the state board to approve the application for delegation if the state board determines that the local health officer is able to sufficiently perform the administrative and enforcement activities and would specify that a local primacy agency has all of the authority over designated public water systems as is granted to the state board by the act. The act requires the state board to provide the local primacy agency, to the extent funds are available from the Safe Drinking Water Account, with an annual drinking water surveillance program grant to cover the costs of conducting inspection, monitoring, surveillance, and water quality evaluation activities specified in the local primacy agreement. This bill would eliminate the annual drinking water surveillance program grant. The act requires the state board to evaluate the drinking water program of each local primacy agency at least annually and to prepare a report of the evaluation and list any program improvements needed. The act requires a copy of the report to be provided to the local primacy agency and the county board of supervisors. The act requires a local primacy agency to be granted a reasonable amount of time to make any needed program improvements before the initiation of any local primacy revocation actions. This bill would instead require the state board to evaluate each local primacy agency's oversight program at least annually and the report prepared by the state board to list any deficiencies of each local primacy agency and to be made available on the state board's internet website. The bill would require the reasonable amount of time granted to a local primacy agency to make any needed program improvements to not exceed 2 years. The act requires the state board to adopt a schedule of fees and requires a public water system under the jurisdiction of a local primacy agency to pay these fees to the local primacy agency in lieu of the state board. Existing law makes it a crime for any person to knowingly commit certain acts, including making a false statement or representation in any record submitted, maintained, or used for the purposes of compliance with the act, possessing a record required to be maintained by the act that has been altered or concealed, and destroying, altering, or concealing any record required to be maintained by the act. This bill would authorize any local primacy agency, with approval of the state board, to elect to participate in a funding stabilization program effective for the 2021–22 fiscal year and fiscal years thereafter, as specified. The bill would require a local primacy agency participating in the funding stabilization program to pay the fees to the state board, and would require the state board to provide funding to the local primacy agency each year for the reasonable costs incurred for the implementation of activities set forth in the work plan submitted by the local primacy agency to and approved by the state board. The bill would prohibit a participating local primacy agency from charging a public water system any fee in addition to the fees established and collected by the funding stabilization program for the activities in the local primacy agency and would require all fines, penalties, and reimbursement of costs collected by such a local primacy agency for the local primacy agency's activities to be remitted to the state board for deposit in the Safe Drinking Water Account. The bill would require a participating local primacy agency to establish and maintain accurate accounting records of all costs it incurs and periodically to make these records available to the state board. By requiring new records for the purpose of complying with the act, this bill would expand the scope of a crime and thereby impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Bill Text

• Amended 06/18/19 - Amended Senate Current pdf June 18, 2019
• Amended 03/05/19 - Amended Assembly pdf March 05, 2019
• Introduced 02/06/19 - Introduced pdf February 06, 2019
• AB402 View text html

Action History

1. August 30, 2019

   In committee: Held under submission.

2. August 12, 2019

   In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

3. July 03, 2019

   From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (July 3). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

4. June 18, 2019

   From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on EQ.

5. June 06, 2019

   In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

6. May 29, 2019

   Referred to Com. on EQ.

7. May 23, 2019

   In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

8. May 22, 2019

   Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 65. Noes 0. Page 1802.)

9. May 20, 2019

   Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

10. May 16, 2019

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 13. Noes 1.) (May 16).

11. March 20, 2019

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

12. March 12, 2019

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (March 12). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

13. March 06, 2019

    Re-referred to Com. on E.S. & T.M.

14. March 05, 2019

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E.S. & T.M. Read second time and amended.

15. February 15, 2019

    Referred to Com. on E.S. & T.M.

16. February 07, 2019

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 9.

17. February 06, 2019

    Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

• Quirk · Primary

Votes

Subjects