Water was of such concern to the California Legislature that it led the roster of all bills introduced in 2015. Signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, Assembly Bill 1 prohibits local governments, during times of drought, from imposing a fine on property owners who fail to water their lawns.
Other water-related bills followed – and most are more complicated than AB 1. The following acts, which are among those approved by Brown, have detailed compliance features. (All of these take effect Jan. 1, unless otherwise noted.)
Mutual Water Company Joint Powers Agreements – AB 656
Mutual water supply companies will be authorized to establish joint powers agreements with public agencies for the purpose of risk pooling, technical support or any other measure that would reduce risk for water suppliers.
Once many water companies were able to participate in the insurance program of the Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority, providing them with low-cost insurance. However, those mutual water companies left this insurance program due to IRS regulations, increasing their costs of insurance. AB 656 expressly permits joint powers agreements as a means of risk-pooling self-insurance and other programs.
Delinquent Water Bill Collections – SB 188
Under previous law, the legal authority of water suppliers to collect certain delinquent charges or penalties was set to expire Jan. 1. Specifically, the suppliers would have lost the authority to charge property owners when their tenants fail to pay water bills.
SB 188 removes the sunset provision and makes that authority permanent. It also makes permanent the supplier’s authority to place a lien on certain types of properties for unpaid utility bills.
Time Period for Hexavalent Chromium Standards – SB 385
The State Water Resources Control Board, until Jan. 1, 2020, will be able to grant a public water system additional time to implement a plan to comply with hexavalent chromium standards. This was urgency legislation that took effect immediately when signed on Sept. 4.
Sustainable Groundwater Management Act clarifications – SB 13
This law provides technical amendments to last year’s SGMA legislation. In particular, if a local agency files notice to the Department of Water Resources to become the Groundwater Sustainability Agency for an area, and a competing GSA notice is filed within 90 days by another agency, neither GSA notice will be effective until one is withdrawn or modified to eliminate any overlap in geographical boundaries. New GSA notices must be filed if there is a substantial change from the original notices submitted.
Additional water-related bills have been passed by the Legislature and sent to the Governor for his signature. Below are some major bills with state-wide impact.
* AB 617 would make several refinements to SGMA, including providing that a regional water management group may integrate SGMA planning into regional water management plans and establishing a remedy through the State Water Resources Control Board if state agencies are acting inconsistently with an adopted GSP. A different bill (AB 939) would modify deadlines for submitting a GSP if a groundwater basin is reprioritized from low or very low to medium or high priority.
* SB 208 would allow the DWR to provide advance funding of Integrated Regional Water Management Plan grants when the project proponent is a nonprofit organization or a disadvantaged community, or when a disadvantaged community would benefit. (SB 208)
